Ten albums! A milestone that few bands ever reach. That’s a real history in music, a large chunk of a group’s life is recorded and put on the road. The Path of Totality (POT from here on out) sees Korn changing their approach to their sound once more. Last years Korn III: Remember Who You Are was a return to their roots using their first producer and recording straight to 2″ tape. No click tracks for the drums, no Pro Tools until final mix and mastering. POT is the opposite, it’s brought in electronica producers with their computers in tow. What came out is the fusion of two genres to a great effect.
This project started out as an EP and went into a full album after Korn had about 4 songs done. They were having a great time and apparently the tracks were coming out really well, so they decided to just continue to make it full length. I was worried about this one when it was announced that dubstep producers were going to be involved. I love everything about Korn III. It’s everything I love about the band; loud, obnoxious, raw, with trade mark bass, vocals, drums and guitar. This electronic element wasn’t what I was looking for (I started to think of See You On The Other Side, my least favorite Korn album).
The result isn’t “dubKorn” or remixed Korn tracks. It’s different styles of electronic music fused with what Korn does. This is unmistakably a Korn album, just some of the elements sound different and were made differently. This was a passion project for Jonathan Davis. He was really strained doing KIII, producer Ross Robinson got behind him, put his hands on JD’s back and just shoved him through every wall, floor, window and closed emotional door that dared get in the way. The lyrics of that album are very personal and dark, it brought up a lot of old memories and emotions JD never wanted to see again and Ross pretty much made him wrestle with it bare knuckled. It made for an incredible album (imho of course) but it took it’s toll on the leader of Korn. Refusing to go through that again, Jonathan turned back to an old passion he was getting back into: DJing. It’s a very creative musical avenue. You create all the sounds, you arrange them yourself, you really mold every single sound of it.
The title of the album refers to an eclipse, when all the elements come together and line up just right.
Looking to do something new and exciting, JD introduced it the rest of the band and after some experimenting he got into contact with Skrillex (Sonny Moore). Skrillex is really blowing up now, just being nominated for a Grammy and selling out every venue he steps foot in. Sonny grew up listening to Korn and he jumped at the chance to work with one of his favorite bands. That led to Sonny calling up some of his electronica friends and the list of producers went on to include Datsik, Noisia, 12th Planet, Downlink, Excision, Flinch and Kill the Noise. All said, POT has elements of Untouchables, See You On The Other Side and Untitled sliced and infused with even more electronic elements.
That leads us to the songs themselves, I’ll break it all down track by track.
Chaos Lives in Everything- Awesome opener! Starts with a nod to Nine Inch Nails, one of the faster and heavier songs on the album. This one should be a single, really good example of the fusion they came up with. Really catchy, fun and fast beat, some great drops and a great chorus.
Kill Mercy Within- Sick opening riff with a beat that falls into the slower end. Interesting and head bobbing worthy track.
My Wall- Trademark slow and powerful Korn here. One of the better tracks, really love the airy breakdown near the end.
Narcissistic Cannibal- The latest single out now, this one was produced by Skrillex and shows of more of the classic dubstep elements (low wub wub type bass, screechy sound effects). Really like this one, sounds like it could have come from Untitled. More prominant drumming, another great chorus and a fun electro breakdown.
Illuminati- I keep going back and forth one on this one. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. This one really sounds like a “SYOTOS” era song, with it’s slower pace. One of the more prominent electronic sounding tracks, I like some of the elements but there is much better on this album.
Burn the Obediant- Love this one. Faster paced, there is a sick beat on here with a lot of sound changes. One of the heavier songs, easy to jam out to.
Sanctuary- I just don’t like this song. I skip it almost every time. Nothing on it works for me, slow and boring. More irritating than anything although the chorus doesn’t make it a complete disaster.
Let’s Go- From the worst to one of my absolute favorites! Bump this as loud as I can, it’s so awesome. It’s a high energy, party kind of song. Moves right a long, awesome lyrics, just really wild production on this one. Awesome chorus, a great sing along and Fieldy’s trademark clicky bass is loud and clear for the break down. Super short song and I love every second of it.
Get Up- The first single they put out, another one with Skrillex that shows its dubstep sounds. Enjoyable song, but I’ve heard it since like June so I’m really used to it. Lots of cussing on this one but it’s one of the better tracks.
Way Too Far- Slow and powerful at work here, I really like the lyrics. The pacing changes a few times, this one also sounds a bit like the SYOTOS era. Really cool breakdown with a quieter outro.
Bleeding Out- One of my favorite Korn tracks ever made! Starts with a piano and has a beautiful build up into this pounding song. Fantastic work on this one. Sick Korn chug, great drum and bass and beautiful lyrics and vocals. Plus the return of the bag pipes which is easily the best JD has ever done. I can’t get enough of this beautiful melody he came up with.
Fuels the Comedy- A B side that if I’m not mistaken is just JD and Kill the Noise. A fun, goofy song in the same vein as “Y’all Want A Single”. Korn fans should get a kick out of it. Its got a wavey sound to it with a really tremendous breakdown.
Tension- Another B side that is just from JD and producers Excision, Datsik and Downlink. A club banger that I really love. Just thumpy and menacing with the return of JD scatting that works incredibly well with the drum and bass. Love the lyrics and vibe this one throws out.
POT really isn’t that big of a departure for Korn. All of their albums sound different, but still maintain they’re trademark sound. This isn’t a new genre, but it does sound new and fresh. As far as experimental albums go, I think they have a real winner on their hands. Munky stepped forward in his guitar work to establish the right tone and feel. Fieldy’s trademark bass is again different here (he’s much more prominent when playing this material live) and Ray had a very secondary roll on this album which is a huge bummer for me. The drum tracks were mostly formed without him, they even took away his snare and kick drum away (read interviews to find out why). His raw creativity isn’t on display here like it is on KIII, but he still rocks this out live (thank god). JD’s lyrics are also really good too, I haven’t heard anything that made me roll my eyes. There’s a lot of layering that he has liked to do in the past (Untouchables, Untitled). He flexes his entire range on this album which is always great to hear. Lastly, the soundscape on this album is huge, you want to get it on the best stereo you can. It’s really wide and expansive with some downright silly bass. I have a hard time not listening to it really loud. I don’t know if Korn will stick with this sound and method exactly (or if I would want them to), but their ambition and daring to move outside of the box has worked again.
Some good interviews: Munky
Jonathan Davis