Korn was natural and grew underground until it was harvested by the music industry and became a bunch of seeds in a Pop-Secret bag. When the secret got out, it inflated with the heat of stardom. Despite its puffed-up fame, the group has yet to make any significant improvements in its sound and "Issues" continues Korn's creatively stale legacy.
The band's self-titled debut was the last word in raging fury about adolescent and childhood abuse. Over the years, lead singer Jonathan Davis seems to have purged his demons through his profoundly emotional lyrics and intense live performances. On "Issues," he seems to be fumbling, looking around for anything he can possibly get angry about that will fill an entire album.
The genuine conviction and intensity that set Korn above its heavy peers has gone up in smoke. Davis scarcely growls anymore and his anger sounds forced. His vocal acrobatics of the past mostly are relegated to simple hip-hop rhythm and whining.
Some redeeming aspects, however, still are at work. Munky and Head's dueling guitars continue to play off of each other with the excitement and energy of a game of "Shoots and Ladders" during recess. The diversity and vigor behind the drumming is equally absorbing. But Fieldy restrains his usually impressive bass work here, keeping it low in the mix for no apparent reason.
As the album title suggests, "Issues" deals with a variety of problems mostly personal ones within the band members' lives.
"Wake Up" and "Beg For Me" express how difficult it is to be a rock star and all the pressures and conflicts it causes within a band. In "Wake Up," Davis boldly proclaims "I'm not happy." Surely Korn's urban, adolescent, baggy-pants wearing fan base will be shedding tears and feeling sympathy for the plight. "Counting" is a diatribe against greedy figures in the rock industry that are only interested in money. (A bit of self-criticism, perhaps?)
Switching gears drastically, Davis writes "Trash" from the point of view of a child rapist. "Hey Daddy" shows Davis continuing to milk his traumatic childhood: "They say this thing inside me wants to get out / All it does is scream and shout / I'm trying not to let it out."
Although "Issues" contains 16 songs, along with a redundant hidden track, it's not a particularly long album. Five of the tracks clock in at less than two minutes and feature unusual instrument experimentation.
A few tracks will probably get fans moshing - "Wake Up" and "Let's Get This Party Started" in particular. It doesn't change the fact, however, that most songs simply consist of the same three down-tuned riffs from the band's last three albums played in a few different, numbing combinations.
Several interesting sections or twists break up the monotony, such as the "breakdown" near the end of "Trash" and the bass solo in "Hey Daddy." The bridges between chorus and verse on a number of tracks tend to be Korn's most interesting aspects.
The album would be much more effective if the band had integrated this experimental streak into all of its repetitive and sloppy alternative ditties. The absence of new and unique riffs and progressions is a severe drain on the album.
Davis' signature bagpipes are used only once and synthesizers are barely audible along the way. Still, a few unique touches are cause for hope for some clever songs in Korn's future - but only if Davis can find 16 more reasons to get angry.
"Issues" is not worthless, and a couple of tracks may even become favorites among Korn's less discriminating fans. But it remains the band's worst effort yet. Take this album and shuck it.
Grade: C-
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
