The Serenity of Suffering review'd by Thornswrath

From the first roaring exclamation of "LIIIIIFFFEEE!!!" bellowed out by Korn's frontman at the start of the opening track INSANE from their highly anticipated twelfth studio album The Serenity of Suffering, the addicted listener knows they will bang their head clean off and body slam their bones into dust by the album's end, and trust me, that's exactly what the band delivers this time around.

Funny how things end up this way. Another notch is carved away. Beaten down. Dominated by its sound. Growing deep within my head. No one can relate to me. Does nobody know I'm insane? It's not like I'm insane! HahaHahaHaha. This cancer finds everything I hide. Let me just say this opening track does its job well. It kicks off what is sure to become a legendary album from this California quintet. And it reassures the careful listener that Jon's lyrics remain as dark and twisted as ever.    

See, INSANE's a good opener cuz it stands in for BLIND. Cuz when you remove the button-eye styled CD disc from the jewel case to play the album, you render the titular rag doll completely eyeless. That's how you get to crawl into his head, see. The rag doll is Jonathan, of course, a stitched-together hybrid cross between "Pinky" (which I've named the iSsuEs rag doll I have cuz it reminds me of the tossed-aside one from Pink Floyd's The Wall) and it also happens to eerily resemble everybody's favorite insane robot, Gir (from Johnen Vasquez's Invader Zim). So now we're Blind AND Insane.

But it's the second track, lead-in single ROTTING IN VAIN that explodes out of the arena full tilt then settles into a comfortable pace before erupting again into Jon's patented Boom-Chugga scatting and it really works to keep the song soaring along. When the third cut begins, all doubts have been erased. This is exactly what we've been begging for. It's not just their killer drummer and three top-notch guitar players. The singer is back in the saddle and leading us to places we can never follow.  

That third track BLACK IS THE SOUL (pretty much my favorite) almost immediately tips the devoted listener off that we are along for an incredible ride. And then comes THE HATING pushing demented paranoia to new heights and slamming us down with heavier riffs into darker depths. Jon's vocal delivery and lyrics along with Munky and Head's revitalized lead & rhythm guitars all saturated in excellent production values, propelled by Fieldy and Ray's psychotic momentum, all coalesce to really break the band out of their cage in a way reminiscent of their Untouchables period, when Korn were on top of the world. 

Now flip that glossier time over to reveal the crawling underbelly of the dark carnival landscape that remains the seething territory of Jonathan Davis's poetic mind. Virtually all the themes the band has explored over the long course of their career have been refined and driven to a new depth and clarity of articulation, here. As the audience is invited to see the world through the tortured singer's eyes we've already learned how we are blind--but now, on SOS, we are shown why we may have nearly been driven insane--as everything falls apart around us like a crumbling and toppled-over sandcastle of reconstructed nightmares laid to waste. 

What really elevates The Serenity of Suffering are the relentlessly well placed instrumental effects coupled with the various new approaches toward playing the guitars and singing the verses and how they intertwine with the melodies and choruses.  Jonathan's sense of urgency reaches a new plateau where I can feel his singing literally transform to another level before my ears. The terror grips us close and holds us tight. I hope we get to die another night. 

Everything comes together on this album, the eleven songs building with intensity, exploring morbid and sardonic themes with a renewed freshness and vitality from all members. As it all falls down around our ears, the songs off SOS worm their way into our heads until they're embedded in our DNA like missing jigsaw puzzle pieces interlocking into place. When Jon screams out Just Give Me Back My Life and pleads Why Are We Going On This Way (nobody cares you're just a bad man) the echoes after the songs end repeatedly slam into us  (nobody wants you you're a dead man) mocking and haunting and for all their torment, somehow soothing that hollow feeling we all carry around with us in this life that breaks our hearts. 

Like anything else in this twisted existence, you either get it or you don't, there's no middle ground with a band like Korn. If you've heard one Korn song, you've heard em all, in the best way, and that goes for many of the greatest bands out there. And like few of those artists, their output just keeps getting better and better.  The California quintet's twelfth album pushes the envelope of their signature sound past their former limits into some newly minted areas (such as the scratching guest DJ C-minus provides on three of the tracks; but that's negligible in contrast to Head and Munky's renewed twin guitar techniques) and while it may not be said that they've created anything completely new (as they certainly did with their debut) it's undeniable that they have managed to evolve their own unique brand of aggro rock music into its latest incarnation, which as far as I'm concerned continues to retain a freshly stropped razor's edge in both sonic and lyrical execution. 

