KORN | The Nothing | Album Review

Throughout decades of material, Korn has stood out as a big name and as a band that has continued to thrive in a changing musical landscape. Since 1994, the band has delivered albums that vary in sound, from pioneering the nu-metal style with massively successful albums like "Follow The Leader" and their self-titled debut, to going in a more electronic route and even dubstep on newer releases. As the 25 year anniversary of Korn's debut project is impending, we've now been given Korn's thirteenth studio project titled, "The Nothing". Over the years, many people who know the name Korn have been accustomed to the band's typical lyrical themes of misery and feeling hopeless. This time around, that theme is rampant across the entirety of this album but contextually it stands out a lot more. Korn's frontman Johnathan Davis has gone through several tragedies over the timeframe since their last disc "The Serenity Of Suffering" and now, the main one revolving around his wife Deven Davis' passing due to a drug overdose in 2018. Korn have simply gone through a lot recently, so logically, an album with a much darker tone that is Davis' way of venting his feelings is necessary. The band has had mixed reception over the years, some calling them legends of their craft while others mock them for appearing irrelevant and laying the foundation for a style that is predominantly mocked. My opinion is that Korn can make anything work, and they are not the same band as they were in the 1990's, so "The Nothing" should be looked at as interesting. 

After the intro track "The End Begins" sets everything up with the return of Davis' bagpipe playing and Davis crying while the delivery of the lyrics comes into play, it becomes even more apparent that this is a rather dismal album. This is one of the best album intros I've heard all year and that is followed up by the two main singles, "Cold" and the song currently charting on rock radio, "You'll Never Find Me", both of which open the album up on a strong footing. This is undeniably Korn. The riffs, Munky's bass playing, Davis' delivery. It's the style that fans want from a Korn album and they do a good job at staying true to themselves while also adding newer elements to the table to differentiate these songs from other works. The production on both tracks comes in clear and the mixing from Josh Wilbur is excellent. "Cold" in particular feels like Korn's alternative metal style blended in with a heavy guitar presence, primarily the pre-chorus. It's one of Korn's catchiest and best songs in years and it perfectly exhibits the dark side of the album while still being a well executed song. "You'll Never Find Me" is closer to the norm in terms of Korn's style, but it also works. There is a solid hook in the chorus and Davis excels in his vocal performance backed behind the aggressive guitar riffs. It proves my point once again that this band can make songs that sound similar to past work but still place a ton of appeal and emotion behind them, unlike most of the big name bands that follow similar routes in terms of their musical color palette.

Looking at the rest of "The Nothing", the similarity between past works is blaringly evident. Most of these tracks are played in the same tuning that Korn has utilized throughout their career, and the songs are structurally, lyrically, and musically similar to a majority of the band's other songs. The main difference between bands that copy and paste from previous albums and this band is the fact that "The Nothing" has tragic inspiration behind it as I mentioned earlier. The darker tone brought forth by these events is present throughout the weaker and stronger cuts recorded for this project. The second half of the album has more potency to me than the first half, though. The first half isn't too bad at what it's trying but songs such as "The Ringmaster" and "Gravity Of Discomfort" have some of the stronger rhythms and hooks of the entire album. The relationship between the verses and the melodic chorus is stellar on "The Ringmaster", meanwhile "Gravity Of Discomfort" is probably my favorite song on this project. The instrumental here is fantastic and it is proof that Davis accels when it comes to his vocal performance on "The Nothing". Whether it be his singing on tracks like "Finally Free" or his guttural vocals that appear in tracks like "Idiosyncrasy" and the aforementioned single "Cold", this seems like a record he took seriously in order to put his feelings on display. Everything here flows well, and it's proof that you don't have to rely on the same style and make it a rehash. 

On the other hand, though, if you're making an album that's similar to other works at least in its tone, there will be moments that blend together. It's inevitable in an album of songs cut from similar cloth. For example, the song "The Darkness Is Nothing" gives off that effect. Not only does that track compare to the rest, but the rhythms here are not up to par with tracks like "H@rd3r" or "You'll Never Find Me". Also, "The Seduction Of Indulgence" is probably the weakest interlude of the entire album. Whereas the tracks "The End Begins" and "Surrender To Failure" have a place on the album as they are the bookends, "The Seduction Of Indulgence" works in a lyrical hook that doesn't work quite as well. Other than that, Korn succeeds on a good majority of this 13-track album. Music can be delivered especially well when the musicians behind it have suffered through tragedy and hardship that serves as the catalyst for what they want to illustrate across an album's runtime. And while "The Nothing" is not exempt from the occasional flaw that does bring the experience down a bit, you are thrown right back into the intensity with heavy riffs, solid rhythms, and the standard sound fans expect from Korn. Overall, "The Nothing" might not be one of the albums that brings Korn to a new level of success in their near three decade career, but nothing resonates more than a band doing what they do best with a deeper element behind it, and that's what this album brings forth. 

RATING: 7/10 

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