BIOGRAPHY
Korn was formed in 1993 when members of two bands merged: Sexart and LAPD. Sexart was the band that vocalist Jonathan Davis was in during the years that he was working as an assistant coroner, and consisted of Jonathan Davis on vocals, DeRoo (David DeRoo) on bass, Chaka (Ray Solis) and Ryan Schuck on guitar, and Denis Shinn on drums. LAPD's members were Richard Morales (vocalist), James "Munky" Shaffer on Guitar, Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu on Bass, David Silveria on drums, and on tour only (not on the album) Brian "Head" Welch on Guitar.
They first met each other at a Sexart show in Bakersfield, California. Munky and Head had gone to a bar, and were about to leave when Sexart came on. They were so amazed at the performance that they watched the whole set. Afterwards Munky and Head asked Jon to join their new band Creep, a reformed version of LAPD (minus Richard on vocals). At first he didn't want to, and continued with Sexart. But after a psychic told him to join them instead (maybe not in so many words), he decided that he would.
After Jon was recruited, they decided to get a new name. Jon suggested Korn as just a brainstorm, but everyone else liked it. So Jon got a Crayola crayon and wrote their logo in a child's handwriting, with a "K" instead of "C" and a backwards upper-case "R". Korn was born.
Later, Korn recorded a demo tape called "Niedermeyer's Mind", which had four very rare songs: Blind, Predictable, Daddy and Alive. While almost all of them appear on their first album, they are apparently quite different. Alive somehow managed to transform into Need To on the album. Predictable was virtually the same.
Korn managed to create a reasonable following, and a lot of record companies were paying attention to them. It's not that Korn were hesitating to sign up, they just feared that they wouldn't have as much freedom as they did when unsigned. They finally chose Immortal Records, whom they claim gave them plenty of freedom with their album. Ross Robinson was hired to produce it, they recorded it, and the rest is history.
ALBUM REVIEW
K o R n - K o R n
Written by Korn
Produced by Ross Robinson
Released on October 11, 1994
Running length of 56 minutes, 24 seconds
Introduction
Back when Grunge was ruling the airwaves and MTV was on a 24 hour high, a lot of people complained about how bad music had gotten, and how it had changed the industry into a capitalistic vacuum. Meanwhile, in the town of Bakersfield, California, there was something brewing. Although not unleashed yet, it would be destined to change music once again and save the industry from grunge. Depending on your musical tastes however, you may think this band had destroyed music for the worst.
Either way, Korn were a massive blow to the industry and certainly something different. Korn took thrash metal, threw away the predictable drum beats, vocal stylings and guitar solos and produced something like no had ever seen. Quite simply, they made true ANGRY music. Pure emotion.
Korn's first self-titled album is, in some eyes, their best album. While I personally thing their fifth album, Untouchables, is the best, this is a very close second. From the moment vocalist Jonathan Davis screams "Are you ready?!" on the first track, Blind, to when we hear Jon fall down crying at the end, Korn is a massive, brutal assault on the senses. With Munky and Head's downtuned, distorted guitars belting out incredible riffs, Jon screaming himself hoarse and Fieldy's clicky bass coupled with a VERY loud drum set courtesy of David Silveria, Korn unwittingly created a whole new sub-genre all on their own. Good for them, eh?
If you were introduced to Korn in one of their later albums (Follow The Leader onwards), you may be surprised at how different this album actually sounds compared to everything else. Much more raw, with no real creativity found like in later work, it sounds more like a live album than a studio album, with Jon screaming and bashing things in-between stanzas. It's quite cool really. But just remember this - try before you buy.
And no matter what anyone else says, this is not rap-rock in any sense of the word. Considering there is no actual rapping in any of these songs, they cannot be rap-rock. The term is nu-metal.
Track Listing:
- Blind
- Ball Tongue
- Need To
- Clown
- Divine
- Faget
- Shoots and Ladders
- Predictable
- Fake
- Lies
- Helmet in the Bush
- Daddy
For reference, Korn are:
- Jonathan Davis - Vocals/Bagpipes
- Head - Guitar
- Munky - Guitar
- Fieldy - Bass
- David Silveria - Drums
Sleeve Art
The sleeve art inside the cover shows a small girl on a swing, with a large man with what seems to be a small knife standing over her. You don't see the man, only his shadow. The Korn logo is also beamed down like a shadow to cool effect. Considering the majority theme of this album is how Jon got bullied and how he'd like to get his revenge on people, this works pretty well.
Song Meanings
Note: If you would like to contribute your feelings toward any of these songs, or you think I may be wrong, /msg me and I'll add it.