One of the things I appreciate about this album is how it manages to synthesize more of Slipknot's DNA into the legacy of Korn. It makes sense for Ross Robinson's "other undertaking" to be reintegrated into the fold, here. Considering the strength of the collab with Corey Taylor A DIFFERENT WORLD, it feels good that both bands have survived this long with fanbases intact. Track six TAKE ME just hits all the right notes (thanks in part to Zac Baird--"Horse"--their touring keyboardist since 2005's See You On The Other Side; this song marks his bittersweet parting from the band). It's got a different vocal approach and a unique song structure, delivering some interesting sonic touches and before you know it, it's over (Go! Awaaaayyyy).  On the seventh track EVERYTHING FALLS APART, the band begins digging in deeper. With a great chuggy backbeat guitar riff and some soulful singing, this one steps up as one of the best songs with Jon (whispering in your ear There's A Presence In My Head) screaming There Is Nothing In My Head repeatedly to a typically propulsive crescendo and catchy ending (There's A Presence In My Head). Track eight DIE YET ANOTHER NIGHT wallops out a one two sucker punch with a swift and tricky guitar riff and some interesting backing vocals before Jonathan explodes with Do What You Say Do What You Want To and then the song just jams out some of the best riffs played yet (another track competing for my favorite). We rip apart the flesh and live to see. Head and Munky have perfected their twin-axed attack so we can barely distinguish which is who.

I like how the songs fill themselves out without too much repetition, on this album. Ray's drumming really shifts into a new gear. Fieldy's bass upholds the complex sonic architecture and stands out starkly during the quieter moments to great effect, he's always thrumming away down there and all I can say is a huge Shout-Out to Reggie Arvizu, our beloved Fieldy, holding down this raving unleashed beast of an album! 

So this is it, we have officially arrived at the long dreamed of "Other Side" referred to eleven  years ago when they released their first album without Head. Since both he and Munky have had plenty of time to get reacquainted and practice each other's unique hybrid form of guitar playing, what we're hearing on The Serenity of Suffering are the glorious results of releasing that long lost but not forgotten pause button that was depressed after their sixth album with Brian--Take A Look In The Mirror--dropped thirteen years ago. (Note: Even though yes, Head came back with The Paradigm Shift, I don't think he and Munky fully re-established their chemistry until this album.  TPS is more of a transitional album, and very good in its own way, I really like it. But its SOS that really brings the 2-Headed Monster home to roost at last.) With a thunderclap released from the force of the gap between all those years colliding with renewed fury into our ears, I'm all too delirious to say that what we have here is nothing less than a brand new start for this reforged band to continue exploring the strange sonic terrain they've been plowing since their 1994 debut. 

The thing about these eleven songs that's so great is they each offer their own world of distinct sounds and unique effects. For instance, that super fast guitar riff from NEXT IN LINE, it doesn't prepare you for Jon's wack spit-delivery of a sudden quick verse midway through, but it all adds up to a song that can be listened to over and over without tiring of it. That's sort of how the entire album works. It's woven together by songs whose structures (despite their short lengths, 3 or 4 minutes, mostly) are complex enough to withstand many repeat listens. 

The ninth track WHEN YOU'RE NOT THERE has some creepy atmosphere and wicked carnival clown laughs carved out of a synth or something, and it slows down to a scary mood with some hard hitting elements that turn it into a sinister sort of nightmare song all the kids are sure to lap up hungrily. It leads to another favorite, NEXT IN LINE, the penultimate track with the crazy fast riff underpinning it, and then that song (am I wasting time? or next in line) finally leads into the epic closer PLEASE COME FOR ME, which really kinda hearkens back to an old school vibe with Jonathan singing with feeling the chorus until by song's end it all unravels into a crazed vocal syncopation that slams the album to a satisfied and sudden ending with a lyrical double entendre.  

The SOS theme kind of extends from the bridge of See You On The Other Side--where the song SOUVENIR was originally titled 'Souvenir Of Sadness.'  I sort of see The Serenity of Suffering as the long awaited echoing response to that lonely call. The brothers are back in arms, and not without scars. Ray Luzier has performed his job of filling David's one-of-a-kind shoes with a solid and passionate foundation which successfully preserves the new groove and dynamic tension of the band. They're just so much further down the twisted road of their development, it's like they've left those old days behind in the dust. I've been a die hard fan since the very beginning, on that fateful late October day twenty-two years ago when I bought the official cassette version of their debut. Ever since then we've all been moving forward together along this strange and twisted road, never looking back (just a reality check every now and then--maybe a quick look in the rearview mirror every so often) and pinching ourselves every now and again to make sure we're not dreaming. If any of us had known Korn would have released such a strong and dynamic album this far into their career, well maybe we wouldn't have really been that surprised at all. This is what they've been doing pretty much from the get go. We're still here, and we're still going all the way. Scarred and darker, after all this time, it appears we're still here to stay. 

