Untitled Korn album

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Untitled album
Untitled album cover
Regular edition cover; art by Richard A. Kirk
Studio album by Korn
Released Flag of Germany July 27, 2007
Flag of the United Kingdom July 30, 2007
Flag of the United States Flag of Canada July 31, 2007
Flag of Japan August 8, 2007
Flag of Vietnam Flag of the Philippines Flag of Singapore
October 14, 2007
Flag of the United Arab Emirates December 18, 2007
Recorded October 2006–March 2007
Genre Alternative metal, industrial metal
Length 48:47 (regular)
53:16 (deluxe)
Label EMI, Virgin Records
Producer Korn, Atticus Ross
Professional reviews
Korn chronology
MTV Unplugged: Korn
(2007)		 Untitled album
(2007)		 Playlist: The Very Best of Korn
(2008)
Alternate cover
Deluxe edition
Deluxe edition
Singles from this album
  1. "Evolution"
    Released: May 17, 2007
  2. "Hold On"
    Released: October 8, 2007
  3. "Kiss"
    Released: April 7, 2008

The untitled[1] eighth studio album by Korn was released in the United States on July 31, 2007, through Virgin Records. The standard edition holds 13 tracks, while the deluxe edition contains 14 tracks ("Sing Sorrow" as the bonus track). The disc was intentionally released without a title; as vocalist Jonathan Davis reasoned, "why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"

The untitled affair was the second studio album without former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch as well as the second studio disc to be co-written and produced by Atticus Ross and The Matrix. The album has been described as more atmospheric, heavy, and at times, progressive. Davis comments that the disc draws from influences such as The Cure and The Beatles.[2] It's also the first album to not feature the group's founding drummer David Silveria.

Contents

[edit] Background information

Longtime drummer David Silveria did not appear on the album, as he has decided to take a break to recuperate, spend time with his family and run his restaurants. The remaining three members enlisted renowned drummer Terry Bozzio (for 6 tracks), current Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, and lead singer Jonathan Davis. As a first, the band recruited keyboardist Zac Baird as a studio member for this eighth album. Baird has toured with Korn as the live keyboardist donning a horse mask, and more recently, black-and-white face paint.

On April 27, 2007, a new song entitled "I Will Protect You", was posted on Korn's MySpace. The track is nearly five minutes long and features a technically proficient drumming section during the bridge. The first single from the album, entitled "Evolution", premiered May 16, 2007 on Los Angeles' KROQ with help from Fieldy and Munky. 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." Apart from the band's logo, which doesn't appear on the Deluxe Edition, the cover art contains no text, implying that the album has no title instead of literally being called Untitled. Vocalist Jonathan Davis has said, "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?"[3]

On June 15, 2007, bassist Fieldy told Norwegian television channel VG TV that the new album "has a couple of songs on there about Jonathan Davis talking about almost dying, which are real heavy because he really experienced death almost so he wrote some songs about it. They're pretty touching, it's cool."

The album is still yet to be released in the United Arab Emirates. There will be a two-disk Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set available on the Emirates market as an apology to UAE fans from Korn for the album's release date being laid down so late in the nation.[citation needed]

[edit] Recording and production

As the first album to not feature drummer Silveria, the band decided to enlist veteran drummer Terry Bozzio, known for his work with Frank Zappa. With Bozzio, the group recorded the majority of the album. The group also brought on Avril Lavigne producer The Matrix, however re-recorded much of the work with The Matrix with noted producer Atticus Ross.

[edit] 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. Though not much is known as to why Bozzio left, Jonathan Davis claimed "things just got weird." 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.

[edit] 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 restaurateur, 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. ”

[edit] 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." Guitarist 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."[4] It's Korn's first album not to feature Davis' unique scatting.

[edit] Song rationales

  • "Intro" — A music interlude before the song "Starting Over" begins.
  • "Starting Over" — A song where Jonathan Davis channels all of his feelings about the battles he's overcome in the past few years: alcohol addiction, drug dependency, and a near-fatal blood disease. "The album opens with the seemingly straightforward rocker "Starting Over," but more than halfway through, the guitars drop and give way to a dreamy, psychedelic bridge, only to have the verses resurrected by gospel-inspired keys."[5]
  • "Bitch We Got a Problem" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens compares the song to "Do What They Say" as also sporting an almost dance vibe and industrial grooves.[5]
  • "Evolution" — Described by Jonathan as "addressing global climate issues." Jonathan said, "It's not political Al Gore shit. I'm just wondering, are my kids' kids going to have a place to live?" The song was also released as the lead single from the album.
  • "Kiss" — One of guitarist Munky's favorite tracks on the new album. "It has piano in it, and there's a very melancholy tone to it," he describes the song. Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song has The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" tones to it.[5]
  • "Do What They Say" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song "sports almost dance-y, industrial grooves" Jonathan Davis has also stated that this is his favorite song Korn has ever made. [5]
  • "Ever Be" — Munky describes the song as having "this epic ending to it — like, imagine 300 set to song."
  • "Love and Luxury" — Davis again addresses the departure of ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. In an interview with Billboard.com, Davis says, "I had to vent, it really irritated me that he's putting out this book and profiting off of talking shit about us -- the guys who gave him everything in his life and put him where he's at. If you don't want to be in the band, fine, but don't go out bad mouthing us." The intro of the song directly references Welch's autobiography "Save Me From Myself": "I read your little book and, ha ha ha ha." [5]
  • "Innocent Bystander" — Features "a little solo" according to Munky.[6]
  • "Killing" — Originally titled "Trained Response". Features a more complex riff than Korn has been used to write. "It's a hard riff to play, and if you keep playing it for an hour, your arm hurts," Munky explained. "[Frontman Jonathan Davis] was in writing the song with us, so he's the one who came up with the riff — because he's not used to playing hours on end. He was kind of the second guitar player, filling in the blanks for me."
  • "Hushabye" — Shaffer plays a "reverb-y" mandolin. The definition of a hushabye is a lullaby used to soothe or lull babies to sleep.[7]
  • "I Will Protect You" — Features an electronic bagpipe intro played by Jonathan Davis and a very progressive middle section showcasing Bozzio's drumming.

