Korn
Mtv Unplugged

THE REVIEW

If 13 years ago you had asked Jonathan Davis, singer of the well-known crossover metal band Korn, if they would ever play an acoustic show for MTV, this young man with a (then) psychotic and angry voice would have laughed in your face and continued to guzzle his favorite liquor, Jägermeister. 13 years ago, Korn and crossover metal, in general, were seen as the new frontier for heavy metal, a novelty, so much so that the magazine "Huh" reviewed their splendid debut as "the most intense metal since Metallica's Master Of Puppets".
13 years ago (or rather in the 90s), the Unplugged became a trend: Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Cure, Kiss, and the like, it was the rock world unplugging for a night and using acoustic guitars to play songs with sweetness instead of healthy rock 'n' roll ferocity—a trend from which the band thought to stay away, playing hard every chance they got, even in support tours for not particularly heavy albums ("Untouchables" and "See You On The Other Side"). Today, after countless experiments, which, in some way or another, still fell within the metal/rock realm, even Korn unplug for a night, that of Unplugged, an initiative that will surely be criticized for its solely commercial aim and for yet another partnership between MTV and the band in question: all this may be true, but musically speaking, you can't say that this show was poorly played, lethargic, or lacking inventiveness or originality; quite the opposite.
Jonathan Davis is no longer the angry young man from Bakersfield railing against the world, and he has learned to use his voice well, particularly in more melodic and "romantic" moments where he truly delights the ear. Fieldy, on the other hand, is the band's old rock, almost never relinquishing his style; there he is, crouched on the chair with his beautifully slapped acoustic bass, Munky has managed to introduce a Spanish flamenco guitar into a rock concert (tell me that's not original!), and then there's the real novelty of the record: Zac Baird, the keyboardist who accompanied the band on the "See You On The Other Side" tour and is working on writing the new album, supports the band here too with an amazing performance, his skill behind the keys and his enchanting melodies overshadow the other instruments and even Korn themselves—well, it wouldn't be a bad idea to remove that mask (as if they were Slipknot) and have him join the group permanently. And then there are all the other curious and interesting instruments they surrounded themselves with, including Japanese taiko drums, percussion, a trombone, a harmonica, and of course Patterson on second acoustic guitar, singular instruments that make the album truly special! But the most important factor that brings this episode of MTV Unplugged into the Olympian levels of acoustic concerts is the almost complete rewriting of the music, not just new arrangements with other instruments, but real changes in chords, riffs, etc., though I did not appreciate the revision of the lyrics, stripped for censorship reasons of all those expressions that earn Korn the Parental Advisory Explicit Content label, strong censorship in some tracks, less evident in others.

I don't want to bore you any further with this lengthy introduction, so let's move on to the tracks and the actual concert. This new Korn album opens with the classic of classics: "Blind" has its usual dark introduction, but after Davis whispers "Are You Ready?" the song transforms into a true rock/flamenco thanks to the percussion jumps, the new guitar work and musical parts are very good, among the best of the entire show. It continues with "Hollow Life", the melodic song from "Untouchables" is well interpreted by Zac Baird while Davis sings with a sweet and composed voice, after "Hollow Life" the first guest on "Freak On A Leash" appears: Amy Lee, the lovely singer of Evanescence, a long-time fan of Korn, stands out once again with Zac on the piano and a fit Munky, Lee contributes a lot of her essence to the song, making it her own (although I would have preferred Corey Taylor of Stone Sour who collaborated on "Freak On A Leash" during Family Values 2006), the arrangement of the strings is notable, in the finale instead of the usual senseless growls, there is a very moving interpretation by Amy Lee, but somewhat out of place as it "evanescentizes" the song too much.
Another great classic with "Falling Away From Me" reinterpreted in a danceable dark/pop rock style yet still maintaining all the darkness and in a sense the hardness of the track, thanks to the good percussion work. A typical feature of Unplugged is playing covers in addition to their own pieces (for instance, Nirvana covered Bowie and Alice In Chains played the intro to Metallica's "Enter Sandman"), Korn dive in accompanied by a harmonica in a very sweet and emotional cover of "Creep" by Radiohead, where Davis does an extraordinary job, especially in the chorus, for one of the most beautiful songs in alternative and rock music in general, a song that would open anyone's heart. This starts the second part of the show more focused on the recent "See You On The Other Side" and masterfully reinterprets one of the masterpieces of that album, namely "Love Song" (where the aforementioned censorship of the lyrics is evident), which transformed from an industrial song into an excellent melodic rock song with yet another excellent piano work. With "Got The Life" we return to crossover shores with a wild Fieldy and Davis bringing back some nastiness. The singer’s interpretation of the subsequent "Twisted Transistor" is not bad, but the new arrangement with the trombones is in poor taste, the least beautiful of the entire show, the intense version of "Coming Undone," already good in the studio, here with its staccato and dry pace and the decent work of the taiko drums, makes a proper figure, the inclusion of the strings is nice.
Another gem of Korn's acoustic concert is the mix between "Make Me Bad", a dark Korn song from "Issues" and "In Between Days", a song by The Cure, who are the second guests, Robert Smith sings the choruses in "Make Me Bad" and Davis supports him in the refrain of "In Between Days", interesting is the final part of the performance where the two songs intersect, a bit chaotic but effective. The disc concludes with "Throw Me Away", very epic and intense especially for the good chorus and the beautiful sound of the Japanese percussion, a song full of melody and framed in the background by strings, the echoes of Jhonatan in the final part are moving.

After various choices, some very criticizable, Korn have arrived after 13 years of career to record an episode of MTV Unplugged, a show with three watchwords: rock, melody, and emotion! An album destined for the band's fans, but one that can also appeal to those who have never listened to Korn, it is therefore recommended to all rock music listeners.