With the emergence of the grunge movement in the early to mid-1990s, heavy metal lost its foothold in mainstream music. Metal bands were suddenly forced to adapt in order to survive. Some bands began revamping their imagine in an effort to better fit in while others took to experimenting with the genre by fusing metal with different musical styles, risking fan backlash in their effort to carve out a place for metal in the alternative rock landscape.
As one of metal’s torchbearers, Korn relaunched the genre with their mix of alternative metal, grunge, hip hop and funk. Initially introduced in 1993 with the release of the band’s demo tape, Neidermeyer’s Mind, nu metal was ushered in on the backs of metal fans who helped push Korn to the top of the charts. The band became the new face of metal music five years later with the #1 debut of their third album, Follow the Leader. Korn took “heavy” to whole new depths with their down-tuned guitars and soul-baring lyrics, while Follow the Leader shot the band to heights they never saw coming.
The huge success of Follow the Leader caught Korn by surprise. The band, whose Family Values Tour had them playing to bigger and bigger crowds and selling boatloads of records as a result, were suddenly thrust into the realm of rock stardom with all its many perks and temptations. The band toured incessantly behind Follow the Leader but life on the road, coupled with the intense media and industry pressure that followed in the wake of their success, began to exact a toll. Infighting and creative differences cropped up, and some band members fell to substance abuse while vocalist Jonathan Davis met a funk so dark he was prescribed Prozac.
Despite the discord, the band headed back into the studio to record a follow-up album. Issues was released in November 1999 and was the band’s second consecutive #1 debut on the Billboard 200, beating out the highly-anticipated albums of both Dr. Dre (2001) and Celine Dion (greatest hits). The record included the singles “Falling Away from Me,” “Make Me Bad,” and “Somebody Someone,” all of which were staples on MTVs Total Request Live.
Issues marked a shift from the hip hop infused metal of the band’s earlier albums to a more alternative/industrial metal sound. To celebrate the album’s release, Korn performed Issues live and in its entirety at New York’s historic Apollo Theater, making them the first rock band, and only the second predominantly white musical group, ever to perform at the Apollo.
The group worked for the next year and half on their fifth album, Untouchables, which was released in June 2002. Debuting at #2, the album was well received by critics and included some of the band’s most aggressive work to that point but had a disappointing show overall when compared to the band’s previous releases. Untouchables was Korn’s second alt-metal effort, although the record did include hip hop on certain tracks. The first video to be released from the album, “Here to Stay,” earned the band a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.
Korn followed up Untouchables with Take a Look in the Mirror, which dropped in July 2003 just as nu metal’s popularity had begun to wane due in large part to metal bands straying too far from the sound that made them popular in the first place. Metal bands began seeing less and less airplay and lost the support of MTV when the station switched focus from metal to pop punk and emo bands. Korn has admitted to rushing Mirror in an effort to get the album out quickly due to the lackluster performance of Untouchables, and as part of the 2003 Ozzfest lineup, they were also faced with the time restraint of the impending tour. In their effort to get the band back on track, Korn returned to the more aggressive sound of their earlier albums on Mirror, including a collaboration with rapper Nas on the song “Play Me,” which made Mirror the first Korn album to feature such a collaboration since Follow the Leader. The release also included a live cover of Metallica’s “One.”
Take a Look in the Mirror peaked at #9 and would be the last studio album recorded with the band’s original lineup. Korn cofounder Brian “Head” Welch left the group in early 2005 after a religious conversion in which he credits God for having cured him of a crippling drug addiction. Welch said at the time that he had “...chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end.” Welch, a single father, also wanted to devote more time to raising his daughter Jennea.
Korn’s first album post-Welch was See You on the Other Side. Released in December 2005, the album was a critical and commercial success for the band, debuting at #3 on the charts and staying in the top 100 of Billboard’s 200 for 34 consecutive weeks. See You on the Other Side produced the singles “Twisted Transistor,” “Politics,” and “Coming Undone” and has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Korn resurrected their Family Values Tour shortly after the album’s release.
Other Side was also significant in that it marked the loss of yet another co-founding member of the band when drummer David Silveria announced in December 2006 that he was going on indefinite hiatus. In the ensuing years since his departure from the band, it has been rumored that Silveria has gone and sold all his equipment, right down to his drumsticks. For the past couple years, he has been running his sushi restaurants and bar/grill joints, choosing a life of relative anonymity to that of rock star.
Korn released their eighth studio album in July 2007. The untitled release charted at #2 but ultimately proved to be the band's least successful release to date, barely surpassing sales of 500,000 copies. With softer, more complex songs like “Kiss” and “Hushabye,” the album met with mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, some of whom complained that the band had made too much of a departure from their signature sound on Untitled while still others claimed the change was indicative of the band’s maturing.
Whatever your position on Untitled, what comes next from Korn promises to pack a wallop. According to producer Ross Robinson, the upcoming album (slated for an April/May 2010 release though no date has yet to be confirmed) will be “ruthless and remind everyone who can kill them.” Yeah!
The 2010 Mayhem Festival lineup was recently announced with Korn headlining alongside Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch. The Festival kicks off in July and runs through August in the States and Canada. Check out the band’s website at www.modlife.com/korn for tour dates.
