Korn - See You On the Other Side (2005) - Plus Music Challenge

Well, would you look at that! Another album review! Only a couple of months late but I've finally got around to it. As promised, this is See You On the Other Side, a more experimental and rebellious album that I would consider a backlash against the child-like hate and fear in their previous material. The album artwork (which I shall upload at the end of this month - hopefully - when I can get at my CD collection once again) is truly beautiful, designed by a guy named David Stoupakis whose art is just as disturbing as some of the songs on this album.  
Fading into the spotlight first is Twisted Transistor, the full minute of discordant noises, guitar sounds, and peculiar mob-like chanting eventually giving way to a characteristic droning guitar riff and stomping beat laced with schizophrenic vocals and explosive drum beats. It's a rather overwhelming start, but the first time listener won't be given a respite as they are quickly thrown into the chameleonic but equally crunchy Politics. Jon's acidic vocals seem to outweigh the backing for a lot of this song, until the short sing-song breakdown. It nonetheless addresses a crucial and modern issue many of us can get behind: that of the absurd and prolific nature of politics.
Following in a similar fashion is the ominously distorted and uneasy Hypocrites, showcasing Jon's seemingly split-personality with sing-song and raw vocals tumbling one after another, the title shouted scathingly throughout. Not missing a beat, Souvenir swaggers and stomps in, feeling somewhat more lightweight than the rest of the album (for the most part) without sacrificing strength, particularly during a short instrumental breakdown.
If you were looking for your token dirty Korn song, you get more for your money on this album, the first courtesy of 10 or a 2 Way, the intro hovering uneasily before sliding in, Jon's vocals lazy and erotic, but escalating dramatically in a rush of searing guitars, bested only by a scorching growl in the breakdown. Then things get rather weird as the guitar sputters out, making way for a confused bagpipe tune and the sound of slow, deep breaths in an oxygen mask. 
Keeping with the uneasy feeling, Throw Me Away falls back on Korn's earlier fears to make a track laced with desperate sing-song vocals (often shadowed by a raw whisper) and electronic elements. When the tone shifts at the 3/4 mark, you can feel the volume struggling to return, and return it does. You get the impression of Jon being a broken toy, telling us 'Kick me and I'll be okay.' (You've been going for 11 years at this point, Jon - no one's throwing you away). The heavy scathing swagger of Love Song, which follows, was a song included in their MTV Unplugged set, and I must admit I prefer the acoustic version, except with regard to the chant in the breakdown which is much more sinister in the original, overlaying the final chorus. 
Now I'd like to think this next song was once a conjoined twin with the penultimate track; Open Up and Seen It All have a lot in common, but for the moment I shall focus on the one. Open Up feels different from the rest of the album, displaying more moments of calm than most, Jon's vocals never going above a certain volume, and the unsuspecting listener is treated to just another falsely disturbing ending. At first, there is the smooth sound of metal bar chimes and a slow violin/bass note, but then the bagpipes return, and with them a more creeping violin note. As if that wasn't enough, Jon puts his skills of gibberish to the test in a display of disturbing noises unlike anything I've heard before. You're almost grateful for the driving guitar intro of Coming Undone! A real headbanger this one, drum-heavy, and exploding with energy in the chorus, coming across as a much more simplistic, cleaner, but no less iconic track. 
And then you run into dirty track #2: Getting Off, which outdoes its predecessor in the lyric department (I'll leave you to enjoy that for yourself), and tips the scales in its favour weight-wise. When the volume and tempo drop off around 2 minutes, the suppressed energy is barely contained, breaking free occasionally until it is released in one acidic burst (innuendo intended). The stomping distorted Liar combines elements from two places, feeling very similar to opening track Twisted Transistor, while reminiscing on Life is Peachy with a short burst of Twist-esque gibberish. The final few seconds wind to a close with one drawn out line, those sneaky bagpipes making another appearance. 
Continuing with the theme of rebellion is the driving For No One, riding in on a strong guitar intro and brandishing a huge middle finger to the police by proclaiming 'we're not gonna stop for the pigs and no one'. Short and sharp. Conversely, there follows the severed twin of Open Up in the shape of Seen It All, a maniacal and desperate collection of drums, guitars and peculiar sounds. What sets this song apart is Jon's quiet yet harsh lament at the halfway point which is an impossible thing to maintain for Korn as the sound quickly kicks back in, fading away into another ambiguous but short bagpipe ending.
And finally, what I consider to be the most original Korn song yet: Tearjerker, which is in possession of some super eerie sounds, flirting with Jon's unadulterated and lonely vocals which echo as if he really was alone. It feels a little disturbing but also gentle, like a lullaby, and all the while that energy is vibrating just beneath the surface, soon bursting through with a massive escalation in vocal weight. Strangely enough, this outburst can only sustain itself for 45 seconds before the drums slowly die away, leaving just gentle guitar notes and Jon whispering 'never can'. 

Whoa boy, this was a tough one to come back to. Next time, perhaps, won't be so long coming. I always loved this album, but in much the same way I have been made to rethink my opinions, this album has fallen a little out of my favour. But Tearjerker will always have my heart, and so I suppose, as I promised, I'll combine that into my Music Challenge.

Song of Choice: Tearjerker

As I've already given you a run down of what this one sounds like, I'll just offer a reason why. I've identified it as 'the most original' Korn song because of the way it manages to strip back all that iconic energy and focus on the misery that often gets sidelined. Of course that energy can't be kept on a leash forever, bursting forth with as much viscera as misery. It's what endears this band to me more than anything.

