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Korn - 525 Power
Tracks featured band
Jonathan
Davis – Vocals
James “Munky” Shaffer - Guitars
Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu – Bass
Ray Luzier - Drums
Korn will never
forget where they came from: a dark place where salvation
arrives in the form of twisted, throbbing guitar riffs,
syncopated chaotic funk beats, a schizophrenic bass thump and an
unmistakable cathartic howl. Emerging from the depths of
Bakersfield, California with a sound unlike any other in 1994,
Korn have been able to cement themselves as one of the most
important bands in rock n' roll history.
Over the course of eight full-length releases, Korn have sold in
excess of 30 million albums and played countless sold-out shows
worldwide. They've won two Grammys—one for Best Short Form Video
for "Freak on a Leash" from 1998’s Follow the Leader and one for
Best Metal Performance for "Here to Stay," from 2002’s
Untouchables—and have launched a massively successful festival
of their own, The Family Values Tour. However, despite all their
massive success and accolades, Korn haven't lost hold of the
savage, raw energy that made them such a crucial band for
diehard rock and metal fans. Korn are one of the preeminent
voices of this generation.
Their ninth offering, Korn III —Remember Who You Are, is their
first effort for brand new label home, Roadrunner Records, and
it bursts at the seams with that very feeling that defined the
band from the get-go. Each song unleashes an uneasiness
reminiscent of Korn's earliest and most unbridled material, but
there’s also a modern refinement that's epic in its execution.
Korn definitely don't lose sight of their roots on Remember Who
You Are, but they also venture into uncharted darkness. All that
truly matters is where they're going. The album strikes a
balance between their past and their future, as it finds the
band reuniting with producer Ross Robinson, who manned the
boards for their first two records, all the while joining forces
with Roadrunner Records, the world’s leading rock label.
With Korn III – Remember Who You Are, it's their time...
Korn bleed with unsettling and unpredictable aggression on
Remember Who You Are's 10 tracks. "Oildale (Leave Me Alone)"
buzzes with an eerie clean guitar that slowly gives way to a
steamrolling bass and riff assault. "Move On" morphs from a
myriad of creaking tones into an explosive vocal freak-out
that's impossible not to connect with it on a visceral level.
Then there's the neck-snapping "Fear Is A Place to Live"
tempering deadly guitar dissonance with an unforgettable chorus.
This is Korn reborn.
"This album is a reflection of us being a band since 1993," says
vocalist Jonathan Davis. "We worked hard on the previous
records, and we experimented a lot. For Remember Who You Are,
the four of us got together in a small room with the intention
of writing an old school Korn record. This album is a perfect
mixture of everything we've done, and this version of the band
is the best ever." It's as if Korn revisited their storied
beginnings, but as a wiser, tighter and more precise outfit
blessed with the benefit of experience.
In order to tap into the chaos that made their self-titled debut
a modern classic, the band enlisted the help of the man who
helmed Korn and Life is Peachy—producer Ross Robinson, whose
goal was to bring Korn back to square one. He undoubtedly
succeeded. Davis had an intense and invigorating recording
session. "Ross helped us remember what we used to do this for,"
the singer says. "It was more psychological than anything. Ross
was right there pushing me and he drove me insane. I sing about
a lot of things that hit really close to my heart and he knew
how to trigger that. I nearly fucking broke down at the end of
almost every song, but I got it all out."
For guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer, the experience was no
different. He elaborates, "Teaming up with Ross has brought that
raw, emotional feeling back to the music. Ross is the only
person in the world that's ever been able to draw us to that
place. He reminds us why we're here, why these songs are
important to our fans and why what we do as a band relates. He
made us remember how our music saves lives, and he came into the
picture at the perfect time. We had no record label and just
wanted to make a great album. Ross stepped in at the right
moment to hit the reset button."
Hitting that "reset button" involved stripping down the process.
There would be no Pro-Tools, no tracking separately and no heavy
post editing. In order to conjure Remember Who You Are's
claustrophobic yet wholly organic chaos, Korn recorded on
two-inch tape and locked themselves inside a 10x10 room buried
within their Los Angeles studio, nicknamed "The Cat Box." Being
in such close proximity to one another stirred up a torrent of
explosive music. Bassist Reggie "Fieldy" Arvizu remembers, "In
that room, even if I turned my bass head, it would hit somebody.
Getting back in there was like a family reunion. We felt like
brothers again. Being older and setting egos aside, we were able
to focus on making the best record we could."
Davis dug deep for cuts like "The Past" and "Never Around."
About "The Past," the singer says, "A lot of people dwell on the
past, and they feel guilt. There's nothing you can do about the
past because it's gone and it's blown up. We're here now." On
Korn III – Remember Who You Are, Davis is fully present and at
his most vitriolic, violent and vibrant on the likes of "Move
On" and "Are You Ready to Live?"
