Untitled Korn album

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Untitled

The untitled[1] eighth studio album by Korn was released in the United States on July 31, 2007, through Virgin Records. The standard edition holds 13 tracks, while the deluxe edition contains 14 tracks ("Sing Sorrow" as the bonus track). The disc was released without a title, in what vocalist Jonathan Davis reasons as "why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?" On message boards, retail sites, and fan sites, the album has commonly been referenced to by such titles as 8, Korn (not to be confused with the band's self-titled debut album), Korn II, Korn 2007, and Untitled.

The untitled affair was the second studio album without former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch as well as the second studio disc to be co-written and produced by Atticus Ross and The Matrix (though The Matrix left early during the project). The album has been described as more atmospheric, heavy, and at times progressive. Davis comments that the disc draws from influences by The Cure and The Beatles [2]. It's also the first album to not feature the group's founding drummer David Silveria at all.

Background information

Long-time drummer David Silveria did not appear on the album, as he has decided to take a break to recuperate, spend time with his family and run his restaurants. The remaining three members enlisted renowned drummer Terry Bozzio (for 6 tracks), current Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, and lead singer Jonathan Davis, who hasn't played percussion since certain tracks on 1999's Issues..

In a first, the band recruited keyboardist Zac Baird as a studio member for this eighth album. Baird has toured with Korn as the live keyboardist donning a Horse mask, and more recently black-and-white face paint.

On April 27, 2007, a new song entitled "I Will Protect You", was posted on Korn's MySpace. The track is nearly five minutes long and features a technically proficient drumming section during the bridge. The first single from the album, entitled "Evolution", premiered May 16, 2007 on Los Angeles' KROQ with help from Fieldy and Munky.

An MTV article published on May 17, 2007 includes an interview with Munky as he details the process of the new studio album, while also revealing several song titles.

On May 28, vocalist Jonathan Davis joined Radio 3FM immediately after his performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland. He commented on the band's upcoming album, stating it "will not be titled." He elaborated, "We had the world's greatest drummer Terry Bozzio in and Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion in and I played drums on some songs too. I'm so proud of it, we just can't wait to show people what we've done." Titling the album has become an issue, as Tod Martens of Billboard.com refers to the album as Untitled.[citation needed] Apart from the band's logo, the cover art contains no text, implying that the album has no title instead of literally being called Untitled. Vocalist Jonathan Davis has said, "We didn't want to label this album. It has no boundaries. It has no limits and why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"[citation needed]

On June 15, 2007, bassist Fieldy told Norwegian television channel VG TV that the new album "has a couple of songs on there about Jonathan Davis talking about almost dying, which are real heavy because he really experienced death almost so he wrote some songs about it. They're pretty touching, it's cool."

On July 20, 2007 at approximately 2:00 PM (EST), the album was leaked onto several BitTorrent networks in its entirety.

Release

The album was released through EMI/Virgin on July 31, 2007. The band ventured on the trio's Family Values Tour 2007 several days prior to the release and tour in support of the new record.

The deluxe edition contains a bonus DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage, hundreds of never-before seen photos of the band, as well as a t-shirt that can be acquired online with purchase of the deluxe edition.

Recording and production

As the first album to not feature drummer Silveria, the band decided to enlist veteran drummer Terry Bozzio, known for his work with Frank Zappa. With Bozzio, the group recorded the majority of the album. The group also brought on Avril Lavigne producer The Matrix, however re-recorded much of the work with The Matrix with noted producer Atticus Ross.

Terry Bozzio's contributions

After successfully recording six tracks with Bozzio, Zac Baird announced that Bozzio would not be touring with the band on the Family Values Tour 2007. Though not much is known as to why Bozzio left, Jonathan Davis claimed "things just got weird." Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion was brought in to record some tracks, and even Jonathan Davis himself contributed, something not done since 1999's Issues. Munky stated in an interview that Bozzio had too many demands to stay in the band. He called some of these demands "offensive," of which only becoming a full member of the band with 25% interest in the band being specifically mentioned.

The Matrix's departure

When premiering the single "Evolution" on KROQ on May 16, 2007, guitarist Munky noted that the band re-recorded much of The Matrix's tracks with Atticus Ross because of the band being dissatisfied with how the material had turned out. This was later confirmed in a Reuters/Billboard article:

This time around, amid some changes—founding drummer David Silveria is on hiatus to become a restaurateur, and The Matrix left the project early in the recording process—the band has crafted perhaps its most musically serious work since 2002's Untouchables. On the album's 13 tracks, Korn balances every chorus with murky keyboard atmospheres and toying arrangements, with songs that deeply explore a mood before exploding into a frenzy.

— Billboard

"Evolution" Controversy

The first single from the album, "Evolution", was met with some controversy. Some believe that the band stole the idea of 'De-evolution' from New Wave band Devo. After seeing the band's website and video trailer website, founding member Gerald Casale posted on the Devo website that Korn were simply "...imposters playing with fire," [3] and that he did not believe that Devo would get the credit they deserved, a comment which was received with much criticism and backlash from Korn fans. However, in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine one day before a free show in New York, Jonathan Davis stated that “Korn never claimed to be the first to expose De-Evolution, our hats are off to Devo for that,” [2], continuing to say that "[Devo] are pioneers for sure! However, we are glad to see that our efforts have them speaking up again! It’s good to have them back. They are needed in the fight!! In the meantime our researchers continue to uncover key evidence of De-Evolution at the highest levels" [3], to which Devo member Nutra replied with his thanks to the acknowledgement.[3]

Musical style

"We always wanted the atmospheres, and to really go deep," guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer told Billboard. "It wasn't until this record that we really felt comfortable to do that. As records progress, the urge to do that becomes greater. We feel like we've finally solidified ourselves in the rock world, and wanted to take this one a little deeper into that direction. It's less pop, and it's more experimental."

