KORN
Follow the Leader
(Immortal/Epic)
Korn introduced the music world to a new level of aggression with their self-titled debut four years ago, and have since seen bushels of imitations flood the metal market. Follow the Leader is the Bakersfield, CA quintet's response, a full-throttle aggro-excursion aimed to take fledling Korn kopy kats to the edge of the cliff, dangle them toyingly with bunjee-esque melodies, rock solid rhythms and titanic tonal variations, then drop them to a kreamed karnage. "Nothing changes, just rearranges..." chimes lead singer Jonathan Davis fittingly on opening cut "It's On;" the metal misanthropes haven't changed their dark and throbbing approach to musical mayhem, but they've fine-tuned their assault to a radiant glow. Where 1996's Life is Peachy fell short of Korn's intensity, too-often misdirected aggression resulting in over-the-top insanity, Follow the Leader takes a step back, orchestrating chaos while acknowledging the musical subtleties that provide a warm, inviting charm before reeling a 2x4 into your gut. Davis barks against music industry politics on "Freak on a Leash," weaving through a melodic path into the damn-near-disco dance-club careen of "Got the Life" before Korn's kolossal krunch kicks on "Dead Bodies Everywhere," injecting acid-tongued diatribes over a sinister, guitar-gauged landscape. A trio of special guests give the album a hip-hop hue; Ice Cube blasting "Children of the Korn" into an anti-authority anthem, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst taking on Davis for a tongue-in-cheek, old-school exchange of insults, and Tré from Pharcyde joining the lineup to swat the proverbial ex-girlfriend monkey off the back in "Cameltosis." Lyrically, Korn cover the bases-from "Justin," a jacked-up tribute to the strength of a 14-year-old fan dying of intestinal cancer, and "Pretty," a morbid look at child abuse, to the drunken wrath of "B.B.K." and the twisted dementia of Davis' love that shapes "My Gift to You." Leagues above Life Is Peachy, and a musical exclamation point to the heavy din and metallic rage that chiseled their debut into the annals of aggro-rock history, Follow the Leader asserts Korn as the leaders of hard music's next revolution.
Paul Gargano