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01. Prey for Me |
Verdict: 10
Korn - The Paradigm Shift Review
I guess that the career for Jonathan Davis and his pals in Korn has been on a pretty steep slope downhill since Head and Fieldy left the band. Brian "Head" Welch found solitude in God and left the band back in 2005 leaving the rest of the band seemingly lost. The animosity between the band members were ventilated in media and a lot of harsh things were said. At that point any kind of reconciliation between the members were less than likely, they just hated Head badly. Head didn't give a shit, he was busy with his new found religion and being a father.It wouldn't have been to much of a problem if Head weren't that important for the Korn sound.
Head was obviously the musical motor in the band and this became painfully obvious as his solo effort Save Me from Myself was released. The album crushed and left everything Korn produced in the dust.
Since then the members obviously has decided to work together on friendly terms once more. Brian "Head" Welch is back in Korn and The Paradigm shift surely sound just like Korn. As a bonus the original Korn bass sound of Fieldy is back as well!
Nu-Metal isn't as popular but Korn sound like they are on acid once more!
- Led heavy rhythm section, check
- Slap bass, sting sound, check
- the razor sharp piccolo snare sound, check
- Drop tuned guitars, check
- Strange melodies, check
- Some riffing and grinding, check
Thank, God! The trade mark sound of Korn is back!
I don't give a f--k that the rest of the music scene has moved on Korn is here!
Jonathan is singing about feeling disconnected, hurting the people you love and loving the people that hate you. His voice is haunting like no other singer he tells us stories of hell, reckless, strangers, his heartache, how he insults , run away, worthless lives, dangerous, begging, fake, f--ked up, broken down, betrayed, life's in decay, anger, obey, helpless, pain. You understand what I am talking about there is no one like that can sing with such pain in his voice like Jonathan Davies.
The first single off The Paradigm Shift -Never never, is more of a pop tune than anything else but it has the wicked warped hating lyrics that is the trademark of Jonathan Davis saves the track from being a complete disaster.The production is on this track is different than the rest of the album, the guitars are less prominent and there is this bass synth-sound that drive the rhythm of the track.
The rest of The Paradigm Shift is better than the single, sounding more like the Korn we once got used to love. The guitar work on the album is great and the tunes are fantastic. Tracks like Prey For Me, What We Do and Mass Hysteria and all among the best Korn ever have produced. The song material on The Paradigm shift is something that the must be really proud of and it is strange to say that a nu-metal band sound fresh..
But that is what comes to my mind, Vital and fresh!