KoRn were the band that started nu metal and they became a big success with their album Follow the Leader. But what happened before that? KoRn got some recognition with their self-titled album, which was the autobiography of vocalist Jonathan Davis and Life Is Peachy, the most unique KoRn album ever, honoured by many of their fans. What made Life Is Peachy so unique? This was KoRn's one and only humour album. You wouldn't expect nu metal bands to have a funny side, just an incredibly stupid side and that's what makes this a nu metal album worth listening to.
The band line-up at the time were:
Jonathan Davis: Vocals/Bagpipes
Head: Guitar
Munky: Guitar
Fieldy: Bass
David: Drums
Tracklisting:
01. Twist
A good and humourous way to start the album up. Jonathan Davis yells a bunch of gibberish while all the instruments get pretty heavy. Then, the name of the track gets said a few times and the whole process of the song gets repeated again. All 50 seconds are worth listening to.
02. Chi
The song title comes from Chi Cheng of the band Deftones, who hung around with KoRn while they were recording Life Is Peachy. This track is like "Twist", but turned down a notch and it's a song on doing drugs, a habit that both bands did in the studio a lot. The chorus is extremely catchy and the guitars and Jonathan's voice do a good job going from place to place. Not as good as "Twist", but still a neat track.
03. Lost
This is a song about jealousy and getting lost inside and it really explains the feelings someone would get from a friend of theirs having a relationship with someone they had a crush on. Jonathan Davis has a good choice of lyrics in this song. Whenever he says "a thorn in my spine" it does a great job at giving me that feeling. The guitars, bass, and drums are nothing new compared to "Chi", but this is decent.
04. Swallow
After a guitar plays, Jonathan whispers "F**k yes!" and the other instruments join in after that moment. The music still hasn't totally changed yet, but the drums and guitars are worth it here. I also like how it ends. At that part, one guitar plays like crazy, the drums get very catchy, and Jonathan Davis says "Punk ass sissy, I'm a freak" until the song fades out.
05. Porno Creep
The only instrumental track KoRn have ever written. Many people have said that KoRn sounds like a band that would made music for gothic porn movies and this is a track that totally makes fun of the concept. For two minutes, the guitars, drums, and bass sound sexy and creepy at the same time and the tones of Jonathan's moans make this instrumental more eerie of an experience.
06. Good God
The song title is definitely what would be said here. After a relaxing instrumental, all of the sound gets heavier than it did before. Jonathan screaming all the way through and the rest of the band's instrumentation will get you jumping everywhere. The chorus is incredibly catchy even though the words aren't much of a chorus ("Why don't you get the f**k out of my face!!! No!").
07. Mr. Rogers
KoRn also wrote this when they were drugged up, because while every band member got high, they watched Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood. This made Jonathan Davis have flashbacks on how that TV show wrecked his childhood when his parents said that it taught him good values when it just made him get picked on in school. This track is too long and the slow pace of the music makes this drag on, but it was a good song for KoRn to write on this particular album.
08. K@#0%!
Pronounced as "Kunt!", it's an interesting track about the many words that are vulgar in the English language. Radio stations wanted KoRn to make a radio-friendly song and they sent this song with swearing all over the place as a joke. You really understand the purpose of the song in the lyrics of the chorus ("I don't know what to say. So what? Don't give up on me now."). Other than that, the music is the typical sound you'd get from KoRn. Some people think this is trash, but one man's trash is another man's treasure here
09. No Place To Hide
A nice song that could've been a major hit. Johnathan takes a breaking from all the screaming and sings instead. This is probably the album's softest track and it's a decent listen all the way through. Just when I needed something soft, this song came right there.
10. Wicked
One of KoRn's first covers. The original "Wicked" is from Ice Cube and Chino from Deftones (the band I mentioned about in "Chi") does all of Ice Cube's raps while Jonathan Davis screams the chorus as best as he can. The bass, guitars, and drums are amazing everywhere here and it's a cover of a rap song to check out if you like nu metal as much as me.
11. A.D.I.D.A.S.
The first big hit KoRn ever had and the only hit on Life Is Peachy. The title is an acronym for the first line of the chorus (All Day I Dream About Sex) and the music definitely sounds like material for a single. Jonathan says crazy sexual lyrics everywhere like "I don't know your f**king name. So what? Let's f**k!". A song that's definitely a KoRn classic and does a great job at showing the humour of the album.
12. Low Rider
A one minute cover of the most well known song from War. Many people think that KoRn ruined this song and that this track is pure filler. This is a humour album for crying out loud! There's no such thing as filler, because no matter how short a track is, it will get you laughing. For example, the horn solo in the original "Low Rider" got replaced with bagpipes and that might get you laughing.
13. Ass Itch
You can usually get an itch on your ass from sitting down all day and this is what the song's about here. KoRn were sick of writing songs in their studio with all the bad times they had there, so they made this crazy song just for that purpose. The instruments use the same formula as many of their hard songs, but this is something you shouldn't skip.
14. Kill You
Just like "Daddy", the last song on KoRn's self-titled album, "Kill You" is on one of Jonathan's biggest problems in his family, in which Jonathan hated his stepmom, but he found her hot as well. The song starts off acoustic, which is very unexpected, but eventually the old electric guitar sound kicks in. Jonathan's words are good everywhere, except for the chorus where you'd find the typical nu metal lyrics. Other than that, great way to end the twisted humour of Life Is Peachy.
Secret Song: Twist (A Capella Version)
A funny version of the first song, making the album end almost the same way it started.
Track By Track Rating:
01. Twist [4.5]
02. Chi [4]
03. Lost [4]
04. Swallow [3.5]
05. Porno Creep [4.5]
06. Good God [4]
07. Mr. Rogers [3.5]
08. K@#0%! [4]
09. No Place To Hide [4]
10. Wicked [4]
11. A.D.I.D.A.S. [5]
12. Low Rider [4.5]
13. Ass Itch [3.5]
14. Kill You [4]
Secret Song: Twist (A Capella Version) [4]
Content Rating: Parental Advisory: Explicit Content