[edit] Release

The album was released through EMI/Virgin on July 31, 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, as well as a t-shirt that can be acquired online with purchase of the deluxe edition.[8]

The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard hot 100, a personal best since Untouchables. Despite debuting at #2 like "Untouchables", it sold nearly one fourth of the units in its first week. It also fell off the charts within twelve weeks and accumulating twenty weeks all together.[9]

[edit] Critical reception

Critical response to the album has been mixed, 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" [1] while The Gauntlet wrote ""Untitled" is the most articulate recording the band has delivered to date." [2] Entertainment Weekly also praised the album as being the band's best release "since 1999's 'Issues'" [3]

On the contrary, All Music Guide 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". [4] Rolling Stone asserted that Korn sounds "wounded and diminished" [5], while Sputnik Music and PopMatters agreed, calling it "tired, bland and dated... merely going through the motions rather than creating honest music". [6]

The album's Metacritic score is 51, while the user's average score is 7.2/10.[7]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Intro" – 1:57
  2. "Starting Over" – 4:02
  3. "Bitch We Got a Problem" – 3:23
  4. "Evolution" – 3:38
  5. "Hold On" – 3:06
  6. "Kiss" – 4:10
  7. "Do What They Say" – 4:17
  8. "Ever Be" – 4:49
  9. "Love and Luxury" – 3:01
  10. "Innocent Bystander" – 3:28
  11. "Killing" – 3:37
  12. "Hushabye" – 3:53
  13. "I Will Protect You" – 5:29


[edit] Bonus tracks

  1. "Sing Sorrow" (Deluxe Edition bonus track) – 4:33
  2. "Overture or Obituary" (iTunes pre-order only) - 3:00
  3. "Once Upon a Time" (Alternate version of "Sing Sorrow") - 4:33
  4. "Haze (a downloadable track on the 2008 re-release) - 2:48

[edit] Bonus DVD

  1. Making of Documentary – 48:13
  2. Korn Photo Slideshow – 3:39
    • The song played in the background of Photo Slideshow is "Evolution"

[edit] U.A.E. Deluxe Edition box set Disk II

  1. "Sing Sorrow" – 4:33
  2. "Overture or Obituary" - 3:00
  3. "Evolution (video)" – 3:40
  4. "Hold On (video)" – 3:08
  5. Making of Documentary – 48:13
  6. Korn Photo Slideshow – 3:39

[edit] Chart performance

The album has been certified Gold in the U.S.[10] However, as of May 2008, sales have only surpassed 400,000,[11] making it Korn's lowest selling album. The most probable reason is due to its poor marketing campaign in the U.S.

Chart Position
US Billboard Top Rock Albums 1
US Billboard Albums Top 200 2
US Billboard Albums Top 100 2
World Albums Top 40[12] 2
Finland Albums Top 40 2
Austria Albums Top 75 3
Germany Albums Top 50 3
NZ Albums Top 40 3
France Albums Top 150 8
Swiss Albums Top 100 9
Australia Albums Top 50 11
UK Albums Top 75 15
Sweden Albums Top 60 17
Italy Albums Top 50 19
Denmark Albums Top 40 20
Poland Album Chart [13] 23
Norway Albums Top 40 24
Belgium Albums Top 50 39
Ireland Albums Top 75 31
Dutch Albums Top 100 32

[edit] Singles

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

Many fans are still wondering if KoRn is completely done with Untitled or may release one more single due to the failure of Kiss.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ All Music Guide review
  2. ^ KornUnderground. Interview with Jonathan Davis (May 19, 2007). Retrieved on May 26, 2007.
  3. ^ KoRn - News
  4. ^ Munky on the Eighth album
  5. ^ a b c d e Billboard.com. Korn Goes Experimental, Vents Anger On 'Korn' (June 1, 2007). Retrieved on June 1, 2007.
  6. ^ Untitled Korn [2007 full-album] : Music > Rock - Mininova
  7. ^ Kornspace: 8th Studio Album
  8. ^ Korn's eighth studio album information
  9. ^ Billboard Music Charts - Latest Music News - Music Videos
  10. ^ Searchable Database. RIAA. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  11. ^ KORN: New Video Interview With JONATHAN DAVIS Posted Online. Blabbermouth.net (2008-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  12. ^ Korn - Untitled - Music Charts
  13. ^ Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart
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