There’s nothing corny about new album “Requiem”
5 out of 5 stars
Korn released their fourteenth studio album, “Requiem,” on Feb. 4. This new album is dark and eerie, but amazing with its emotional, poetic lyrics.
The band does an incredible job with the guitar, bass, and drums; they create a steady rhythm and sets the mood for all the songs. Jonathan Davis’s vocals are also remarkable — his unique, groveling voice and the vocal choices he makes throughout the album work well with Korn’s image.
“Forgotten” is a really nice song to start off the album. It brings you into the mood the rest of the album carries, despite being one of the softer songs on “Requiem.” It shows the talent in Davis’ voice; his voice is usually somewhat breathy and it has an eerie aspect to it. This helps bring out emotion in his songs and in his listeners.
“Let The Dark Do The Rest” is another dark song that starts off with some eerie guitar that sounds amazing. I love the lyrics in this song. The poetic word choice found in the song compliments the music set behind it and sounds incredible with Davis’ unique singing voice.
Some of my favorite lyrics in this song would be “Hell sent its best to come for me/ Nothing’s left, there is no price/ Portraits of black hang inside me/ Quite divine, they pulse inside.” The great imagery here reaffirms my love for how poetic rock songs are.
Another verse I love that comes in a little bit later is “this lucid darkness is filling up my soul.” Even the way Davis sings this verse fits so well. Again, I love the imagery in this verse and in the song overall; it is mysterious, haunting, and beautiful to listen to.
“Start The Healing,” I think, is a classic Korn song that has good harmony between singing and screaming in the vocals. The guitars, bass, and drums are amazing, featuring great breakdowns.
My favorite song on this album is “Lost In The Grandeur.” It immediately catches your attention with its use of muted notes that give the guitar a scratching sound. There are also a lot of times where Davis goes right from screaming to singing, which is an incredible feat.
The lyrics in “Disconnect” stand out to me as well. Similar to “Let The Dark Do The Rest,” I love the word choice and the song has great poetry throughout it.
“Hopeless And Beaten” is my least favorite on the album, but it is still really good. It is the heaviest song, and while the lyrics are really great, it is sometimes too heavy for my taste.
The lyrics throughout this album are amazing. Korn did a fantastic job with the poetic form of their lyrics. “Penance To Sorrow” and “My Confession” are good examples of that, and these songs keep the dark mood of the rest of the album.
My second favorite song is the last one, “Worst Is On Its Way.” My favorite part is the scatting that Davis does in the song. He scats in a lot of his songs, but this is the only song on this album in which he does so. It creates a cool, unique sound for Korn.
For the fellow heavy-guitar, guttural-scream-loving people out there, you cannot go wrong with the amazing riffs and breakdowns accompanied by Davis’ incredible vocals that you see in “Requiem.”
While I would not recommend this album (or any of Korn’s albums) to anyone who is not a rock or metal music fan, Korn did an incredible job with this latest album.