The Nothing by Korn album review

The Nothing by Korn

9/10/2019

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13 albums and still going strong.

Label:

Roadrunner
Elektra

Release Date:

13th of September 2019

Band Members:

Jonathan Davis – lead vocals, bagpipes
James "Munky" Shaffer – guitars
Brian "Head" Welch – guitars
Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – bass
Ray Luzier – drums

Genre:

Nu Metal

Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you what and how much Korn means to me (if you want that you can find it HERE), nor am I going to give you Korn's back story (see previous link). No I am going to just focus on the music, and the pain that makes it.

You see Korn has always put themselves into their music, which is why they have fans from all across the globe, of all ages and all walks of life. And The Nothing is no exception, it was recorded not long after the passing of not only his mother but also the wife of Jonathan Davis, who the proceeds to pour his heart and soul into The Nothing, saying "I went through hell last year and had to purge what I was going through and bring the listener through that experience. I don't know how to explain it but it takes me over. When you hear me break down and cry, that's not fake. It's how I get it out. Some people go to a shrink. My music is that for me."

Named after the villain from The NeverEnding Story, The Nothing is a massive effort from the Bakersfield boys, darker than anything they've done recently and it can be heard straight away with album opener 'The End Begins', a tuned down jam with Davis emotionally breaking down near the end.

I'm not going to go into any massive details of any tracks, nor do I actually have any top picks off The Nothing, as it feels wrong to say any are better than the others, the album as a whole is a dark tragedy of loss and love that can be felt on every song, especially on 'Finally Free'. But if you want to be haunted, then listen to 'Surrender To Failure' where Davis opens up his guilt ridden soul before breaking down at the end with "I failed, I failed".

The Nothing for me is the perfect culmination of years of hard work, I can hear aspects that range from their whole career, the deep early guitar riffs, Fieldy's signature bass slaps and even some of their side projects since I heard at least one track that made me think of Queen of the Damed (Davis co-wrote all the songs used in the film and co-scored).

The Nothing isn't the homecoming of the Korn of old, they've been back for a while now, but I do see it as the return of the raw and emotional Korn, the one that bares its soul for the world to see, the one that shows its fans that no matter what they are never alone, but apart of a massive family that spans the globe.

9/10

Written by Dan.

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