Despite being everywhere for a chunk of my high school years, I have very little memory of Korn now. Had you asked me before I listened to this album what I remember of them, I might have been able to come up with the name of “Freak on a Leash”…maybe. I bet I would have needed help to come up with the right name.
So I don’t know that I really had expectations for this beyond “Oh great, nu metal.” And I must say that, at times, I was pleasantly surprised. Particularly by Davis, who does at least have a relatively unique approach to singing and who, at times, does not sound like “generic nu metal singer.” (Though he sure does at other times.)
There are songs that are somewhat catchy and, occasionally, I think that maybe the lyrics might be okay for this genre. (Other times, such as with the infamous “All in the Family,” I do not feel that way.)
One of the guitarists overuses an effect on his guitar but at least he sounds different than other guitarists. So with him plus Davis you at least get a unique sound which stands out from some other nu metal bands (to the best of my knowledge).
But the record is way too long – as you would expect a record from 1998, few of them are reasonable in length – and there’s not enough decent material to outweigh the worst tracks.
Still, this was better than I was expecting it to be.
6/10
By the way: why did everyone in the late ’90s record their bass guitars so you can hear them hammering on the strings? Why was that a trend?
All songs written by Korn except “Earache My Eye” written by Tommy Chong, Gaye Delorme and Richard Marin. All guest appearances feature an extra writing credit by the guest.
- “It’s On!” 4:28
- “Freak on a Leash” 4:15
- “Got the Life” 3:45
- “Dead Bodies Everywhere” 4:44
- “Children of the Korn” (featuring Ice Cube) 3:52
- “B.B.K.” 3:56
- “Pretty” 4:12
- “All in the Family” (featuring Fred Durst) 4:48
- “Reclaim My Place” 4:32
- “Justin” 4:17
- “Seed” 5:54
- “Cameltosis” (featuring Tre Hardson) 4:38
- “My Gift to You”
- “Earache My Eye”
- Jonathan Davis – vocals, bagpipes
- Head – lead and rhythm guitars
- Munky – rhythm and lead guitars
- Fieldy – bass
- David Silveria – drums
Additional Musicians
- Fred Durst – vocals
- Tre Hardson – vocals
- Ice Cube – vocals
- Cheech Marin – vocals
- Justin Z. Walden – drums, programming