Korn
Korn III: Remember Who You Are
01. Uber-Time
02. Oildale (Leave Me Alone)
03. Pop A Pill
04. Fear Is A Place To Live
05. Move On
06. Lead The Parade
07. Let The Guilt Go
08. The Past
09. Never Around
10. Are You Ready To Live?
11. Holding All These Lies
I must have mentioned this a thousand times: I used to be a huge Korn fan, and I think I’ll always hold a place for them in my heart, as they are the ones that introduced me to heavier music. As such, the thought of Korn supposedly returning to their roots for their third self titled album was a little exciting, although I wasn’t really holding my breath. I mean come on, how many bands say they’re going to be “returning to their roots” for a new album and have it actually work out as hoped? The success rate is few and far between. You can’t really expect much though, as a lot of these bands have been around for a long time. Bands go through lineup changes and turmoil, managing to stay active long after their popularity has peaked, seemingly against all odds.
Let’s rewind a little. Seventeen years ago, Korn released their game changing debut album, Korn. The album sparked a movement called nu-metal, which gained major popularity and a wave of bands riding on their coat-tails. I regard 1993′s Korn as a classic, to what is sure to be much protest from the metal community. Admit it, we grew up on it and we loved the shit out of that and other Korn albums in the 90s. Along the way, we grew out of that style and into heavier stuff. A dedicated fanbase, myself included, decided to stick with Korn through the years and see what they could come up with. I was on board up until 2007′s Untitled (a.k.a. Korn II). I loved that album and its industrial quirks and experimentation. I think this is the point where I finally moved on though, as I didn’t listen to them all that much since and found it hard to care too much when they announced Korn III.
I had a little hope, however. While it was sort of a trip to know I was listening to some new Korn (I admit, I was sort of excited once the download started), I had my worries. I sat down and gave the album my undivided attention and listened to it several times. I picked the album apart and dissected it, and more importantly, I really tried to enjoy myself. How did it measure up?
It was pretty okay, I guess.
