Say what you want, KoЯn have made a career of making the music that they’ve always decided they WANT to make. You can complain they aren’t metal enough, that their lyrics read like sophomoric prose, or that they are so full of themselves that they should realize that the genre they helped create is dead.
They’d probably hear you and put out another record to spite you.
Untitled isn’t quite the album that will jettison the Bakersfield gang (there’s now only 3 of the original line up since drummer Dave Silvera is on hiatus) but it is a careful reminder that KoЯn are attempting to stretch their art into places new. While 2005’s See You On The Other Side, saw the band embracing a more produced and electronic feel, the effort ultimately suffered because of too much studio gloss and the songwriting teams that decided to help the band reach heavy radio rotation. For old school fans, this new album might still be too compressed and manufactured (especially since keyboardist Zac Baird was actively contributing to the writing this time), but the band has scaled back a bit on the gloss. This allows listeners the luxury of hearing some interesting arrangements, even if the band could have turned up Fieldy’s bass and compressed Munkey’s guitar less (and maybe turn down John Davis’ vocal mix). Truth be told, it’s a far creepier record, one that recalls Follow The Leader’s ruthless experimentation. “Bitch We Got A Problem” sports an almost dancey backbeat that menacingly swirls with the attitude that made “Got The Life” such a great single.
KoЯn have gone on record saying that they wanted to really explore atmosphere this time around. This self-labeling both manifests itself and mis-categorizes the album. The epic “Ever Be” makes great use of such aforementioned intricacies, adding some incredible backing vocals, monstrous riffs and gut wrenching screams courtesy of John Davis. Munkey described the track as “the movie 300 set to music.” I can’t really argue; synthesizers give the track a transcendent quality and it’s a pretty monstrous song that sometimes evokes Led Zeppelin’s “
However, this talk of atmosphere seems to be a cop out for an excuse to use such studio trickery. Whether you like them or not, KoЯn have ALWAYS been about atmosphere. Follow The Leader and its follow up Issues were masterpieces because the band as a five piece, used their basic instruments to create such tension. At the height of their success, KoЯn made their guitars into whiny synths, fuzzed out staccato melodies, and bludgeoning instruments of heaviness only using effects pedals and obscure tunings. Here, the guitar and bass fill in typical roles and the band relies on extraneous instruments to get that across. While it’s not a bad way of making music, the fact is it seems a little passé given their inventiveness in the past. It also tends to lead the band into that territory that makes listeners feel like they are aiming for a radio single. The Brian “Head” Welch bashing “Love & Luxury” is easily the poppiest thing the band has done since covering Cameo. It’s defiantly a pop song, and the shame is that it feels like a pop song unlike the great hits KoЯn made that didn’t sound so manufactured. “Hushabye” sports a mandolin and while its interesting, it give less of an impact due to the fact that it is just another instrument that KoЯn feel like using.
By far, the standout track is “Killing.” It’s probably the most brutal thing KoЯn have created since “Here To Stay” with a riff that is just as catchy and a breakdown that borders on death metal. Maybe that’s part of the problem with Untitled. While a listenable record, KoЯn never make you believe that their experimentation process is natural. In their heyday, the band was perfect at not only playing to their strengths, but parlaying those strengths into musical exploration. This allowed the band to stretch while maintain a cohesive quality to their sound. Untitled, at times feels, like the band is merely running around in a music store playing everything that cool; this in turn makes some of the songs feel a bit worn. KoЯn are in an interesting position though, because this is a decent effort from a band with lots of problems. Perhaps a stable lineup (because both Terry Bozzio and Brooks Wackerman sounded more constrained than the band let on) and a better sense of direction will serve the band well in the future.
Then again, they’d probably read this and put out another record to spite me.
Sounds Like: Untouchables (KoЯn), The Golden Age Of Grotesque (Marilyn Manson), With Teeth (Nine Inch Nails)
Key Cuts: Bitch We Got A Problem, Ever Be, Killing
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