The Path of Totality

   You can only imagine how excited I was when I finally got home, ripped the shrink wrap off both the Regular and Special Editions - and began examining the liner notes. Fieldy having bowed out of the Thank Yous stood out-- and was kinda funny (in a "HA!ha" way) -- considering it was (I think) Munky who bowed out of the Thank Yous, for Untitled (wasn't it?). Although many will only interpret this as both of them being kinda "butt hurt" respectively about the direction each album took, I have to say I'm not one to leap to such conclusions myself, and instead respect Fieldy's decision to remain silent. Moving on:

   The very first thing I did after reading the Thank You notes was check to make sure there was no printed lyrics in the booklet. Thank the gods there weren't any. Jon has made it a point in the past to have never provided the 'official' lyric sheets with their albums, and it's something I take very seriously with KoRn: I've always said the Day when they Print their Lyrics, is the day their Heads swoll up too big...or Something is lost. May that day never come. I was actually getting a tad nervous about the possibility that Jon would "throw caution to the wind" and go ahead and print his lyrics, this time out. (Considering its the 10th album, 'a new direction, yadda yadda'...I was extremely satisfied last night when I found no fukking lyrics in the liner notes; you just can't know how important it is to me. Jon stated (rather beautifully) long ago that he didn't like the idea of kids actually reading the correct lyrics while listening to their albums, because that would distance the listener from paying attention to the music and vocals, and if they couldn't make out what he was saying--he probably wasn't saying anything at all. That stuck with me. *[It's in their first video WHO THEN NOW, or else it was in an online interview from back in the day.]

   Before the album dropped today, I for one did not listen to either Get Up! nor Narcissistic Cannibal more than, say, eight or nine times each, or so. I know some kids on KS who spun both those tunes well over a hundred times, and consequently (when they got their copy of the album finally) they necessarily skip those tracks, from having outworn them. This is not a trap the Thorngrub will allow himself to fall into, ha. Good thing, too -- cuz both those tracks, however good they may be, don't seem to have as long a shelf-life as a song like Sanctuary, for instance--altho' Narcissistic Cannibal is my favorite of the two, and may never wear out its welcome, to be honest (that remains to be seen).

   While I'm on the subject of the two Skrillex Singles -- the Album Versions reveal themselves to be longer edits than the singles made available on iTunes, and although I think the album version of NC is great despite a different bridge in the middle that I'm not certain is better--just different--Jon's vocal track on the album version of Get Up seems buried in the mix a wee too far back, like he's in the other room or something. Not sure if anyone else has really noticed but it kinda bugs me. While I'm on the subject of what bugs me about Get Up, let me descend into a harmless lil' bit of mockery here, and suggest that it isn't even Jonathan who sings the chorus (!) but rather--Lil Wayne. Okay okay we all know Jon has certain particular ways of enunciating, we'll say. I understand the song Get Up--like the entire album--is in its element and designed to be heard live.

   What I love about KoRn songs, is they are like photographs of places you've been to--assuming those places are having witnessed the songs in their natural element--live and tripping out onstage! KoRn albums are just something you keep in your wallet as memorabilia to having witnessed the titanic eruption of their live show, if you wanna know my honest opinion on the matter of their music. Not many bands can make that claim; quite the reverse, actually. Most bands' studio recordings sound better, richer, deeper, with more sonic detail and rewards for the listener, on their albums, and when you happen to see them live--in most cases, despite it being louder and "in your face"--the songs suffer a bit by contrast to the more focused studio tracks. Not so with KoRn and any true rock band worth their salt performing live. And need I remind you kids--that is the standard by which we should  measure all bands' inherent merit--their ability to translate their songs live onstage in a manner equal or superior to their studio versions.

   That having been said, it is necessary to keep it in mind when considering their tenth studio album, The Path of Totality. The scatting he performs on Tension is masterful. In my opinion, the best scat he's done yet. Also, I've come to realize that Tension is the perfect album closer, after all. For this tenth studio offering -- it's the Special Edition with the two bonus tracks that comprises the essential album.

   So once again, I am just...wow. Amazed...yes. Blown away...naturally. But after watching The Encounter, and digesting all the implications, both of that performance, and tonight's (Dec 6 Hollywood) show, I'm quite prepared to state that this 10th Studio Album is Far Above and Beyond more important than even all the Hype you read about them having 'creating a new genre' stuff -- it's deeper, or should I say more significant than that. It's just a plain new fashioned rock album I can't stop listening to.  I mean, it's really a superb collection of songs that may be described as a fusion between electronica and KoRn...which is to say, something they can still call their own because if anyone else dares to attempt such a thing they are bound to fall short of the major sonic accomplishment this Bakersfield band has managed to capture on...two inch tape?  Oh wait that was their penultimate album (also relevant and overlooked) KoRn III: Remember Who You Are .   When it comes to recording an album, this band has been all over the map covering some of rock's highest peaks and deepest valleys.

   This tenth album represents another upgrade for the band as musicians - - between the Encounter Jam Sessions, and this new Electronica Fusion they've pulled off - - they have all grown yet again as musicians by this, yet another leap and bound.   Bravo, gentlemen...an interesting crossover experiment I enjoyed very much.  Now I hope for your eleventh album you pull out all the stops, let Ray do something supremely radical and tear his third album with you guys to itty bitty little pieces, while Fieldy finds his old equipment from FTL days and plugs in his bass back into a seismographic stack & munKy attacks with Head at his back just like in the bad old dayz only this time, it's all good, no matter what--even if Head's just a guest starring in one helluva Reunion album of sorts Hell, we don't care cuz the true fan of this band are like honey badgers, get David in for some cowbell, whatever but we all know if we aren't having fun then what is the point...I can feel the fun coming back to KoRn & that is what I am most excited about.

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The Path Of Totality...

....this album rules.

That is all.

d^_^b