Just short of a decade into their incredibly successful and influential career,
Korn went into
Take a Look in the Mirror publicly stating their hopes to record a fresh-sounding album, a seemingly simple task that they somewhat ended up accomplishing. They needed a fresh album -- one that differed from their past couple, the similar-sounding
Issues (1999) and
Untouchables (2001), yet at the same time wouldn't alienate their notoriously fickle
nu-metal fan base.
Issues and
Untouchables had been fine albums, but
Korn definitely needed a change -- if they wanted to remain relevant, that is. There's a lot of turnover in the
metal world because there's always the next big thing (whether it's
thrash,
grindcore,
alt-metal,
rap-metal, or whatever), and the rare bands that do last (like, say,
Tool) do so because they keep changing and therefore retain the curiousity of their perpetually aging (and thus perpetually dwindling) fan base while at the same time drawing in new generations of listeners. It's a tricky business, really -- you need to keep changing yet still maintain your essence. And
Korn does that very well on
Take a Look in the Mirror, where they deftly consolidate their past strengths and self-produce a succinct album that sounds like trademark
Korn -- yet purposefully doesn't sound like any
Korn album to date. It's a little paradoxical, but that's precisely what makes
Take a Look in the Mirror so interesting, especially for longtime fans. Particular songs draw from past
Korn albums -- whether it's the ultramelodic
Issues/
Untouchables style of
"Alive," the overt
rap-metal Follow the Leader style of
"Play Me," the covert
rap-metal Life Is Peachy style of
"Y'all Want a Single," or the seeing-red berserk
Korn style of
"Break Some Off" -- while a few highlights (
"Right Now," "Counting on Me," "Did My Time") break into exciting new territory. And perhaps most importantly,
Korn keeps
Take a Look in the Mirror brief: a baker's dozen in 45 minutes if you don't count the hidden bonus track (their ADD-paced live version of
"One" from
MTV's
Metallica comeback special). Because of the emphasis on brevity and variety (and especially quality), the album's over before you know it and you're left feeling hungry for more
Korn. ~ Jason Birchmeier
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