Album Review: Korn III: Remember Who You Are
July 13, 2010 by Editor
Filed under 2010 Releases, Album Reviews
Korn
Korn III: Remember Who You Are
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Record Label: Roadrunner Records
Review:
This is shaping-up as the year of the retro sound, with many well established acts going back to the drawing board in an attempt to recapture the essence of their early work. So far, this has not been a bad thing, with many bands reminding us why we fell in love with their music in the first place.
Enter Korn, one of the latest artists getting back to their roots with the release of their ninth major studio release, Korn III: Remember Who You Are. To help them with this endeavor, he band enlisted Producer Ross Robinson, who also produced Korn’s self-titled 1994 debut, and 1996′s Life is Peachy.
A few bars into the first single, “Oildale (Leave Me Alone),” and it’s instantly clear that the production plays a huge role in separating this album from other recent Korn recordings. Robinson and band have stripped the music back to a more organic sound, not buried under too many audio layers and studio magic. The result is crisp, powerful, and energetic songs.
This is the first Korn album to feature new full-time drummer Ray Luzier (formerly of Army of Anyone). We first get a taste of Luzier’s percussion prowess in the song “Pop a Pill.” It sounds incredible to hear Luzier and Fieldy (Reginald Arvizu) perform in absolute sync. The rhythm section is so tight that you’d think they’d been playing together for years. It also sounds like having Luzier to work with is allowing Fieldy to lay down some really outstanding bass-lines.
When reading about this album, I keep seeing the word “simple” tossed around, like the music has been dumbed down in some way. Simple is not the adjective I would choose to describe the music. Aggressive, infectious, rapid, and eerie, are better descriptive words, especially when trying to describe Munky’s (James Shaffer’s) guitar-work.
The guitar in songs like “Lead the Parade” is anything but simple, with interesting chord progressions and rapid, often jarring changes. This may be as close to a Beatles song as Korn will ever create… if the Beatles somehow merged with the Dead Kennedys in an alternate universe. The structure of the song is maddening, with Jonathan Davis’ narrative painted over it. If your not agitated by the end of the song, check your pulse.
The album closes with “Holding All These Lies”, which features fast and heavy verses, and a more melodic chorus. Midway through, the track breaks-down to a quiet tone, then explodes again into a powerful cathartic opus. Not unlike the final track on their self-titled debut, “Daddy,” Davis bears his soul and pours so much of himself into the music, that by the end of it he can be heard weeping in the background. While listening, you may begin to realize at this point that you’re white knuckled and holding your breath waiting for the tension to abate so the air can come back into the room.
This is the Korn album you’ve been waiting for.
Track Listing:
- “Uber-Time”
- “Oildale (Leave Me Alone)”
- “Pop a Pill”
- “Fear Is a Place to Live”
- “Move On”
- “Lead the Parade”
- “Let the Guilt Go”
- “The Past”
- “Never Around”
- “Are You Ready to Live?”
- “Holding All These Lies”
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