Korn
Follow The Leader

THE REVIEW

I am the usual boring newcomer who is about to review the usually over-reviewed album, but there is a reason why I am doing this.

"Follow the Leader" is Korn's third album, released four years after their first legendary, wonderful, self-titled debut and its worthy successor "Life is Peachy". This third record is often cited as Korn's Absolute Masterpiece, destined to remain carved in the annals for the saecula saeculorum, but there are some reasons why, in my opinion, it shouldn't be considered as such. Forgive me now if what I'm about to write will have an appearance of track by track, but it is necessary for me.

After a minute of silence for the young deceased fan, Justin, the album proper begins with "It's On!". The technical quality of the five young men is as usual excellent, Davis's voice in particular is as passionate as before, if not more. With the listening of "It's On!" it becomes evident that there has been a stylistic change as there was from "Korn" to "Life is Peachy". Does it get interesting?

We then have "Freak On A Leash" and "Got The Life", the two leading singles from the album, that manage, the first one in particular, to make you say that, despite everything, these are the Korn! Then begins the famous "Dead Bodies Everywhere", a song that is violent and passionate, but starts to make the first two albums feel a bit distant. Did Korn fail to repeat themselves? We have arrived at "Children Of The Korn": here comes a collaboration with the usual crappy rapper, Ice Cube, which has the same effect as "Wicked from Life is Peachy" (incidentally done with Chino Moreno of the good Deftones), which is to make you ask: "What the hell is this crap?".

All is not lost, with "B. B. K." a bit of vigor is regained, a sufficiently metal song but not excellent enough to recover from the previous song. We then have "Pretty", a song whose beginning is ball-dropping and the rest does the same. In the song following this half-failure, you hear a familiar voice. It can't be him! But yes! Fred Durst strikes again and you hear it! The song is an immense rap-metal crap that has nothing metal about it but makes up for it with a collaboration with one of the biggest crap producers ever seen! "Reclaim My Place" is very hard but predictable and repetitive, while "Justin" is a sonic hodgepodge that provokes a certain emetic affection. "Seed" manages to give a bit of energy back to this album which is now given up for lost.

Relying on the last two tracks, here comes "Cameltosis", with Tre Hardson (who's that?) from Pharcide (who are they?). Incredible! Someone worse than Fred Durst! After this legendary crap comparable to Finley VS MondoMarcio, we have the final "My Gift To You", a typical Korn final song that, although far from the levels of the beautiful "Daddy", results in being decidedly passionate and pleasant. But neither it nor the absurd secret track sung by Fieldy "Earache My Eye", let alone the b-side "I Can Remember", manage to redeem the fate of an album that has turned out to be decidedly disappointing. The next three albums do manage to bring Korn back to a more than decent level before the unexpected stylistic upheaval after Head's departure.

Will I try to be a bit more cheerful next time?