Korn - Life is Peachy (1996)

In a follow-up to Korn's monumental debut came Life is Peachy, still clinging to the unsettling roots of its predecessor. 

Bursting into life with the iconic confusion of Twist, a testament to Jon's imagination with his maniacal gibberish explosion, shadowed by the schizophrenic highs and lows of Chi, never better than when they are nailed in place by Jon's characteristic and abrasive screams.

Swallow dominates my mind for being so sickly addictive, seeming to slide down the spine and seize you by the throat in turns, and is not content with laying its creeping unease to rest until Porno Creep (in all of its 2 minute glory) draws to a close. 

Only then are the ears assaulted by the haemorrhagic-force gut punch that parts of Good God delivers in the shape of Jon's acid-strength screams.

At the half-way mark, we find Mr Rogers, my identified album lynch pin. This song embodies the abuse theme with its sinister undertones of paedophilia, being a confused mixture of tone and sound, hanging by a thread on one of two uncertain pauses, and laced throughout with Jon's mental hysteria and tiny voices. As if in response to this comes (I will try to type this correctly) K@#0%!, which in one sentence can be described as like a child saying every dirty word he can think of - and the effect is quite funny.

We see a guest appearance by Chino Moreno for Wicked, which lives up to its name as a fun rock-rap intercepted by Jon jumping in with his signature raw breakdown.

The unforgettable A.D.I.D.A.S. has meant I will never see the sports brand the same way again, while Lost, No Place to Hide, and Ass Itch make for classic Korn filler tracks. 

Lowrider is a confusing one, which I pass over in favour of the softer finish brought on by Kill You, a slowly boiling pot of murderous anger, resonant guitars and hysterical laughter, tailing off on a sad and suspenseful note by 5 minutes, before we are treated to the solo lyrics of Twist.

This was my second to last Korn album purchase, but as you can probably tell the next review will be in release order, so say hello to Follow the Leader when I get around to it, and thanks again for reading!