I've been somewhat warming up to this album. While I dislike most nu metal, it seems clear listening to this that Korn was actually trying to make something new. They couldn't have been in it for the money, because they had no idea money was to be made. It may have spawned some awful bands, but viewed by itsef is a decent album. If I was to review it, it would likely get a 7 or so.

Written by [user id=111774] on 29.05.2011 at 07:01

I've been somewhat warming up to this album. While I dislike most nu metal, it seems clear listening to this that Korn was actually trying to make something new. They couldn't have been in it for the money, because they had no idea money was to be made. It may have spawned some awful bands, but viewed by itsef is a decent album. If I was to review it, it would likely get a 7 or so.

Exactly. It was just pure chance and good luck for Korn that the album and their sound became the success that it did, as there was literally no band who sounded like them at the time. Whereas many "nu metal" bands who followed them were just trying to emulate a successful formula, Korn had nobody to emulate or to try and copy at the time they started. Korn's style did spawn some awful bands, and this is the main reason many metal fans vilify them. Though to be fair to Korn, most of the band's they helped spawn suck compared to them, and have never released anything as great as they have. No matter what anyone says, Korn's debut was daring and innovative at the time it was released, and that is something that can never be taken away from them.

Also, Ross Robinson who produced the album was a virtual unknown before he produced Korn's debut, so Korn weren't working with him because he'd worked with successful bands before. He like Korn, just got lucky with how well the debut did. lol

Written by [user id=35732] on 29.05.2011 at 16:48

^ Actually they composed music too. It wasn't just pure luck which transformed into an album.

You've obviously totally misinterpreted what I said. lol Of course I know they composed their own music. I said it was luck (at least partly) that the album became such a huge success. When a band is doing something totally new, (which Korn were doing at the time) they can't possibly know how people are going to take to it. Especially on a wider, more global scale. The band, nor Ross Robinson could have had any idea just what a stir that album was going to cause. And every band needs a little bit of luck to achieve success, no matter how talented they are.

It's just plain bad. Original or not, there is literally nothing about the music that I can enjoy.

You need to be Blind and Deaf to hate this album!

OK its really not easy to say that but this album changed me in so many way that its almost frightening. This album is probably the reason why i listen to Metal. And you know what, it still sounds awesome.

This album is a masterpiece, every single bass chord and downtuned guitar riff here makes it epic from the first drum beats of Blind until Davi's cries in Daddy. I would never classify this as Metal, but definitely amongst my favourite records, ever. It's a shame how the following album after "Follow the Leader" went...

By far Korn's best album, and definitely a top 3 all-time nu metal album. No other album came even remotely close to the quality of this one, although their newest one is looking very solid. But it's okay that they can never top this album, it's a good thing actually. This is "tragedy creates great art" to the extreme. If they were to release a similar album to this today then it would feel odd. The band members are rich, famous, successful, and with far less troubles than before. There isn't the same context as a few extremely troubled underground kids trying something new.

Korn is one of my favorite nu-metal bands, and the older I get, the more I appreciate them. Their production has been utterly fantastic at nearly all points, they know of an instrument called a bass guitar, the guitars are meaty as hell without descending to -core style simplicity and repetition, and their sound manages to avoid sounding edgy. It sounds more deranged than anything, it's hard to call JD's sudden babbling "edgy" and every album after this features silly samples in even the darkest of songs. They kind of went to shit for quite a bit of time, but their good albums are really good.

"Daddy" is the best song you will never want to listen to again, in the same vein as the Grave of the Fireflies Effect.

One can only imagine what it must have felt when people first heard this stuff back in the day. Korn's debut is dirty, dirty album, back then there was nothing like it. It's still a uniqe album, completely sticks out from the crowd. Last time it completely grabbed my attention and kept kicking me in the nuts until the final song was finally over. I may give Korn's debut 9 now, but it might later rise to 10. Good stuff.

Although I have never quite been blown away by this album, I have huge admiration for Korn for starting their very own unique style, alot of personality had gone into this, it must of sounded so fresh back in the day. It's experimental, but also full of groove, and everything does come together so well.

But it's a sound I've struggled to get into personally, although I have warmed to this band over the years, this album in particular, I have struggled with the most. "Daddy" is my clear favourite track off this debut, it's disturbing as hell.