Riding a Dying Star Across a Burning Sea: The Paradigm Shift review

   Korn is like moonshine to me, a remedy when nothing else commercially available will suffice. Their eleventh album The Paradigm Shift ranks among their most potent and volatile concoctions yet. That's saying something when you consider the Grammy award-winning band is approaching twenty years in the industry. It's all because of the return of their beloved co-founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, whose unique method of creating a hybrid guitar presence with his band mate Munky has long ago passed the point of legend. Yet it also has a lot to do with the renewed vigor and friendly professional disposition of Ray Luzier, their drummer now since their ninth album Korn III: Remember Who You Are.

   The results are a regained focus and passion fans have been craving for some time now, ten years in fact if you measure from the last album featuring Head, 2003's Take A Look In The Mirror. The first track, "Prey For Me", I must ask, how is it this lead-in track manages to leap out of the proverbial box recycling a few familiar old riffs before reaching for transcendence in the counterpoint chorus and final half? I don't know, but that's exactly what it manages to do, with the resounding finality they built their foundation upon. Fieldy's click bass is back in place and everyone just coheres together for an astounding opening track.

   "Goodbye, so long, wish I could stay but everything is all wrong," sings Jonathan during a brief interlude which manages to nail the psycho-emotional tone of not merely the whole album, but the entire band's legacy itself. "Passion is sometimes a phukt up thing for me," Jon sings straight up, cutting through the usual sort of dressy lyrics most bands opt for. You know what you can all do with that sort of predictable poetry.

   Throughout the album, Jon packs in a ton of emotional detail into his bared raw lyrics, really connecting him again with that dark muse that helped the band shake the music world twenty years ago. I both LOL'd and kinda cried a little bit at two different points during "Prey For Me"--then found myself doing so simultaneously as the realization swept over me, towards the end of the song, that our boys from Bakersfield had actually pulled their original groundbreaking sound back out of their magical bag of tricks.

   Obviously reinvigorated by the band's reunion with their long lost brother Head, Jon's unique brand of sardonic honesty has regained full confidence, and the chemistry between all members of the band reignites that sense of urgency which had, in recent years, given way to other sorts of experimentation. It turns out all the excitement about The Paradigm Shift is not hype.

   Track two "Love and Meth" (alluding to both Head's other band "Love and Death" as well as a nod to the guitarist's former methamphetamine abuse) notches up the intensity with Jonathan sounding as if he's pushing his vocals past their limit when he roars out "Where do I run, where do I hide, give me a reason to end my life / Where do I run, where do I hide, give me a reason to get out alive," and Ray Luzier's excellent drumming skills are finally allowed to reach their full potential; his drum fills are whip-smart perfect. This song was the second single released online, the antidote to Never Never, and its uncanny resemblance to a Love and Death song should be considered as ample evidence enough that Brian's ideas have been welcomed back into the fold.

   By the time the 3rd track hits, "What We Do", a wide smile has plastered itself across my face. The song features a fast tempo and driving beat and a new vocal style from Jon which I really enjoy listening to. It is precisely where the album shifts into higher gear, you can hear the elevation during the intro. It builds into something pretty special for the band's legion of fans, speaking for myself as a lifelong appreciator of the usual "thinking man's" bands (from the original Pink Floyd on through Bowie, Eno, Jethro Tull, Rush, King Crimson, to name a few), now I can honestly add Korn without flinching to this list, so it's a good thing the song segues nicely into track four, "Spike in My Veins." This track is unbelievably good, the thing you could only dream of when considering possibilities of another song having as much appeal as A.D.I.D.A.S. or Good God, for instance. Therefore it was this track at which I once again became a tad verklempt while hearing it for the first time, feeling my emotions surge up into my chest, for us fans and the guys in the band. It is definitely one of the album's high points, signaling the band's evolved sound. I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.

   Then "Mass Hysteria" begins. What can I say? Never once looking back, Jon sings "We ride a dying star / across a burning sea / we're like a supernova now / MASS HYSTERIA!" while Head and Munky's creeped-out, wavery guitar tones help push the envelope even further than before: a bonafide futurist epic anthem unlike anything the band's done, and partly inspired by Dio, as Jonathan recently admitted in an interview. How cool is that. By this point in the album's narrative, it has become abundantly clear that the real Korn are back in the saddle and making no compromises.

