Label: Roadrunner Records

It has been a very long time since KoRn have mattered in the mainstream.  Once the poster boys for a generation of disaffected youth and progenitors of the Nu Metal genre, theirs is a star which has fallen a very long way indeed.  The group’s last two albums (See You On The Other Side and Untitled) saw KoRn attempting to expand their sound unsuccessfully, most likely to try and compensate for the loss of founding members Brian Welch and David Silveria over the preceding years.  It is unsurprising therefore that many fans and critics alike have all but written off the group as past their prime, destined to slowly fade out while simultaneously all but destroying what good name they had made for themselves in the 90’s.  This month sees the release of KoRn’s ninth studio album, KoRn III: Remember Who You Are, and somehow, despite the massive odds stacked against them, it is a genuine return to form for the group.

Bloated by pretentiousness, the majority of KoRn’s recent output has come off as fake, lifeless and simply unenjoyable.  Indeed, ever since the release of 2003’s Take A Look In The Mirror, little semblance appeared to remain of the band that had once effortlessly crafted anthems like “Freak On A Leash” and “Falling Away From Me”.  Unlike those failures however, Remember Who You Are sounds exactly like the KoRn of old.  With the auto-tune and digital sheen wiped away, what is left behind is a set of ten consistently grinding blasts of alt-metal.  With Ross Robinson once again in charge of production, the album reprises the sound and feel that made the group’s early albums so great.  Indeed, a greater emphasis on the drums in the mix and the lack of a second guitar seem to be the only noticeable differences.  Whereas See You On The Other Side and Untitled saw KoRn deliberately trying to distance themselves from their previous works, Remember Who You Are instead embraces the group’s past without sounding like they are rehashing old ideas.

In many ways, lead single “Oildale (Leave Me Alone)” is a good representation of what KoRn have tried to achieve on this release; the rattling and slapping of Fieldy’s bass, the crunch of Munky’s down tuned guitar and the steamrolling assault of new drummer Ray Luzier combine together perfectly to remind listeners why the group were once kings of the mainstream metal crowd.  By the time the five minute track has come to a close, it is obvious that KoRn mean business.  What follows is another forty minutes of consistently strong material, with no filler or weird attempts at experimentation anywhere in sight.  Not since their self-titled debut have KoRn sounded so energised or focused; perhaps the years spent in the commercial wilderness have given the group time to contemplate what they have been good at all along. 

KoRn III: Remember Who You Are is definitely the best release KoRn have made in years.  Having spent the last half decade attempting to reinvent themselves as more “genuine artists”, the group has finally gone back to doing what they do best; laying down bone crunching, bass guitar slapping, head banging metal.  Gone are the misguided attempts at producing abstract and thought provoking alternative rock, and the result is an album which can stand up with the best of their back catalogue.  If you are one of those fans who have remained around even after the commercial death of Nu Metal, KoRn III: Remember Who You Are is definitely for you.

By Matthew Woodward