Korn

It’s a well-known fact that Korn represent everything that’s wrong with metal ever. Case in point: ‘Kiss’ – Korn’s take on Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Closer’, which only serves to remind you to listen to the latter. But, there’s a single beam of light slicing through every shit-coloured cloud – and Korn have theirs. ‘Hold On’ is brilliant because it reminds you of the metal clubs you found yourself accidentally having a good time in when town had nothing else to offer. Then there’s ‘Love And Luxury’, which is like a meeting of Nine Inch Nails and Oingo Boingo. ‘Innocent Bystander’ also merits a mention, if only because it sounds like the music Transformers make love to. And therein lies the rub. Korn’s eighth is actually an interesting listen; as diverse as the witless art of nu-metal gets. That doesn’t mean it’s good. It merely leaves us with a numbing dilemma: we want to hate it, but we can’t.
Mike Sterry