   Track six "Paranoid and Aroused" starts with some heavy pounding riffs courtesy of the 2-Headed Monster, and Jon sings about demons creeping around, angels pulling him into the ground, and generally belts out more classic Korn angst for the masses of disenfranchised teenagers out there. Like all the songs on The Paradigm Shift, it boasts its own unique style, while retaining that classic signature Korn sound.

   Throughout the album the lyrics are diverse and interesting enough to yield different meanings for those listening intently trying to interpret what Jon is singing. As a die hard myself I've always appreciated Jon's decision not to ever print the lyrics in the liner notes, because he doesn't want us distracted from paying attention to the music itself. Eventually most of the lyrics are figured out by a consensus of fans. Jon stated anyhow that if we can't understand what he's saying, he's probably not saying anything at all. To this day I consider that a true ethic, and I gotta give a Shout Out of gratitude to my brother Jon for keeping it real and not printing the lyrics.

   This is music to drive sane people insane and insane people back to sanity--either way, it's a win-win. Another thing: this album is the most metal sounding Korn has ever made. Die hards will take note that the main album features eleven tracks, while the Special Edition's two bonus songs add up to a grand total of thirteen; all killer and no filler. Also duly noted are the relatively short lengths of all the songs, with the longest not breaking past the five minute mark. (It turns out fans may rest easy knowing the Special Edition trumps the regular edition due to the fact that not only are the two bonus songs excellent, but in particular, the final track "Tell Me What You Want" serves just as well as "It's All Wrong" does for an album closer.)

   Track seven, "Never Never," is the eye around which the rest of the album furiously storms. As the first single off The Paradigm Shift, it serves as the perfect commercial break from the rest of the album's hard-hitting tracks. I love that it's an anti-love song on the radio airwaves. We could use more alternative, unsentimental perspectives such as this bittersweet offering for the radio.

   Then the eighth song, "Punishment Time," begins; one of my favorites. Jon's lyrics and voice once again reach for a higher level of melody with lines sung sweetly as "I'm walking on a razor blade, careful not to cross the line, every little step I take, it's punishment time now" and "I'm hanging like a bat today, crucified by design, every little move I make, it's punishment time now" while the rest of the band pummels the listener with relentless precision. It's the way that Jon sings these lines, extremely melodic and sweet sounding (a great counterpoint to what the lines are saying) which is part of this band's raison d'être; that the vocals and lyrics are as much an organic part of the whole as any other instrument. This is another reason the lyrics aren't printed; it would distract fans from actually listening for what the singer is trying to say.

   Then comes the moment we were waiting for, "Lullaby for a Sadist". Oh my, what have we here, a real bonafide Korn anthem? Well wump, here it is. A brooding and haunting song which transmogrifies into a truly disturbed exercise in masochistic mind play, "Lullaby For A Sadist" is a prime example of the sort of song only Jonathan Davis and Korn could come up with. "This isn't a game, your life I'll swallow" croons Jonathan as dark undertones burgeon with implications tracing back to Life Is Peachy era. With its nursery rhyme counting and wholly inappropriate for the mainstream sentiments, "Lullaby for a Sadist" delivers on all counts, rendering another signature tune for the band to scare away yet another generation of concerned parents with. Bravo, and well-played, Sirs.

   Which brings us to the tenth track, "Victimized." Here is more surprising ear candy which really merges the electronic elements with the driving force of the band's double-guitar, bass and drum attack. I was riveted to the speakers listening to it for the first time; but on repeat listens, it has eased down a notch for me as a song. There are nihilistic lyrics throughout the album, and this song is no exception; certain lines are too dark, even for me. For example, when Jon sings "This life means nothing to me," I just can't get on board. The song is a depressive work of nihilism that certain teenage mindsets will lap up.

   "It's All Wrong", the eleventh and final track for the regular edition, succeeds in pounding its way to our ears as an appropriate ending to a short, sharp, shock of an album. It's the bookend companion to the first song. "It's all wrong, knowing that my demon won, I'm done!" croons our front man leaving us all wondering whether he exorcised his devils or not. There are a lot of textures and sounds here, with a core melody reminiscent of their old single "Somebody, Someone" from their senior effort iSsuEs. I appreciate the old borrowed riffs and nods to songs of yore that appear here and there throughout the album, because they do so all too briefly, and serve as more braided rope with which to tie together all the revisited themes interwoven throughout their whole discography.

   After hearing The Paradigm Shift seven times, once on vinyl and the last few times on headphones from the CD ripped to my nano, I can cite six of their past albums which most crop up in the new album, and they would be their debut, FTL, iSsuEs, Untouchables, TALITM, and TPOT. I'll probably uncover more such Easter eggs as I listen further, another indication we are talking about a modern masterpiece.

