November 21, 2003 - Take A Look In The Mirror

Three days after my last release and about a year and a half since "Untouchables", Korn released their sixth album "Take A Look In The Mirror" on November 21, 2003. Like the album's name suggests, Korn thought that it was time that they reflected on their past and returned to a heavier, more aggressive sound like their early albums with less experimenting than the last couple albums. It's also the final album to feature the original line-up, so let's enjoy the last of original Korn!

The album kicks off with one of it's many singles "Right Now" and it's got a typical Korn vibe with some heavy and cool guitars, some super low and dirty bass by Fieldy and Jonathan Davis sounding pretty good singing overtop. This is definitely a nice throwback and my head is banging nicely throughout the verse and chorus as Davis holds some long notes and also sings faster, and sounds good doing both. After another round things get very quiet as Davis nicely whispers a new part, then they slam nicely into a heavy section with Davis screaming "shut up! Shut up! Shut up I'll fuck you up!" and everything sounds pretty damn heavy! This was a pretty solid way to kick off the album! Up next is "Break Some Off" and they jump right into another hard-hitting main riff with Munky and Head syncing up for some loud and heavy guitars. The verse has a quieter, creepier vibe, similar to some of their older stuff and it makes the chorus sound even heavier when they slam into it from this creepy verse. Davis heavy screams in the chorus sound awesome and he continues in this vein for a heavy and sweet new part after the next round. This is a short song, but it's pretty cool the whole way through, especially the heavy parts! Track 3 is "Counting On Me" and one guitarist starts the main riff by himself before the rest of the band nicely comes in to complete things with the cool low-to-high guitar riff leading the way. Davis sings a high verse that is fairly tame, then they ramp nicely into a slow, thundering chorus with Davis holding lots of long notes. After the next round Davis does a cool part where he alternates singing and screaming and of course I love his screaming parts more, but they both sound great! I'm surprised this one wasn't a single, it's pretty accessible, yet still very Korn. The next track is "Here It Comes Again" and once again one guitarist gets things started by himself before the rest of the band forms the complete main riff around it and it's an interesting and slightly offbeat riff. Davis sings a pretty pop-y but undeniably smooth verse, and then he lets loose some great screams in the chorus! This song is a bit repetitive as they just continue to jam out the verse and chorus, but of course I like the heavier parts. Track 5 is "Deep Inside" and it's got a pretty sweet stop-and-start guitar riff leading the way while Fieldy plays some excellent bass in the background. Davis sings a pretty solid verse to match the mood and ir leads right into a faster chorus that is pretty cool as well and very typically Korn. The guitars briefly drop away and it's an interesting sound with just bass, drums and vocals, then the guitars come slamming back in for a final verse and chorus and a pretty heavy and awesome ending! Up next is another single titled "Did My Time" and one guitarist plays a cool lighter riff to keep the pace while the other comes in and out with the same riff but much heavier. This song was a no-brainer for the lead single, if somebody asked "what does Korn sound like?", this song would give you everything you need to know. It's made-for-radio Korn, which means it's a good song no doubt, but a bit of a simpler one. Track 7 is yet another single called "Everything I've Known" and after a cool intro Fieldy takes over with some classic super low Korn bass and they move into a headbanger of a new riff. This turns out to be a preview of the whole song as the verse is driven by the creepy and cool intro riff, with Davis sounding solid overtop, and the chorus is driven by the heavy riff with Davis sounding lesser but still alright here. After the next round is a brief new part where Davis holds some really long notes, then it's back for a final chorus to wrap things up. The next track is "Play Me" and it features rapper Nas. It's still driven by a low and heavy, pretty typical Korn main riff and Nas actually sounds decent rapping overtop in the verse. Davis is still nowhere to be seen in the chorus and while I wish it would've been both of them, I'm quite shocked at how tolerable Nas is on lead vocals. After another round Davis does join in finally as he leads a new verse that is quiet at first, but ramps nicely into some pretty heavy screaming. Definitely better than I expected! Track 9 is "Alive" and after Fieldy plays us in with some typical(ly sweet) bass one guitarist echoes him on guitar while the other plays a creepy riff and together these combine for an interesting main riff. Davis sounds pretty good singing a harsh verse and he hits some pretty low screams in the chorus as well! At four and a half minutes it's a bit repetitive, but still a decently heavy tune. Up next is "Let's Do This Now" and Davis starts us off either some bagpipes! Still not my favourite, but still very Korn, Fieldy's bass in the background mixed with the bagpipes sounds pretty funny! Eventually they fall away and it's a typical Korn main riff that hits hard and sounds pretty good. The chorus is so fast it's almost rapping, but Davis does it all in a great heavy voice and it's all pretty catchy and cool! After another round Davis leads a tame new verse, but it ends with a couple super long screams that he holds for a good while! They sound great! Then it's another upbeat and fast chorus to wrap up this pretty cool tune. Track 11 is "I'm Done" and after a nice creepy opening some heavy guitars take over with a headbanging, stop-and-start riff. Davis sings a simple but pretty catchy verse overtop and it leads into a pretty similar chorus. I'm surprised this one wasn't a single, it seems a little one-dimensional and made-for-radio to me. The next song is the album's final single, aptly titled "Y'All Want A Single". Davis opens with a line he'll say a lot in this song: "Y'all want a single say fuck that. Fuck that fuck that". This makes it easily the highest quantity of profanity in my library i'm pretty sure and delivered overtop the super catchy and cool riff, it's an instant classic! Davis leads a pretty catchy verse as well and when it leads into the Uber catchy, shout-along chorus this was bound to be one of Korn's most well-known songs, and it's a pretty good jam! It's repetitive yes, but who cares when it's so fun to say! Really nicely done guys! The final song on the album is listed at 14:23, but we know how Korn is so our actual song is called "When Will This End" with a bonus song to come after some silence. It's got a pretty groovy main riff that is still ver heavy and Korn, but also has a nice sway to it like a vicious metal swing going back and forth. Fieldy plays some more great bass and Davis sings a nice verse that starts quiet but quickly gets loud leading to a nice scream that takes us to a solid chorus. Davis really starts to go off after the next round with all kinds of great screaming vocals and everything sounds pretty heavy and awesome! When this song ends at the 3:40 mark it's definitely one of my favourites on the album! After 6:13 of silence we get our bonus song, which is a live version of "One", a cover of Metallica! Head and Munky absolutely nail the quiet opening on guitars, then they jump right into the first verse and Davis singing Hetfield's part sounds pretty solid! It's got the heavy Korn tinge to the guitars but otherwise stay pretty damn true to the original! The first guitar solo is a little timid but still solid and from there they show they can be a little prog with a nice shift into the next part. When they hit the really heavy part everyone is absolutely nailing it, things sound awesome, then the song just ends! Well the part they did was an excellent cover, but they were just getting to the best part and I was looking forward to some shredding solos and a hell of a finish! Not to be I suppose...

That is the end of "Take A Look In The Mirror" and I thought it was a nice return to form for Korn. They stuck to their guns and banged out a pretty good metal album with several pretty catchy and solid songs. I think it easily surpasses their last three albums, but also easily doesn't surpass their debut "Korn". 3rd place is still pretty good though and I look forward to seeing where the nu-metal creators go from here!