Major

Rock, Alternative, Metal

In a career marked by a series of firsts, KORN have done it again. Got a problem with that? They’ve already revolutionized the heavy genre with their bold, unsettling music that defies categorization and presented it to their fans with unprecedented multi-media events. Now they’ve taken their music to astonishing new heights with SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, their debut album via a partnership with EMI/Virgin Records. It’s a unique alliance that will enable KORN to be even more innovative in the way their music is presented to their fans, who constitute one of the most fiercely loyal followings in all of rock ‘n roll. Listening to such daring new songs as “Twisted Transistor,” “Politics” and “Love Song,” among others, it’s clear that KORN--JONATHAN DAVIS, JAMES “MUNKY” SHAFFER, FIELDY and DAVID SILVERIA--have opened the doors to even more creativity and disarray. And no one does “disarray” like KORN. “When we listen to what we’re doing and look at each other with scared, fucked up feelings in our guts, that’s when we know we wrote something special,” says the singer. “That’s how we know we’re breaking down the boundaries and doing some new shit, because we’re scared about it.” Scary might be the best way to describe the epic “Seen It All,” which jumps from a sludgy, dark and droning intro, to purging, soul-shattering depths. KORN have always spoken directly to their fans through their music, and the new release is no exception. In fact, DAVIS found his co-producers to be the perfect collaborators to free even more of his inner demons. “I’ve written seven albums worth of shit, and I have my style, but I wanted something different, not the typical lyrics that I always write. I want to come out and say things in a different way, so getting those different people around me, with their different perspectives and different talents, really helped me a lot. I’ve always had a problem getting across what I’m trying to say, because I’m always limited to what I can do within the phrasing and melody of the lyric, but they helped me a lot with that, without losing our vibe.” For evidence, look to closing track “Tearjerker” where the arrangement is ambient, spacey and soft, yet the emotional baggage is heavy. “That’s just inspired by some fucking bad times, like when I’m on the road and I get in a fight with my chick, and I feel like I can’t go anywhere or do anything, and I’m so alone that there aren’t even ghosts chilling with me. I know people can relate to that—maybe not in the same way I do, because everybody’s not out on the road, but everyone has shit happen in relationships, or they lose a loved one, and they’re like, ‘What the fuck am I going to do?’” You think someone might have a problem with DAVIS’ inspirations, and off-the-cuff choice of words? If so, “Hypocrite” was written with them in mind. “That was straight from my heart,” he says, suppressing a laugh. “That’s my jab at organized religion, and the whole movement, in general--those same fools that are taking our money for God? You see them in titty bars all the time, they’re fucking hypocrites.” And it’s all served with a side-order of irony--if you think the chorus to “Hypocrite” sounds a bit like some twisted Broadway romp, you’re not wrong. “I’m telling a story, and it’s very fucking Broadway--I love that shit, it’s what I grew up on, and those influences have finally come out. The reason I got into rock ‘n’ roll was because of the Jesus Christ Superstar. Funny, huh? Of course, when that came out, because it was a rock opera, they though that was blasphemous.” Blasphemous. The same has been said of KORN, but it hasn’t slowed them down one bit. The scariest part? They seem to only be getting stronger. If KORN’s first decade ushered in a new era in heavy music, brace yourself, because the next decade has been launched with their most unrelenting musical maelstrom to date.

JONATHAN DAVIS, JAMES "MUNKY" SHAFFER, FIELDY and DAVID SILVERIA