- Blind
This is about how Jon always used to take drugs to escape from reality. It shows how he wanted to change, but couldn't because he wasn't confident in himself to make a sudden change in his lifestyle. Great intro! "Another place I find / to escape the pain inside / you don't know the chances / what if I should die?"
- Ball Tongue
This song is about a person who used to sell t-shirts for Korn, who just happened to have a piercing in his tongue. Apparently he disconnected himself from the band and didn't treat them very well. "There you are alone / With no hope of ever having something to be proud of / Something earned without begging".
- Need To
Jon never had a good track record with relationships, as he was so used to begin screwed over or betrayed by his girlfriend. This is about how he doesn't have the confidence to start relationships, because he fears they will end up with him being screwed over. "You pull me closer, I push you away / You tell me it's okay, I can't help but feel the pain".
- Clown
Starting with what sounds like a rehearsing session, Clown is the name given to all the people who called him names and beat him up during high school, because they were scared of him being an individual. This was sparked by someone who came up to Jon after a show and for no apparent reason tried to hit him ("Our road manager Jeff knocked his ass out" - Jonathan Davis). "Anger inside builds within my body / Why you hate me? What have I done? / You tried to hit me!"
- Divine
When Jon broke up with someone, he was heartbroken that he wouldn't have her again. But then she wanted him back, and Jon seized the moment and showed her what it was like to have something you couldn't have. He knows he's a better person than her anyway, and uses this to his advantage. "You're definitely one of a kind, and / You're suffering 'cause of me - it's divine".
- Faget
This is about how Jon was picked on at school and called a faget and such for wearing make-up and hanging around in gay bars. Though he claims that he is purely heterosexual and isn't homophobic, a lot of people still bash him for this and he has to live with it. "Walking stereotypes feeding their heads / I am ugly. Please just go away".
- Shoots and Ladders
This is a cool song. Following a lengthy bagpipe solo, the lyrics consist almost completely of nursery rhymes except the chorus, and is about the hidden "evil" in the rhymes, as a lot of them are about the black plague and such. "Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head / Into my childhood they're spoon fed".
- Predictable
This is another song about how Jon gets himself in another relationship with a predictable ending - he'll get dumped again, or they will cheat on him etc. "I can, in every way / Feel the strength that tingles up inside / Too blind to see emptiness and sorrow of their lives".
- Fake
This is similar to Clown, except focuses more on how everyone except him is acting and dressed up exactly the same as their peers, or how everyone is in a certain group. It also explains how people couldn't handle Jon being so different to them. "I can't stand the sight of you / I can't stand what you put me through / Your life's a lie that you hide / Is it that terrible being you inside?".
- Lies
Again, the same as Clown and Fake. The inability to be individual and stand out from the crowd in fear of being bullied and left-out. "I would like to search inside for all of the things that you will hide / What's the problem? / Can't you seem to set loose these problems that haunt and taunt you?".
- Helmet in the Bush
Apparently, the person at the beginning is one of Korn's best friends called Michael (who likes Taco Bell). This song is about how Jon had a speed problem when he was younger and how he could never sleep at night. This is one of the best songs, if not the best song on the album. "Please God let me sleep tonight / Everyday confronted / Fuck off, it's giving in / I just wanna know why! / Want to give it up but I can't escape".
- Daddy
One of the most emotionally disturbing songs I have ever listened to, and not easy to sit through in one listen at all. A lot of people think it is about his dad raping him, but it was actually a close family friend who was doing this. He told his parents, but they wouldn't believe him. At the end, you can hear Jon break down and cry in the middle of the song. They decided to keep the tape rolling, and you can hear Jon walking out of the studio at the end. They have only played it once live, but couldn't finish it even then because Jon broke down again. "You raped! / I feel dirty / It hurt! / As a child / Tied down! / That's a good boy / And fuck! / Your own child / I scream! / No one hears me / It hurt! / I'm not a liar / My God! / Saw you watching / Mommy why?! / Your own child".
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
- Blind
- Ball Tongue
- Shoots and Ladders
- Faget
- Helmet in the bush
With Korn's first album, nu-metal was born. While at the time it wasn't hated as much, nor was it as big (that wasn't to come until Limp Bizkit hit the scene), they were to be labelled as nu-metal's fathers in the coming years. A lot of people who listen to Korn don't like to grou them off with other "radio metal" acts such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park etc. mainly because they are, quite rightly, very different (even the band themselves hate the term "nu-metal"). Some have labelled them the king of nu-metal. And rightly so. This album shows it.
Produced by Ross Robinson
Mixing and Engineering by Chuck Johnson
Mastering by Eddy Schreyer
Photography by Stephen Stickler
May many nice things happen to:
alex
CzarKhan
Irexe
wertperch
Sources:
http://www.songmeanings.net
http://www.gotkorn.com
http://www.korn.com