He goes on, "I let everything flow, while I was coming up with
lyrics. They're about me living my life for others when I
shouldn't, people-pleasing all of the time, stress, guilt and
all kinds of emotions we live with everyday that destroy us and
tear us down. I write about all of the fake people around us and
how I always try to fix other people's problems. I write what I
feel, and it comes out naturally. I've got a lot of shit built
up inside me; that doesn't go away."
Even though Korn went back to square one, they continue to break
new ground. In a career marked by innovation, they still smash
boundaries. Munky even fingerpicks certain instrumental
passages, while trying out new tones on echo-y soundscapes. "The
heavier I play, the more you can hear the aggression. The
lighter I pick, the lighter the mood is,” he said. “I used
vintage guitars, echos, long delays and reverbs. When we did the
first two records, we broke the music down to a completely
emotional beast. Through the years, we started to experiment
with vocal harmonies and more orchestrated pieces. Recording
this album, we brought that knowledge into the raw emotion of
what we already knew. You hear the melodies and layers, but it
still comes from a very primitive Korn."
That primitive Korn includes drummer Ray Luzier, who became
Korn's touring drummer in late 2007 and was made an official
member in 2009. On cuts like the deadly "Fear Is A Place To
Live," he propels the aggression. Fieldy says, "Ray is like the
missing Korn member we never had. He just fits so well. When we
found him, it just clicked because his playing sounds like Korn.
He plays with me, and the way that he plays is exactly what I
needed. We know what we're doing on stage with each other, and
everybody's on the same page. I've waited my whole career for
Korn to sound like we do now."
Korn may have changed members with Brian "Head" Welch and David
Silveria departing in 2005 and 2006 respectively, but Jonathan,
Munky, Fieldy and Ray capture the feeling that was there in the
beginning.
For Davis, the album name covers it all. "It comes down to one
question: 'Who the fuck am I?' It's about remembering where we
came from. The title sums up everything I'm talking about
lyrically. During the first two records, we were kids, and we
didn't have anything. We were making music, having fun and not
worrying. I went back to that place where I wasn't worried. I
wanted to be completely honest with my feelings, express myself
and let them out. People get so wrapped up in social
communities, the Internet and technology that they forget who
they are and what life's really about. I fucking forgot who I
was until I did this record. This album is just a bass, a
guitar, drums and my vocals. I look at the records we've done as
slots in time, and I believe Remember Who You Are is very
special."
The album captures the band's legendary performance style that's
ignited crowds worldwide on stages ranging from OZZfest and
Projekt Revolution to Woodstock and Download. It's the same
spirit that gave pop culture hits such as "Blind," "A.D.I.D.A.S.,"
"Got the Life," "Falling Away from Me" and "Twisted Transistor."
It’s clear, however, that Korn III – Remember Who You Are is
another thrilling chapter being etched into Korn’s already
impressive history.
"There's that timeless space that we enter where nothing else
matters on stage," says Munky. "It's us, the crowd and the
music. We lose track of where we are and who we are, and it's
just a timeless shared space between us and the audience. We
lose ourselves in the music. I want fans to lose themselves in
the new music by forgetting about any problems or anything going
on in their minds and let their hearts hear it. It's the same
experience that I get when I'm on stage."
The process brought them back to the beginning, but it also
encouraged serious growth. Everyone is locked in like never
before. Fieldy adds, "We want to take you on a rollercoaster
with this record. There are spacey and weird parts where the
bass can breathe and there are some heavy moments. On Remember
Who You Are, I'm doing what I really wanted to do on our first
record."
In the end, this is for the people that made Korn—the millions
of kids worldwide that buy every record, wear every shirt and
never miss a show. Davis concludes, "I love doing what I do. I
love helping kids. I love hearing fans say, 'You got me through
this or that.' It makes me feel like I've done something
positive. I want kids to feel what I'm saying and really hear
it. I'd love for the new songs to provoke them to think about
what goes on around them. We're very fortunate to keep doing
what we're doing, still be relevant and create music that
invokes feelings from people."
With music this powerful, no one will ever forget who Korn are.
Korn on
Tour:
Sat, Mar 14, 2015 Inglewood, CA, United States Epicenter Rock Festival
Tue, Mar 17, 2015 Tempe, AZ, United States Tempe Beach Park
Sat, Apr 25, 2015 Jacksonville, FL, United States Welcome To Rockville
Sun, Apr 26, 2015 Jacksonville, FL, United States Welcome To Rockville
Sat, May 2, 2015 Concord, NC, United States Carolina Rebellion
Fri, Jun 19, 2015 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
Sat, Jun 20, 2015 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
Sun, Jun 21, 2015 Clisson, France Hellfest
Sun, Jun 21, 2015 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
Thu, Jul 16, 2015 Viveiro, Spain Resurrection Fest
Thu, Jul 16, 2015 Brixton, United Kingdom O2 Academy : Brixton
Fri, Jul 17, 2015 Viveiro, Spain Resurrection Fest
Sat, Jul 18, 2015 Viveiro, Spain Resurrection Fest
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