Okay, so this is my very first review...
The band known as Korn. You either love them or hate them.... or think they're okay. I know I personally love Korn, though I can admit when they release something terrible... *cough TALITM cough* But luckily, they have changed their sound. Is it for the better? That is what I hope to find out with my review.
1. Twisted Transistor
First it starts out with some strange noises that leads into chanting. While I thought this was cool the first time... it loses it and now gets annoying. I'll admit it. I thought TT was awesome and really catchy when I listened to it on the radio. Now I can't listen to it all the way through. Even though I still love that riff at the beggining. (3/5)
2.Politics
Okay. Lyrics=crap on this one. I totally love the meaning behind it, but still. He could have done a much better job. Actually, this whole song is kind of bland. JD ends on a vocal-only scream just like on TT. Personally, I just don't like this song. (2/5)
3.Hypocrites
Now the CD really kicks in. "Your messiah was never mine". I absolutely love this song. Although I must admit, it sounds MUCH better live. It goes from JD's whispering into the screaming "HYPOCRITES". The song sounds kinda rock-opera-like. JD even said it was influenced by Andrew Lloyd Webber's "jesus Christ Superstar" (which I also personally love). The guitar sounds pretty cool if you like the sound of the whole "power-chord" thing. If not... then you probably shouldn't be listening to Korn anyways. (5/5)
4.Souvinier
I like the intro. A very bass-y sounding guitar. The lyrics have also gotten better. Instead of "I got picked on and I hate you all" it's "i got picked on and now I'm a rockstar. **** YOU GUYS!!!!" Definitley better than Thoughtless from Untouchables. The guitar gets a little repetitive here, obviously from Head's departure, leaving Munky to write everything alone. Pretty much it's a simple Korn song, but still damn good nonetheless. (4/5)
5.10 or A 2-Way
The drumming at the beggining is annoying. It's very loud... and annoying. It sounds like it was in a room with an echo. Which it probably was. Anyways, the song in itself is not that great either. The lyrics got better. It's good to see JD sing about something besides his mangled soul. It's a different song, just not my thing... (2/5)
6.Throw Me Away
Nice... we got some industrial shiznit going on. This one I really like, especially because it reminds me of Skinny Puppy. Suprisingly, it's also very good live. It starts out with some NIN-ish keyboard action. The keyboards pretty much dominate this song, although their is some good crunchy guitar in parts of it. Lyrically... it's pretty much the same "I'm depressed blah blah blah" but it seems more gothicy image-like. Kinda like Peter Murphy or Robert Smith. Being a huge fan of keyboards, I totally dug this song. (5/5)
7.Lovesong
One of my favorites off the album. It starts out very industrial-ish like the last one, but it's really easy to distinct between these 2. Once again, the lyrics are depressio, but better than older albums. The keyboards get alot of action in this one, but the guitar comes in heavy in the bridge. Their's also a vocal solo on this one, which, with Korn, dosen't sound like it would be great, but it's actually pretty cool sounding. Although his Mike Patton vocals come through on here. (5/5)
8.Open Up
Funky bass. Not something you see alot of in this album. After a while, Fieldy's bass does get annoying in some of the older albums, but it sounds really good with the distortion in here. Lyrics are kinda blah. Bass pretty much dominates this song. The first half at least. Then we hear JD humming and then some hand claps. This has the only interlude I really like. It's got bagpipes and then some scatting that's been messed with. Descent song. (3.5/5)
9.Coming Undone
The second single off the album. This song kinda bothers me. The claps are a total rip-off of "We Will Rock You". If you can see (or hear) past it.... it's still not that great. Maybe if it was on one of the older albums, but if they are trying to experiment, then this shouldn't be on here. It's pretty energetic and a good song to mosh to. Lyrics are total old JD crap. Nothing compared to the rest of the album. Plus it's barely over 3 minutes, and I'm used to Korn doing songs at least 4 minutes long. (3/5)
10.Getting Off
cool into. Rest of the song sucks. Lyrics ruin it. One of THE worst Korn songs I have ever heard. Except for maybe "Wake up Hate". I really don't want to even talk about this song... (1/5)
11. Liar
Excellent. It's very fast-paced and heavy, but not only power-chord. Munky actually uses the top 3 strings (OMG!). It's kinda short, but it's another good song to mosh to. The lyrics are much better here, talking about how women are evil and suck you dry. Yet it's not very whiny at all. Vocals are good, but EXTREMELY layered. Which is one of my problems with this CD. Over-produced. (5/5)
12.For No One
The music is repetitive. And it sounds like JD's horrible attempt at trying to sound ghetto. "These spinnin' rims don't go no faster". Yeah... JD, you're white. It's cool they tried a more hip-hop influenced song, but if they wanted that, Fieldy should have had more of a scene in this song. And JD's vocals totally blow on this one, too. Not sure what it is about it... just... horrid....
(1.5/5) (the .5 is for effort)
13.Seen It All
While it's another "depressing" song, the lyrics are actually really good. JD basically looks back at his life and sees how much things have changed.... I love the bridge, it's beautiful. "I'm just a child with a tear in it's eye/ I am holding this gift that is broken/What do I have left now?" It just sounds amazing with the keyboards... Another stand-out track
(4/5)
14.Tearjerker
Just a beautiful song. I love it. It's a slow song, it's basically Korn's "Hurt". Except it uses mostly keyboards instead of a guitar. He sounds so delicate singing this, probably one of their most emotionaly gripping songs since "Daddy". I love how it gets heavy at the end too.
(5/5)
BONUS CD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hehe)
1.It's Me Again
Apparently this is the first song they did with The Matrix. I thought it was cool and catchy at first, but then you realize how freakin' repetitive it is. With JD screaming "IT'S ME AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!" 20000000000 times at the end of the song, it's even more annoying than Papa Roach's "Blood Brothers." It could have been alot better.
(3/5)
2.Eaten Up Inside
A more industrial track. This one can be a little repetitive, too, but it's better than "It's Me Again." Alot of vocal layering in this song, which kinda makes it sound fake. I do like the distortion at the end when I guess they messed with Jon's voice.
(4/5)
3.Last Legal Drug (le Petit Mort)
Okay. Hands-down, this is my favorite Korn song ever. The beggining is reminiscent of "Thoughtless" but the rest of the song sounds more like a Nine Inch Nails song. Their's a really dark atmosphere in this song, which I'm totally digging. The lyrics are also much better. JD is actually singing about "love". (OMG!!!!)
(5/5)
4.TT Remix 1
It's that same guy who remixed Freak On A Leash off Greatest Hits. I really don't like his remixes, they tend to bore the hell out of me.
5.TT Remix 2
A techno remix. I totally cool one. It's not something to relax to, but it's awesome to throw in at a dance party or something. Especially because it's like 9 minutes long. I like it. But I also like techno. So yeah.
All-in-all, Korn have definitely grown up as a band. From the years of TALINTM to now, with the departure of Head, I think Korn maybe heading in a good direction. But sometimes I wonder if they would have done this if Head was still here???
