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Untitled Korn album

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Untitled

The untitled eighth studio album by American metal band Korn was released on July 27, 2007, through Virgin Records. The standard edition holds thirteen tracks, the deluxe fourteen. The album was intentionally released without a title, as vocalist Jonathan Davis reasoned, "why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"[1] The album has been certified Gold in the U.S.[2] It is the band's least successful release to date, with the album barely surpassing sales of 500,000 copies.

Background information

This album was the first without former drummer David Silveria, instead, Korn enlisted the help of Terry Bozzio, Brooks Wackerman, as well as Jonathan Davis for drumming. Also, the band recruited Zac Baird for keyboarding in this album. An MTV article published on May 17, 2007 includes an interview with Munky as he details the process of the new studio album, while also revealing several song titles. On May 28, vocalist Jonathan Davis joined Radio 3FM immediately after his performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland. He commented on the band's upcoming album, stating it "will not be titled." He elaborated, "We had the world's greatest drummer Terry Bozzio in and Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion in and I played drums on some songs too. I'm so proud of it, we just can't wait to show people what we've done." Davis went on to say "We didn't want to label this album. It has no boundaries. It has no limits and why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"

Terry Bozzio's contributions

After successfully recording six tracks with Bozzio, Zac Baird announced that Bozzio would not be touring with the band on the Family Values Tour 2007. Jonathan Davis claims "things just got weird [with Bozzio]." Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion was brought in to record some tracks, and even Jonathan Davis himself contributed, something not done since 1999's Issues. Munky stated in an interview that Bozzio had imposed himself on the band. He mentioned that among other things, Bozzio had demanded to be a full member of the band while receiving 25% interest; the band felt that this was "offensive," therefore, Korn decided not to tour with Bozzio. Joey Jordison of Slipknot would tour with Korn on the Family Values tour, along with the Bitch We Got A Problem tour.

The Matrix's departure

When premiering the single "Evolution" on KROQ on May 16, 2007, guitarist Munky noted that the band re-recorded much of The Matrix's tracks with Atticus Ross because of the band being dissatisfied with how the material had turned out. This was later confirmed in a Reuters/Billboard article:

This time around, amid some changes—founding drummer David Silveria is on hiatus to become a restaurnteur, and The Matrix left the project early in the recording process—the band has crafted perhaps its most musically serious work since 2002's Untouchables. On the album's 13 tracks, Korn balances every chorus with murky keyboard atmospheres and toying arrangements, with songs that deeply explore a mood before exploding into a frenzy.

Musical style

"We always wanted the atmospheres, and to really go deep," guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer told Billboard. "It wasn't until this record that we really felt comfortable to do that. As records progress, the urge to do that becomes greater. We feel like we've finally solidified ourselves in the rock world, and wanted to take this one a little deeper into that direction. It's less pop, and it's more experimental." Munky said of the songs, "I don't want to say that it's heavy, because that pisses the other band members off. It's still the Korn sound, but it's also very atmospheric."

Release

The album was released through EMI/Virgin in various territories, starting on July 27, 2007. The band ventured on the trio's Family Values Tour 2007 several days prior to the release and toured in support of the new record. The deluxe edition contains the bonus 14th track "Sing Sorrow," a bonus DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage, hundreds of never-before seen photos of the band. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, a personal best since Untouchables. Though debuting at number two like Untouchables, Untitled sold less than one quarter of the units in its first week. It also fell off the charts within twelve weeks and accumulating twenty weeks all together.

Release history

Critical reception

Critical response to the album has been mixed to negative, with the most positive reviews coming from IGN, The Gauntlet, and Billboard. IGN noted that "There's an overall cohesion from start to finish, and repeated listens continue to reveal new and intriguing elements at every turn, which bodes well for the future",[3] while The Gauntlet wrote " "Untitled" is the most articulate recording the band has delivered to date."[4] Entertainment Weekly also praised the album as being the band's best release "since 1999's 'Issues'".[5]

On the contrary, Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the band is going through a "middle-age slump" and that the album "doesn't break them out of it."[6] Rolling Stone asserted that Korn sounds "wounded and diminished",[7] while PopMatters agreed, calling it "tired, bland and dated... merely going through the motions rather than creating honest music." Also, fan reaction to the album has been very mixed; some fans[who?] have complained that the album is too much of a change from the band's past sound. When compared to the band's past albums, Untitled is much less aggressive. Songs like Kiss and Hushabye are much softer and more complex than anything the band have ever done before. Other fans[who?], however, think that the album's change in sound is positive, as it shows the band's maturity and is a move away from the Nu Metal sound.

The album's Metacritic score is 51, while the user's average score is 7.2/10.[5]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Intro"1:57
2."Starting Over"4:02
3."Bitch We Got A Problem"3:22
4."Evolution"3:37
5."Hold On"3:05
6."Kiss"4:09
7."Do What They Say"4:17
8."Ever Be"4:48
9."Love & Luxury"3:00
10."Innocent Bystander"3:28
11."Killing"3:36
12."Hushabye"3:53
13."I Will Protect You"5:29
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Sing Sorrow" (Deluxe Edition only)4:33
15."Overture or Obituary" (iTunes pre-order only)3:00
16."Once Upon a Time" (Sing Sorrow Alternate Lyrics)4:33
Bonus DVD
  • Making of documentary
  • Korn photo slideshow

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart Position
Australia Albums Top 50 11
Austria Albums Top 75 3
Belgium Albums Top 50 39
Denmark Albums Top 40 20
Finland Albums Top 40 2
France Albums Top 150 8
Germany Albums Top 50 3
Ireland Albums Top 75 31
Italy Albums Top 50 19
The Netherlands Albums Top 100 32
New Zealand Albums Top 40 3
Norway Albums Top 40 24
Poland Albums Chart[8] 23
Sweden Albums Top 60 17
Swiss Albums Top 100 9
UK Albums Top 75 15
US Billboard Top Rock Albums 1
US Billboard 200[9] 2
World Albums Top 40[10] 2

Singles

Year Title U.S. U.S.
Main. 		U.S.
Mod. 		U.S.
Dance
2007 "Evolution" 107 4 20 18
2007 "Hold On" - 9 35 -
2008 "Kiss" - - - -

See also

Template:Wikipedia-Books

References

  1. ^ "Korn Cancels Hellfest Appearance". blabbermouth.net. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  2. ^ "Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  3. ^ IGN: Untitled Korn Album Review
  4. ^ The Gauntlet: Korn Album Review
  5. ^ a b Korn: Untitled (2007): Reviews - Metacritic
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Untitled > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  7. ^ Untitled : Korn : Review : Rolling Stone
  8. ^ Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart
  9. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?aid=984469&pid=121196
  10. ^ Korn - Untitled - Music Charts
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