Live Sound Promotions Presents...YAK + Swedish Death Candy + The Velvet Hands @ The Underground

Afternoon rockers! I'm here with another live gig installment for your viewing pleasure (and your audible pleasure too if you choose to give these guys a listen).
This gig was postponed from its original date of December 4th, 2015 to Friday Night, February 5th, 2016. Certainly gave my night some purpose and energy - though maybe a little too much? I'll let you be the judge.

Starting a little late, Indie rockers The Velvet Hands made their appearance at 8.20pm. In comparison to most bands I'd seen at this venue, they drew a much more serene crowd - an observation which the next two bands would contradict - however, that did not detract from the experience. So many bands came to mind as they strolled through their set: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, even a dash of Green Day? (which having skimmed their site biography, I found to be scarily accurate!) And I say strolled because, aside from a few microphone volume issues, these guys felt very at ease on stage, expressing a rich sort of energy, which affected me as well as the increasing swell of people in front of the stage, particularly from Dan Able's energetic shredding.

I would also like to wish the drummer a belated Happy Birthday for that night, and thank Toby Mitchell for the free single having told him about this impending blog. (I hope I did good! You really stood out for me.)

Following a short interval, the heavily instrumental Swedish Death Candy made their appearance in true psychedelic fashion. The visual alone was enough to entrance me, playing against a projected swirling liquid backdrop, but the pounding discordant intro and floor-rippling bass got my attention still further - as it did for everyone else in the now-crowded room, the 'pit' coming alive with movement. I thought I sensed a little bit of The Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana without their usual calm, but I genuinely couldn't pin down anything to compare this band to with their chaotic maelstrom of reverberating riffs, heavy drums, and dreamy (though often drowned) vocals. I won't deny Swedish Death Candy gave it their all that night, however contrary to my initial introduction through their Bandcamp, it became somewhat tough to differentiate between one song and the next. I shall leave it to your own personal taste what to make of them as I move onto the final act.

YAK. The name alone was just as intriguing as that of their support acts. I had given them a listen before buying my ticket and found Plastic People to be an infectious tune so again, I knew pretty much what I was in for....I might have been a little too quick to judge in that respect though. 
A mere trio of a band yet they had quite a fanbase, and managed to blast out more power than I had thought possible for two guitars. Similarly frontman Oliver Burslem (looking freakishly like a young Jeff Beck) made a few ballsy jaunts across the pit, crowd-surfing mid-song (apologies for picture quality but those are Oliver's legs on the ceiling!)
The mosh pit was wound up at one point, held teetering by the music before it exploded like cornstarch on a speaker. By the apparent end, YAK's final song was now on a simmer, punctuated by Oliver's primal screams, but never quite boiling over like before; this was rectified by the much-demanded riff-packed encore. 
Then it was all over and the dust could settle on The Underground once more.
My thanks to all who played last night! May your fame continue!

Music Challenge: Korn - Take A Look in the Mirror

Song of Choice: Counting On Me

There was a moment when I wasn't sure which song to pick from this album. Excluding the classics like Right Now, Did My Time, Alive, and Y'All Want a Single, I was still faced with many tracks whose raw energy was too perfect to pass up. But one song it must be, and so I came to Counting On Me. This was another one of those infectious songs that, after I'd listened once, would probably stay with me all day. The sinister intro, constant changes in intensity, and Jon's schizophrenic vocals all meld into a song which always leaves me with shivers, especially by the chorus, and the raw chaos of the breakdown.

I'd like to point out at this stage that so far I have been relying on my previous blogs about these albums to aid my decisions, but as this is the last album I reviewed, I am going to have to catch up. So instead my next entry will be accompanied by a full album review (hopefully). 

Music Challenge: Korn - Untouchables

Song of Choice: Blame

In comparison to the last album (which was more fragmented in terms of song length and lighter in instrumental weight), Issues is a solid wall of relentless noise, and somehow I had to pick one track out of that. There are some real familiar gems like Here to Stay, Hollow Life, Thoughtless, and Alone I Break in here, but that still left 10 potentials. What decided this for me was the driving refrain which only occurs twice at the start of Blame (and which I pointed out in my post on Untouchables). It gets stuck in my head whenever think of it. The sudden drop-off shortly after does seem to catch me out too and sets this song somewhat apart from the rest, though not forsaking Korn's iconic sound in the process. 

Music Challenge: Korn - Issues

Song of Choice: Dirty

I actually forgot just how many songs were on this album, which made the choice a tough one, not to mention the wealth of songs not included on their Greatest Hits. But my decision was made simply because Dirty fits in so well with the rest of the album. Personally I wouldn't have put it at the end though - that position should've been given to one of the shorter tracks (4 U, It's Gonna Go Away, Am I Going Crazy, or Wish You Could Be Me). Regardless, and as I described in my blog entry on this whole album, the 'soft, slow, invasive' sound counterbalanced with the chaos of the breakdowns and Jon's vocals set this song apart for me, and for that reason I showcase this track.

Music Challenge: Korn, Follow the Leader

Song of Choice: Seed

Surprisingly, this album didn't take as much stressing over before I came to the conclusion as I had thought. Packed with the likes of Freak on a Leash, Got the Life, All in the Family, and Justin, I suppose it's easy to see how Seed gets overlooked. But the highs and lows, sudden stops, and psychedelic and sinister turns which it consists of have reduced this track to an earworm for me (that being a catchy tune which gets stuck in your head).

Music Challenge: Korn, Life is Peachy

Song of Choice: Mr. Rogers

I chose this particular song not just for its centrality to the album (the 'lynch pin' as I identified in an earlier blog entry) but because obviously it may be overlooked in favour of tracks such as Twist, A.D.I.D.A.S., or Wicked. It was difficult to decide between this and Swallow - the latter being extremely addictive - but it was for that reason that I chose Mr. Rogers. I wanted to pick a song which even I had forgotten the complexity and talent of. Now I can't stop listening!