Well, we reach that time again. Its time for the latest in the most eagerly anticipated albums of the year. Dont you just love them? Well maybe, as long as they dont come with a bonus fucking remix CD. Excuse me a moment.
Nonononononononononononononono.
Thanks. Right, forget that, the album. Feels familiar, when you look at the layout. Hope this isnt a sign of things to come. Lets face it, Life Is Peachy was shite. It had a major flaw. Lack of songs. The other thing was that Jon gave up on singing, a major mistake in my opinion. FtL at least rectifies this, which is a good thing. But for me, its still not there. Maybe I shouldnt compare with the debut. I dont think theyre going to top that, and I dont think theyre trying to, which is fair enough. As for this, well, its difficult to approach with an open mind, because due to the eager anticipation weve been told what its like havent we? A departure. More hip hop. Even phater. Sorry, that should be PHATER. Has to be phat these days. Well, its not really. Theres more evidence of riffs, more fluid guitar, rather than the squeaks, squeals and scratches of LiP. This is a good thing. But take a track like In The Family. The its Fred and Jon facing off at each other. Man hilarious. We barbecued our ribs after they fell out from laughing, and had a good old munch on them. Its so good. Like old school rappers facing off and hurling abuse. Right, so Im expecting this like up in your face mess with me and Ill kill you fucker of a song, and you get a laid back, lets include as many Korn songs as possible thing, where, well, if Jon is rapping then he sounds crap. Without the hype it may well have felt like a good song. But instead .... Look, you may say judge as it is, yeah, ok, but we all do this sort of thing. If something is hyped, we are influenced, we are swayed in some way. Were set up. Thats what hype is about. And the people that hype then have to accept that people may well make some unfair judgements. Its a part of the tradeoff. Hype brings publicity, but that can be good as well as bad. Im just being honest here in my view on things. If it isnt your favourite band, Ill bet that you do it as well.
But theres enough of those old Jon I think its the point in the song where I muahwah ahaa aha twist, loose it to keep everyone happy. Yep, Korn have firmly established their own identity, to the extent where if you dont like them, you can point to things that are reassuringly the same. And every band has that.
You can probably tell Im struggling. You should be able to. Put it like this, the first time I played it, I took it off half way through and put on something else. Too long an album. Many have fallen prey to this.
And what of Got The Life. Mannnnn, its disco. Yeah right, and I can fucking dance. Justin is the tale of a terminally ill kid. Touching. Youre going to die. I know Korn always have to throw their own slant on things, but, well, hmmm. And the song of dead bodies in the morgue and whatever. Ah well. Amazing how so many people identify with the lyrics. Not for me to judge, but do you? Do you really?
Me going for the jugular now. Yet another band determined to get a novelty aspect on CD. This time starting on track 13. Mmmmm. And that god damn, fucking, yeargh, stupid ass, grrrr, hidden track bonus thing. STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT. PLEASE. JUST INCLUDE THE FUCKING THING ON THE LISTING. YOURE NOT FOOLING ANYONE. STUPID FUCKING RECORD LABELS. Do that and you have 14 tracks, therefore no need for the little novelty act. Have to wait to see what Mr Manson can come up with now wont we.
Ive listened a few times now, and its still not doing it for me. Maybe theres a part of me didnt want to like it, and thats winning through at the moment. Didnt want to like it, because as great as the debut was, and it was/still is, LiP was crap, and Korn have really become victims of their own success, appearing as arrogant rock stars. The invention and mystery is gone. Makes me a trendy wannabie I know. Jump on the bandwagon as it suits, and then turn my back on them when they become popular. Yeah Ive heard all those arguments before. Maybe its actually me just making my own decision, not the one the press tells me to, and making the decision that the songs simply dont do it for me. Pure and simple as that. For all the new twists (sorry!) in there, it still feels like Ive heard them before, and the new twists appear to be used in just about every song. Its a great sound, but one that simply for my attention span has begun to wear thinner than a very thin thing. But next time they tour Ill still go and see them. Knowing what a hypocrite I can be, Ill probably see them a few times. That will be the test. LiP sounded better live, but even there they were stagnating. Relying on a reputation built on the debut. In a word, they were boring. Now is the time for them to remedy that. The album hasnt managed it for me, so now its down to the gig.
The artwork show minions following a leader. Which many have picked up on. But the leader is running out of ground. A big fall is approaching. Any significance there?
At the end of the day it doesnt matter what I or anyone else says. Youll have already made up your mind on this one based on whether you like the band or not. For those who love them and want to say you suck or fuck you to me, remember, its my opinion. Dont Follow The Leader all the time, make your own decision. If you vehmenently disagree, then write your own reviews. At the end of the day, its a shame its not as good as Earthtone 9. Or Medulla Nocte. Or Pulkas. Or Milque. Or .... get the picture. There is more out there.
Luke warm rather than scolding the fingers.