Project Description
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KORN
REQUIEM
Album Review
(4th February 2022)
Review by Mallika Baikerikar
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Photo by Tim Saccenti
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“Korn is a reminder of why the band is considered one of heavy music’s finest.” – Double J
“Korn has added another solid, heavy funk album to their repertoire.” – Australian Guitar Magazine
“After 28 years, Korn are still very much the masters of the world they created.” – Hysteria Magazine
“Requiem is one of the best albums Korn has released since forever.” – Heavy Magazine
“Short, sharp and memorable.” – themusic.com.au
“Requiem sounds like hellhounds’ breath at the windows of your mind, then expertly flips the glass to reveal the hound in the mirror; a fantastic effort from veterans who remain crammed with vitality.” – Stack Magazine
“Korn’s fourteenth album in twenty eight years is an extraordinary piece of musical art. It’s a refined, classy well oiled machine of power, angst and spite. It’s fresh sounding yet still undeniably Korn.” – HiFi Way
“Requiem a brave, bold, and extremely important album.” – Metal Wani
“Big choruses, catchy hooks, absolutely stunning vocal work from the man, the myth, the legendary front man Jonathon Davis, riffs galore and some incredibly solid drumming from Ray Luzier.” – Everblack Media
“While this is the new album from the band I think this is only the beginning of a new chapter.” – Hear2Zen
“Requiem carries on a winning streak that has lasted for over a decade.” – Sense Music Media
“Requiem offers the next evolutionary step in Korn’s three decades of alternative/nu-metal trailblazing, the album’s title lives up to its verbal definition as ‘an act of remembrance’ by reminding fans why they fell in love with the band in the first place.” – Loud Online
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I am excited to review Korn’s new album ‘Requiem’. Before today I had only heard of the commercial hits that Korn had produced. I was really excited to find out what this new album would sound like, what the highlights were, and even what tracks I wasn’t crazy about. Requiem’s first song of this new album was released back in November of 2021. This song was an instant hit with the metal heads and everyone else too! This song had transonic drop outs and sharp riffs with grungy vocals. After hearing this first track I was looking forward to devouring the album to see if these nuances are carried forward throughout. Let’s take a look.
Forgotten
This song is a standout. The opening bass riff is a sharp metallic accompanied by a soothing tune. A few seconds later the song builds into a perfect 80s grunge tune, which will make definitely make your feet tap and your head bob! The vocals by Jonathan Davis is smooth and the song carries a typical retro rock vibe which makes it ‘time less’ and born in early 90s type. It’s a time travel capsule! The grunge dropping down to dead clean vocals is a drastic approach to such an amazing hard bass riff. Chorus vocals carry the song pretty well and a lot more depth volume and substance. A must listen!
Let The Dark Do The Rest
This song begins with a force of energy that is brought by the guitar tune and the effective drumming. The chorus vocals are soothing but thats quickly followed by grungy metallic thrash vocals. There’s a surprising drop out section that takes the song in a completely different journey with almost angelic vocals but the song is eventually brought back to the tune its based on. The deep vocals in the background and at the end is a treat for all the metal heads! . My favourite section of this song has to be when Korn takes this song on another journey. An absolutes treat!
Start The Healing
This track starts with a distinct sound that stays pretty through out the song. This is something Korn does beautifully. Use unconventional sounds to somehow make it sound perfect, it’s really a skill! The song has angelic vocals accompanied by the grungy bass-y vocals that Korn fans are waiting for! The lyrics like the rest of the songs in this album are reflective and about what one should’ve done. There’s definitely a lot of people that live in the past that can relate to this song but the song too concludes by ‘starting the healing’.
Lost In Grandeur
The main tune of this song is very catchy! This track uses unconventional sounds to coherently produce a great sounding song. As heard in previous Korn songs, the chorus is sang in a normal pitch. Theres a drop out section in this song too which a treat to listen to and now every time I listen to this song I wait for the drop out section! This song barely needs a second play and the tune has made its way in your head. A tune that everyone will like! The lyrics of this song are very deep and meaningful. It’s about one not liking the part of themselves that they show to people around them. Everyone can relate to this to some degree if not completely. This song has great tune, doing the meaning of this song justice.
Disconnect
This song uses synthesiser sounds which is not very typical of Korn but a delightful addition. It really does elevate the song as a whole. The song starts with a bang and in around 10 seconds changes the tune completely. The vocal projection intended during the chorus as compared to the verse is so very different but this change adds further layers of texture. As a listener this is something you seek in songs that convey such deep and dark feelings about one self. The vocals delivery throughout the song is mighty impressive! Korn fans or otherwise, do not miss this one.
Hopeless And Beaten
The song kicks off with a stern bass guitar tune and drums to create an atmosphere absolutely appropriate for the first line “Help me, I can’t put it away”. Just like majority of this album, the lyrics of this song is written and sang in a reflective manner. This reflective tone ties this whole album together. All the songs around one self and about things that only you would know about yourself. The song continues with the atmosphere created in the beginning and layer on it further. The guitar creates a continuous tune which gives this song great substance. The song has a drop out section which is relatively mellow, which is quickly layered by the grungy vocals and then returned to the original tune.
Penance To Sorrow
This song starts off with a not as intense vibe, which is a refreshing addition to the album as a whole. The start has a retro rock tune but eventually the verse comes up which has the typical Korn grungy vocals layered with the drums giving the song more depth and sounds. The lyrics of this song can be interpreted in more than one way which essentially gives listeners more than one reason to enjoy and relate to this song. The guitar tune is surely an addictive one, I caught myself humming it more than once! The retro tune that this song implicitly carries makes this a must listen to.
My Confession
This song is very different to Korn’s other songs. The song talks about liberating one self through a confession, by simply owning up to all the wrongs and secrets is a way of being closure to yourself and freeing yourself of the burden. Confession here also seems like confessing to ones own self which basically is self acceptance which is indeed so liberating . The lead vocal, ”My confession bring me home” is absolutely appropriate to put the feeling into words for this song. The lead riff in the back ground is really interesting and wished it was used more in the song and thus leaves the listener wanting more, enforcing us to play this on a loop!
Worst Is On Its Way
The song is a Beautiful blend of grunge metal and thrash metal. The opening riff is absolutely a pleasure to listen to, the vocals moves smoothly with a lovely grungy pattern. The chorus carries itself and transforms it to a thrash metal tune at around 2:05. After thus point, the vocals just go insane. There’s a little chant in the background, this tiny nuance takes this song to another level and this tune tends to stay back in your head even after the songs long over. The song ends with the bass fading giving the song the justice and closure it deserves!
This album was very different to what I had expected. It was quite a journey. I found the album to engage me philosophically, posing deep questions to reflect on. The lyrics tended to get dark and personal – something that I hadn’t expected! It was a refreshing combination of those lyrics accompanied by such heavy metal music. Korn has tried to venture on a slightly different path and in my opinion it worked! The grungy vocals accompanied with the soft vocals are totally contrary but tend to harmonise. Vague sounds sounding coherent is something Korn has done time and again throughout this album, and done very well.
My verdict – 8 out of 10
Buy Requiem here
REQUIEM
Track Listing:
01. Forgotten
02. Let the Dark Do the Rest
03. Start The Healing
04. Lost in the Grandeur
05. Disconnect
06. Hopeless and Beaten
07. Penance to Sorrow
08. My Confession
09. Worst Is On Its Way
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