Korn
See You On The Other Side

THE REVIEW

"...Still (partially) insane, but the Korn of the past seems like a distant memory..." The Korn took big risks with this album, even more so with "Untouchables", and they are well aware of it. Have they taken another step forward? It's uncertain, but one cannot accuse them of taking a step back or repeating themselves. The new Korn is the (classic) album you don't expect, meaning both in a good and bad way. Honestly, after "Untouchables" (ignoring "Take A Look...", which was more a way to satisfy some old and new fans and make some "money" while waiting for the new album), there seemed to be few further margins for improvement: partly an accurate intuition, because with this new album, it seems that Korn are again changing direction (this time drastically), and once more they surprise the audience, who certainly would not have expected this.

First of all, it's an album that, beyond the easy choruses and pop-commercial appeal, is not at all an easily accessible album, and certainly not one of those albums that convinces at the first listens. A challenging album indeed. An album saturated with effects (especially on the percussion) that give Korn's music a cold aspect, an album steeped in industrial. It seems Korn wanted to clean their sound of anything they considered superfluous, refining it with cold technology and studied songs (with no semblance of improvisation or spontaneity), which will certainly once again disgust longtime fans. The mood of Korn is once again gloomy, but a different darkness than in the past, as already mentioned, colder and almost "aware" or now atrophied, resigned, and more cynical/insensitive.

The thread that binds each song is the spectral sound of a bagpipe, which seems to want to return from the past occasionally, to remind us that the past is not entirely dead yet. The surreal cover shows a child, with two grotesquely dressed and almost demonic animals behind him: the rabbit crowns the child, while the horse holds the decapitated head of the stuffed animal the child holds, almost representing that although Korn have become the absolute kings in their musical genre, they are still connected to a past that cannot be completely erased, scars that remain in the soul, but this time accepted with less fear compared to the past. Like it or not, even though Jonathan has long been bathing in $, his childhood seems to always be a burden to carry, for him and therefore also for Korn's music. This have gained something but inevitably lost another: a situation that balances out where the two things are equivalent.

The guitars play a slightly less primary role compared to the last albums: here they are accompanied by a layer of effects that wriggle and want to insinuate themselves into the listener's psyche. The production is no longer the same: the guitar sound has become less pachydermic and "sticky", and with a less low tuning, just as the bass is no longer slapped as before. What remains of the previous Korn? Some parts or passages, certainly not the actual songs. Before continuing to analyze the album, I wanted to clarify a few things: statements like "Korn sold out, they’re a band for MTV and kids" etc., honestly, I leave to the incorrigible obstinate ones, who persist in not wanting to let it sink into their empty heads that the point to raise the question is whether they will do well and be clever in making music as a band that sells a lot. In short, it's no secret that at some point in their career, Korn began to enjoy popularity. Let's consider it, frankly and without unnecessary polemics, a mainstream band: I like them as a mainstream band (it's no secret), and so far, as a mainstream band, they have kicked everyone's ass (their peers), but also many other bands from other categories.

To those who thought the new album would follow in the footsteps of that "discard" song floating around before the release, this album is the answer: here's how Korn fooled us. Negative side: the real brutality is the factor that, for the first time, I feel is missing in a Korn album: where did those putrid riffs of unhealthy beauty go that, very close to the sound and tuning of death metal, confirmed to you that Korn were not yet ready for the most blatant commercialization? The brutality is missing, the real disease has transformed into something more mature but, alas, perhaps excessively too cold and studied. A sincere transformation or dictated by the desire to align themselves with Britney Spears & co? Who can say, certainly not the sales, as usual the truth usually lies somewhere in between. In this album, there is no fair or correct balance of the parts (often done to please a bit of everyone), but you immerse yourself in a unique world where nuances matter. Every Korn album tests you, and this is definitely a very positive factor. This album convinces and does not convince, perhaps the secret to forming a real and objective opinion of this album is to pretend or forget that they are Korn, although this is not so simple.

"Twisted Transistor" opens the dances and partly represents what we should expect next. With an apocalyptic flavor, this opening song reminded me of a song like "Pure" by Helmet: don't misunderstand me or take me for crazy, but the two songs have a similar structure, one-directional, even almost insignificant, but at the slightest change/change that occurs, they can suddenly reveal their meaning. "Politics" is a modern song, supported by a taste for melody and a catchy chorus. "Hypocrites": a song that seems to mock the listeners, with muted guitars that create a wall of sound, and sounds and effects that "creep" into the background. "Love Song" is an ambiguous, unusual, and disturbed song, very dark that perhaps best unites the new Korn with the old ones: the sickness returns to pervade this song, and the dazed and almost cunning chorus creates a very interesting contrast between mental illness and sweetness/melody. Definitely one of the most interesting songs on the album. "Souvenir of Sadness" opens with a guitar riff that seems to choke, modern and direct. The vocals in this piece follow the new course of Jonathan's singing, nothing cunning or overly melodic, indeed overall it is a fairly direct song. The rhythm and pace of "10 or a 2-way" can remind us of Nine Inch Nails: a more sparse whispered part where the chorus then explodes. "Throw me away" is one of the songs most mixed with electronics of the album, with cold rhythms but with melodic openings in the chorus: the atmosphere released from the mix of sounds seems almost out of reality. "Open Up" is very electronic, a song that seems to take you to the light but then brings you back, without much surprise, towards the abyss. Another dark song, where Jonathan's vocal lines and melody, towards the end, create an atmosphere not too distant from things like Type 0 Negative. Indeed towards the end of this song, even if a semblance of calm and serenity is once again breathed, it is immediately broken by a psychotic loop. "Coming Undone" begins with a nice full riff, which suggests a return to the old Korn: nothing could be more wrong, because immediately afterward a semi-industrial rhythmic base starts, and the piece moves towards obsessive and pounding territories, with the chorus that is not too ashamed to be cunning. A catchy song, no doubt. "Getting Off": once again a guitar riff sets the trend, and the drums (mixed with some effects) start the piece. Here Jonathan goes back to "growling", in contrast to the always melodic chorus. "Liar": even if not excessively sprinkled with electronics, the chorus is one of the most melodic and cunning I have ever heard from Korn. Cunning? Oh yes, but don't forget that when you least expect it, the more mentally disturbed and schizoid Korn might come back to kick you in the balls, with those old-style Jonathan Davis screams picked up from the "Twist" style. "For No One": a song that rocks, the bass returns to be felt "slapping", the progress is damn catchy, the guitars become assertive again, Jonathan's singing is wonderful and charts new horizons of sensations. In "Seen it all" Korn returns to their new dimension, where electronics and effects immerse us in the coldness of machines, and the dark atmosphere gives the song an almost mysterious aura, also due to a viola (or cello) of rarefied beauty. The album closes with a simple yet emotional "Tearjerker", with a piano, Jonathan's delicate, stunning voice, and various effects, placing the listener in a state of disorientation.

To sum up, my point of view is that the most exciting part of the album starts from "Throw me away". I hope, however, that this album will grow on me, little by little, as happened with "Untouchables". On first listens of "Untouchables", there were only a couple of pieces to my liking, but as I listened more, the typical "mushroom" effect happened. So I considered Untouchables a masterpiece. Nu-Pop? Probably, and it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Whether you like it or not, whether it's better or worse, currently, Korn are truly unique in the music they make.