To Buy Or Download By Josh Nason: Korn - Untouchables
Posted by Josh Nason on 08.28.2002
Please, no funny food references
Much like the professional wrestling landscape is divided into smarts
(know-it-alls) and marks (people that go nuts for stuff smarts just brush
off), Korn has their own division within their fans.
Ever since Follow The Leader met Total Request Live, songs like “Got The
Life,” “Freak On A Leash,” and any other Korn release have found their way
into the daily MTV feel-good. This essentially created a new brand of Korn
fan that was waaaayyyy more mainstream than the brand created when the
innovators of “nu metal” emerged from the seamy underbelly of California in
the late 1990s.
Thus, you have the Korn Complex - every album since Leader is either just
like their pre-Leader sound (harder) or their post-Leader sound (a more pop
oriented). Their latest effort, Untouchables, will fall under the same
scrutiny but is a great combination of the two Korn styles - crunching
guitars and bass that have more than a hint of melody, enough to make you
bob your head while getting punched right in the mug.
The major standout on this fifth Korn effort? The unbelievable meshing of
James Shaffer/Brian Welch’s guitars with Fieldy’s bass lines, which finally
overshadows Jonathan Davis’ tortured vocals. “Blame” (track 3) and “Bottled
Up Inside” (track 5) show how far the trio has come since the destructive
sound of their first two albums, while “Thoughtless” (track 6) is simply one
of Korn’s best songs…ever.
Nothing new to report on Davis’ vocals as they remain unchanged from any
previous album, sounding more like a tortured prisoner of war than a lead
singer of a rock band. He still shows more vocal range on “Hating” (track 7)
than others, but it certainly doesn’t take away from the album. It’s still
Korn, no matter how mainstream their act becomes.
I read in a recent review that Untouchables has a hint of pop styling in it,
which made me do a double take upon reading it. Intently I listened to the
disc again and I’ll be damned if I don’t agree with that statement. While
Korn will never be confused for N’Sync, “Alone I Break” (track 9) sounds
like an angrier version of something you’d hear on Top 40 radio and in
general, the catchy rhythms permeate Untouchables. Hey, I never thought I’d
say it either but I guess you can never truly escape pop.
The only deterrent - the ever-present theme of depression (“Hating”) and
youthful torment (“Thoughtless”). But there is a feel good song, “Wake Up
Hate” - track 12. This is Korn’s fifth studio album and if you average 13
songs a disc, that would be 65 songs. Don’t you think the issues would have
been worked out by now? I realize those themes will always be part of Korn’s
presence, but there must reach a point where a band’s focus should change to
something new.
Until that point, we have Untouchables. While similar to past Korn efforts,
it’s a great album that is a must-have for Korn fans on both sides of the
fence. While not the classic Floyd or Zeppelin disc that Davis is trying to
make, Korn continues to knock on that ground-breaking door that the
afore-mentioned band sit behind.
Nason’s pick: It’s worth buying.
The 411: A nice blend of old and new Korn, Untouchables will please those