Guitarist Shaffer said of the songs, "I don't want to say that it's heavy, because that pisses the other band members off. It's still the Korn sound, but it's also very atmospheric."[4]

Song rationales

  • "Starting Over" — A song where Jonathan Davis channels all of his feelings about the battles he's overcome in the past few years: alcohol addiction, drug dependency, and a near-fatal blood disease. Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments, "The album opens with the seemingly straightforward rocker "Starting Over," but more than halfway through, the guitars drop and give way to a dreamy, psychedelic bridge, only to have the verses resurrected by gospel-inspired keys."[5]
  • "Bitch We Got a Problem" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens compares the song to "Do What They Say" as also sporting an almost dance vibe and industrial grooves.[5]
  • "Evolution" — Described by Jonathan as "addressing global climate issues." Jonathan said, "It's not political Al Gore shit. I'm just wondering, are my kids' kids going to have a place to live?" The song was also released as the lead single from the album.
  • "Kiss" — One of guitarist Munky's favorite tracks on the new album. "It has piano in it, and there's a very melancholy tone to it," he describes the song. Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song has The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" tones to it.[5]
  • "Do What They Say" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song "sports almost dance-y, industrial grooves" [5]
  • "Ever Be" — Munky describes the song as having "this epic ending to it — like, imagine 300 set to song. It's crazy." The song is written about ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch.
  • "Love and Luxury" — Davis again addresses the departure of ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. In an interview with Billboard.com, Davis says, "I had to vent, it really irritated me that he's putting out this book and profiting off of talking shit about us -- the guys who gave him everything in his life and put him where he's at. If you don't want to be in the band, fine, but don't go out bad mouthing us." [5]
  • "Innocent Bystander" — Features a guitar solo performed by Munky.
  • "Killing" — "It's a hard riff to play, and if you keep playing it for an hour, your arm hurts," Munky explained. "[Frontman Jonathan Davis] was in writing the song with us, so he's the one who came up with the riff — because he's not used to playing hours on end. He was kind of the second guitar player, filling in the blanks for me."
  • "Hushabye" — Shaffer plays a "reverb-y" mandolin. The definition of a hushaby is a lullaby used to soothe or lull babies to sleep.
  • "I Will Protect You" — Features a bagpipe intro and a very progressive middle section showcasing Bozzio's drumming.

Critical reception

Critical response to the album has been mixed, with the most positive reviews coming from IGN, The Gauntlet, and Billboard. IGN noted that "There's an overall cohesion from start to finish, and repeated listens continue to reveal new and intriguing elements at every turn, which bodes well for the future" [4] while The Gauntlet wrote ""Untitled" is the most articulate recording the band has delivered to date." [5] Entertainment Weekly also praised the album as being the band's best release "since 1999's 'Issues'" [6]

Contrarily, All Music Guide critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the band is going through a "middle-age slump" and that the album "doesn't break them out of it". [7] Rolling Stone asserted that Korn sounds "wounded and diminished" [8], while Sputnik Music and PopMatters agreed, calling it "tired, bland and dated... merely going through the motions rather than creating honest music". [9]

The album's Metacritic score is 50, while the user's average score is 7.1/10.[10]

Chart performance

The album debuted at #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 123,000 units in its first week.[6] This was nearly 100,000 units less than their previous album, See You on the Other Side, which sold 227,000 in its first week. The album reached #15 on the UK album chart in its first week of release.[citation needed]

Personnel

Track listing

  1. "Intro" – 1:57
  2. "Starting Over" – 4:02
  3. "Bitch We Got a Problem" – 3:22
  4. "Evolution" – 3:37
  5. "Hold On" – 3:05
  6. "Kiss" – 4:09
  7. "Do What They Say" – 4:17
  8. "Ever Be" – 4:48
  9. "Love and Luxury" – 3:00
  10. "Innocent Bystander" – 3:28
  11. "Killing" – 3:36
  12. "Hushabye" – 3:52
  13. "I Will Protect You" – 5:30

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Sing Sorrow" (Deluxe Edition bonus track) – 4:33
  2. "Overture or Obituary" (iTunes pre-order track) – 3:02

Bonus DVD

  1. "Making of" Documentary – 48:13
  2. Korn photo slideshow – 3:39

References

  1. ^ All Music Guide review
  2. ^ "KornUnderground". Interview with Jonathan Davis (May 19, 2007). Retrieved on May 26, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Club Devo, [1]. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  4. ^ Munky on the Eighth album
  5. ^ a b c d e "Billboard.com". Korn Goes Experimental, Vents Anger On 'Korn' (June, 1 2007). Retrieved on June 1, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "Billboard" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Katie Hasty, "Common Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200", Billboard.com, August 8, 2007.
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