Korn (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Korn | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Korn | ||
| Released | October 11, 1994 | |
| Recorded | May - June 1994 at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California | |
| Genre | Nu Metal | |
| Length | 1:05:51 | |
| Label | Immortal/Epic Records | |
| Producer(s) | Ross Robinson | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Korn chronology | ||
| Neidermeyer's Mind (1993) |
Korn (1994) |
Life Is Peachy (1996) |
Korn is the self-titled debut album by Korn, released on October 11, 1994 through Immortal/Epic Records.
Contents |
[edit] Music style
Musically its tracks merge both metal, hip-hop (the bridge in "Ball Tongue" features scratching, and rhythm section of "Helmet In The Bush" is hip-hop influenced) and funk, the latter in some of the rhythms, as well as influences from grunge and hard rock. While these elements have been copied by other bands, the album includes elements that are unique to Korn, including scat type vocals on "Ball Tongue", and the use of bagpipes on "Shoots and Ladders", a song whose lyrics comprise mostly of nursery rhymes.
"Daddy", the song closing the album, is emotionally heavy. Opening with harmonised acapella vocals, singer Jonathan Davis begs forgiveness of his mother before the song properly begins. The lyrics are centered on child abuse, a topic hinted at by the album cover's ominous depiction of an adult shadow intruding on a child at play, based on an experience of Davis', not from his father. The song ends with the sound of Davis' sobbing.
[edit] Opinions
Korn is arguably the album most responsible for the rise of nu metal. While Follow the Leader is commercially the band's most successful album, Korn has proven the most influential, influencing later nu metal bands such as Limp Bizkit, Adema, Coal Chamber and Slipknot, and even more established bands, such as Sepultura and Machine Head.
This album is widely considered to be Korn's greatest work, by both fans and non fans alike. In 2001 Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.
[edit] Album art
The album art depicts a young girl on a swing being overlooked by a man. If you look at the man's hands, it looks like either Edward Scissorhands or Freddy Krueger. Also, the Korn logo is positioned so oddly, it shows the young girl as if she had just been hung by the neck, and on the back it shows the empty swing. It primarily depicts abduction of children. The inside art consists of a boy with a mutilated eye in the disc tray and a table covered with porn magazines with the labels "liar", "bitch", and "whore" covering their eyes, toys, and a doll with a spider on it. The rest of the album art features vague, dark band photographs and the lyrics to "Shoots And Ladders".
[edit] Total sales
Since its release in 1994, the album has proved to be a seller over time, moving over 2,700,000 copies in the US alone and being certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. It is Korn's third most successful album to date.
[edit] Track listing
- "Blind" – 4:19
- "Ball Tongue" – 4:29
- "Need To" – 4:01
- "Clown" – 4:37
- "Divine" – 2:51
- "Faget" – 5:49
- "Shoots and Ladders" – 5:22
- "Predictable" – 4:32
- "Fake" – 4:51
- "Lies" – 3:22
- "Helmet in the Bush" – 4:02
- "Daddy" – 14:35
- "The Argument (Michael and Geri)" - 3:27
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Top Heatseekers | #1 |
| 1996 | The Billboard 200 | #72 |
[edit] Credits
- Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu - Bass
- Jonathan Davis - Vocals, Bagpipes ("Shoots and Ladders")
- Chuck Johnson - Engineer, Mixing
- Judith Kiener - Vocals (the lullaby at the end of "Daddy")
- Ross Robinson - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
- Eddy Schreyer - Mastering
- James "Munky" Shaffer - Guitar
- David Silveria - Drums
- Stephen Stickler - Photography
- Brian "Head" Welch - Guitar, Vocals
