Korn: the 30th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Oct. 27, 2024, 6:32 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 30th anniversary of Korn's self-titled debut album, which many music historians regard as the first nu-metal album. Korn's debut album was a significant milestone in music history, as it introduced an entirely new style to the world, combining the dreary, heavily-downtuned sound of grunge with the aggression of heavy metal, as well as lyrics that focused very heavily on personal and social issues, including social ostracization, domestic violence, substance abuse, and feelings of isolation and worthlessness. The band's sound was delivered via the tortured and haunting vocals of frontman Jonathan Davis and complimented by the intensity of their instruments, most notably the buzzsaw shredding of guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch, as well as the ferocious rumble of bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu. Many of the songs on Korn's debut album remain some of the band's most popular compositions to this day, including Blind, Ball Tongue, Shoots and Ladders, and Daddy, a deeply personal narrative about Davis's experiences in being abused by his father during his childhood.
Most music historians now regard Korn's debut album as being the first, or one of the first, nu metal albums, and that sentiment does seem to hold some truth, since numerous other nu metal bands, most notably Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, and Drowning Pool, show clear influence from Korn in their early releases, in terms of both instrumental sound and lyrical content.
I am not a major fan of Korn, but shall admit that I was somewhat fond of them during my middle and high school years, since they were still a new and very popular band, at that time, and their lyrics spoke to me, as an adolescent who was seeking to find my place in the world, but I lost interest them after I graduated and went to college, which is when I began to listen to classic heavy metal bands, such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and so forth, but I still believe that it would be only proper to recognize this milestone, given Korn's importance and influence in music history.
I believe that Korn did already have a tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their debut album, which is very good, as that albums definitely deserves to be honored. How does everyone else feel about this year being the 30th anniversary of Korn's debut album?
ouroborobelisk says... #3
For me, it makes me feel old LOL! You forgot to mention their fusion of Hip Hop beats & lyrical flow along with the Grunge & Metal esthetics, something later improved upon & perfected by Limp Bizkit. And I would mention that Seprature broke up due to creative differences, with Max leaving for wanting to make more Korn influenced sounding songs ::cough:: ROOTS ::cough:: which he did with Soulfly.
October 30, 2024 3:15 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #4
Sepultura, right? '^^
I've seen Korn perform live this summer, very solid concert still.
October 30, 2024 3:31 p.m.
ouroborobelisk says... #5
Yeah, you got me. I reread and corrected that twice & it still got posted misspelled LOL!
Abaques says... #2
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr u ready??????
Korn's self-titled album was pretty ground breaking at the time. I was listening to a lot of Pantera, Sepultura and Fear Factory when Korn came out. I certainly got into Korn at the time, but eventually my interests shifted into death metal and then eventually into hardcore and punk (before circling back into more of the classics). I think that nu-metal in general was something that got too formulaic too quickly with tons of bands jumping on Korn's bandwagon, but I know it's undergoing a bit of a renascence these days.
October 29, 2024 11:20 a.m.