   The first of the two bonus tracks, "Wish I Wasn't Born Today" brings the band forward to a fresher approach, delivering an excellent extra track for fans who reached into their pockets a bit deeper for the Special Edition. I think Jon's singing on the chorus here is exceptional, there's a lot of nuance to his enunciation and delivery. It has a fresh feel which makes it perfect for the penultimate track.

   The album closes with the second bonus song "Tell Me What You Want," what I took to be a subtle allusion to another old single of theirs, "Y'all Want A Single," from the very album Head was last heard upon, Take A Look In The Mirror. This song satisfies on a variety of levels, at once rollicking and insistent yet also a clever pronouncement which seems to purge the band's penchant since Brian's departure to cater to the fan's every wish and desire; the force and finality with which the words "Tell me what you want, tell me what you want / phuk You, Go Away / And Never Come Back!" are sung exemplifies what most of the old school fans have for so long secretly desired, which is for the band to give the polite middle-finger to the seething masses of clamoring fans insofar as what sort of albums they are supposed to create. Finally, after a decade of trying to please everybody, it comes with a sense of blessed relief that they have apparently chosen to put together an album they made to please themselves. And that is the way it should be, if you consider the fact nobody even knew of their existence prior to the release of their debut album. That is an underlying reason why I think this album is so exceptional, and may quickly advance to the coveted position of their greatest achievement.

   In conclusion, and for all the reasons I've covered in this review, Korn is back with a vengeance on their eleventh studio album The Paradigm Shift. With the renewed vitality in both their guitarists as well as their revamped rhythm section, it's a no brainer that Korn are here to stay for another decade of experimental albums, at least. And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a very good thing.

Special Edition: Extra Bonus Notes

   Hearing it on an iPod with headphones brings out the densely layered textures, not merely of the decent production values and mostly well-placed electronic effects, but also the intricacy of Head and Munky's guitar riffs.

   For anyone paying attention, it's more than obvious that there are few moments in which either Head or Munky really shine separately; this is for all purposes and values a true hybrid guitar presence comprised of two guitarists whose efforts, through various methods, merge into a greater whole. They don't just always take turns; they literally craft a kind of stereo-opticon sound which can be described more accurately perhaps as the band having one guitarist, the 2-Headed Monster.

   Let's not forget Ray Luzier's stunning contribution. He is a drummer whose proficiency at hard rock percussion has finally been given free reign on this album, as all the fans have been hoping for. Ray truly delivers a furious hard hitting style of drumming that has adapted perfectly to keep the Korn ship floating along breaking rapid white waters. All the fans are stoked to have him on board, and by this, his third album with Korn, it really feels as if he's come home to roost for good.

   This album's thirteen tracks are chock full of that old 2-Headed monster chuggariffic sound which is the closest to metal they ever really got. Not that it matters; what Korn do is their own thing, and that's where they shine best. Fieldy's bass has significantly rediscovered its focus on this album. Everything he does is balanced just right, nothing is overdone. I've got to give him kudos for that, he really delivers throughout the whole album.

   If one were to fairly judge the metallic resonance of what Korn has achieved in relation to the world of rock'n'roll and metal music, I would suggest their eleventh studio effort is the very spot in their catalog where they've managed to successfully reconstruct that bridge of pioneering sound they can honestly call their own.

   If this is what is meant by the dreadful label numetal, then so be it; for it is truly a form of new metal, after all, and worthy of headbanging to. Yet it remains most unfortunate for die hards world wide that instead, the dread numetal tag refers to the host of copycats spawned by this Bakersfield band, and whose ringing sound is better captured by the clarion call of someone like Disturbed, and perhaps crowned by the leaders of that charge, Slipknot. This is not meant to suggest these bands are bad; there are a lot of exceptional numetal bands, and it all boils down to a matter of individual taste. Everyone from Limp Bizkit to System Of A Down jumped on the numetal bandwagon, but it's important to note that the California band which kick-started this movement has remained exclusively outside of it, focusing their efforts on carving out their own particular niche in the hard rock sounds-cape.

   So here they are, nineteen years later, with the proof in the pudding on their eleventh album. So let me take this moment to thank Brian "Head" Welch for looking into his heart and seeing that his brothers and family in Korn were worth returning to. Thanks Jon and Munky and Fieldy and Ray for accepting Head back into the fold. And thanks to all the "fans uv korn" for supporting this legendary band. Once again it's time to rock. 

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