Untouchables [PA] - Korn

Korn's 4th album, "Issues" could not really be said to be anything other than average, it had a couple of good moments, but ultimately it was a rather shoddy affair, and generally disappointing. It seemed fair to assume that Korn's descent into commercial mtv-metal could not be stopped, and that their sound was gradually becoming watered down by formulaic song writing and uninspired, whiny vocals.

The bad news is that "Untouchables" ...
...less overproduced. John Davis' singing approach is increasingly whiny, and the songs are often written to the same template that korn have been using since "Follow the Leader". This is definitely not "like the first album", nor is it the perfect "masterpiece" which Korn have dubbed it.

However, I can't help finding myself liking it.

What Korn have achieved in this album, which they failed ... more

Korn's 4th album, "Issues" could not really be said to be anything other than average, it had a couple of good moments, but ultimately it was a rather shoddy affair, and generally disappointing. It seemed fair to assume that Korn's descent into commercial mtv-metal could not be stopped, and that their sound was gradually becoming watered down by formulaic song writing and uninspired, whiny vocals.

The bad news is that "Untouchables" isn't a less commercial record than issues, neither is it less overproduced. John Davis' singing approach is increasingly whiny, and the songs are often written to the same template that korn have been using since "Follow the Leader". This is definitely not "like the first album", nor is it the perfect "masterpiece" which Korn have dubbed it.

However, I can't help finding myself liking it.

What Korn have achieved in this album, which they failed to in Issues, is to further commercialise their sound, but without simply writing terrible songs. Sure, every single song on this album is super-accessible, with choruses and catchy hooks that all the little kids will obviously love, but these are not the relatively lifeless songs of Issues. It really seems that (for the most part), John davis has put a lot of thought into his melodies, and the songs are performed with an energy which was not always present on the last album.

The music itself is very diverse. In a recent interview "Head" (one of the guitarists in the band) admitted that the songs "are pretty simple stuff", and at times this is certainly true. Some of the riffs in songs like "Blame" and "Embrace" could have been written by any nu-metal band, or indeed any guitarist who had learnt for more than a day, but I have to admit that sometimes simplicity is effective, if not overdone. Even this occasional banality is usually overridden by John Davis' vocals, which are truly inventive, considering how little he has to work with at times.

The vocal melodies on this album are extremely strong, if rather different from what we are used to from Korn. Davis has previously declared his love for 80s pop, due to the amount of great melodies it has, and melody is certainly a strong focal point in "Untouchables"; we get very little of the mumbling or moaning that we might have found on "Korn" or "Life is Peachy" during the verses, and the choruses are always huge, dramatic and catchy. Davis also seems to have broken away to some degree from the restraints of being in a metal band and therefore having to sing "scary" tunes. "Hollow Life" is more 80s than typical Korn, and "Thoughtless" has a chorus which sounds almost positive - a first for korn (although i'm not sure if this is entirely welcome).

What's more, despite the amount of melody which has been crammed into every song, the album is at times "heavier". Korn traditionally promise before the release of another more poppy album that it is heavier, but with "Untouchables" they were telling the truth to some degree. The sound is hugely dense and booming, as is to be expected from an album that cost $3 million to produce, and the guitar sound is even more crunchy, low and thick than before. The fact that every member of the band's instrument is doused in a huge amount of effects, and the fact that they usually all play complementary different riffs makes it a hugely complex affair, and this is even without the stacks of backing vocals which come in every so often. At times (as in "Make believe") the texture is so thick that it is actually difficult to hear what is going on! The music of the album is also very gloomy and dark, perhaps caused slightly by Davis' state of mind. In earlier albums he has been angry at others, with plenty of insults hurled at all those that he sees have done him wrong. In "untouchables" the lyrics are much more introspective and despairing. Images such as those evoked on "here to stay" ("I bash my head into a mirror so I wont have to see the pain") are rather disturbing and hint more at violent self hatred than the rage at injustice Davis has felt before. The result is an album which is less angry than mournful and wildly despairing.

The album does sadly also have its bad points. It's stupid to have a problem with catchy music, but the chorus of "Hating" is dreadful; it is the first korn chorus ever to have clean guitars, and sounds like a lame ballad of the Nickelback, Creed or Linkin Park sort. The rest of the song is very good, which makes this forgivable, but also very annoying - you can't help wishing korn had just written a different chorus to this song. "One more time" suffers from the same bad songwriting in parts, only this time it is a terrible verse and fantastic chorus.
The only truly bad song on the album is "Wake up hate". This is a pathetic attempt to be heavy, and just sounds like some rubbish industrial band. It is completely out of place on the album.
The other bad point of the album is perhaps the lyrics. They are not dreadful, and at times can indicate how distressingly unhappy Davis is, but they are very bog standard korn lyrics, and often sound quite silly and cliched:

"I take this time/ to bury what's inside/'cause I will break/sometimes I wish you'd die." (Bottled Up Inside)

The lyrics are not great, but they're sufficient, and Korn lyrics have never been famous for being amazing (although the earlier albums have quite controversial and disturbing lyrics, this is more due to the swearing and their content than the force of the poetry).

In the end, it's the music that counts. With "Untouchables", Korn have managed to get out of the rut of "Issues", in fact, it is perhaps even better than "Follow the Leader", if not as good as the first album (which we must admit can never really be possible). Korn have ditched rap metal, have thankfully ditched the interludes of "Issues", and have embraced an extremely thick, satisfying (albeit commerial) sound. The accessibility and melodiousness makes it a much better place to start with Korn than "Issues" and it is essential for Korn fans; perhaps the best album since the first, despite a couple of dodgy moments.

Korn have always been an important band in metal/nu-metal. This album just confirms how superior they are to the other drones in the genre who are currently enjoying such fame on MTV despite a lack of song writing ability. I'll be happy to see this on the radio, because ultimately this is catchy, commercial, but very good music. 

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