Korn "The Path of Totality" Review

On December 6th, Korn will release their tenth studio album “The Path of Totality.” Throwing caution to the wind, Korn experiment with “The Path of Totality”, as it is a full collaboration album with a bunch of electronica and dubstep producers.

Coming off the heels of what I think was the best heavy metal record of 2010 “Korn III: Remember Who You Are”, “The Path of Totality” is a big musical departure. Although Korn have experimented on albums in the past, it has never been quite to this scale. Surprisingly, however, the clash of styles works really well and “The Path of Totality” is a real fun record to listen too.

Featuring Skrillex, Datsik, Excision, Downlink, Noisia, 12th Planet and Feed Me behind the boards, the album while a departure from their previous sound is still very much a true Korn record. There are loads of guitar throughout the record and Fieldy's bass playing is heavily heard on every tune.

The great thing about this record, is that it is fully a collaboration album and not a bunch of remixed songs. There are not any awkward moments and that is because the songs were written with this sound already in mind. The tracks are composed entirely in Korn's style, but this time electronica and dubstep were incorporated into the songwriting process. A great example of this is the album's first single “Get Up!” featuring Skrillex, since it is a pounding, brutal, futuristic metal track.

I applaud Korn for trying something new and for making the record that they wanted to make. It is no secret that frontman Jonathan Davis has a love for electronica and dubstep music, so for Korn to find a way to mesh the two genre's together in a fashion that works is not only brave but inspiring as well.

With all that said, there are still some faults with the record, though they are quite minor. The album does seem a bit long to me and that is because “The Path of Totality” does get a bit repetitive and monotonous at times. However, I'm sure this will change once the record grows on me and I get a bit more familiar with all the tunes and the different structures of each track. Also, the album is best listened too on a loud sound system and not just from Ipod or regular computer speakers. These tracks are meant to be blasted to get the full experience and anything less will take away the spectacle of the record.

I listened to the first couple songs on the computer when I initially got the record and they sounded decent to me. It was not until I listened to the album in my car with a full subwoofer and amplifier, did “The Path of Totality” truly come alive. Unfortunately, not all people enjoy these luxuries and will miss out on most of the features which make “The Path of Totality” special.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed “The Path of Totality” and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys either heavy metal or dubstep, since you get the best of both world's on this record. I'm very confident that most people are going to dismiss this record either because A) they don't like Korn, B) they're close minded C) they don't possess the tools necessary to listen to this record properly.

However, I like Korn, am willing to open my mind and experience new things and have the equipment to wake people up from blocks away, so I will be listening to “The Path of Totality” and think you should listen to it too, instead of the new Nickleback record. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Ranked on the Beavis and Butt-Head Scale:
3.5 Beavis' out of 5 Butt-Head's

Songs I Recommend:
Chaos Lives In Everything, Narcissistic Cannibal, Sanctuary, Get Up!, Fuels The Comedy

Tracklist:
1.Chaos Lives In Everything (feat. Skrillex)

2.Kill Mercy Within (feat. Noisia)

3.My Wall (feat. Excision)

4.Narcissistic Cannibal (feat. Skrillex & Kill The Noise)
5.Illuminati (feat. Excision & Downlink)

6.Burn The Obedient (feat. Noisia)

7.Sanctuary (feat. Downlink)

8.Let’s Go (feat. Noisia)

9.Get Up! (feat. Skrillex)
10.
 Way Too Far (feat. 12th Planet)

11. Bleeding Out (feat. Feed Me)


Bonus Songs:
12. Fuels The Comedy (feat. Kill The Noise)

13. Tension (feat. Excision, Datsik & Downlink)