KORN – “Follow the Leader” (25-year classic)

Korn
“Follow the Leader”
CD (Epic/Sony)

Oh yeah… An orgasm chases the next, while I insert the latest outpouring of the great band Korn… into the ear of course! Finally, the third work of the masters of melodic bass core (what is that???) is here and you get exactly what you know from Korn: brutal, churning songs, heavily bass-heavy, desperate, broken vocals with romantic interludes; and ,,Follow the Leader” is, like the first two albums, a work of art that immediately fascinates and paralyzes or activates. Many will probably whine that Korn haven’t evolved since 1996’s album ,,Life Is Peachy”, that they still sound the same, and such shit… But doesn’t anyone realize that Korn’s music is unique and would be broken by any further development? If you look at Coal Chamber, for example, who came very close to Korn’s quality with their CD this year, but are now abruptly forgotten and no competition at all, it’s clear what’s going on. Well, “Follow the Leader” actually does contain new elements. On “Got the Life” you feel a kind of flow through a song for the first time, that is, without breaks and mood changes; “B.B.K.” is neither “B.B.Q.” nor “A.D.1.D.A.S.”; “Pretty” is very Hip-Hop-heavy; and for “All in the Family” guest singers like Ice Cube and Tre’ from The Pharcyde and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst could be won. The ingenious cover was created by “Spawn” maker Todd McFarlane, and one could almost think that “Follow the Leader” is a best-of with unreleased songs as a bonus. Diversity is the principle. “Korn” was sick, “Life Is Peachy” was psychotic, “Follow the Leader” is infectious.

Thomas Sonder

(The review was first published in the Orkus! issue September 2003)

Listen to “Follow the Leader” on Spotify: