KORN — Follow the Leader (review)

Album · 1998 · Nu Metal

5/5 · 2020-04-01
Unitron

With Follow the Leader, Korn once again creates a unique album different from the last. In some ways, it does follow the noisier Life is Peachy, but more ideas make it sound like a transitional album. It's On! fittingly opens the album with a great 'jumpdafuckup' banger, and then it's anything goes from there.

Successful singles Got the Life and Freak on a Leash are almost dance metal, bringing to mind certain goth-new wave songs of the 80's, while most of the second half follow a different sound. They mix the screeching and noisy groove of the previous two albums with a moodier and depressive sound that would take complete form on the fantastic album that would follow.

Reclaim My Place, Justin, Seed, My Gift to You, and hidden track cover of Earache My Eye, these all strike that great transitional sound. Seed especially balances a dark Cypress Hill-esque sounding production with a fantastic chorus, perfectly blending crushing heaviness with some of the band's best melodies. My Gift to You sounds like a doom metal song, done in the style that only Korn can do. It's a great finale to the album, before the hidden track. The cover of Earache My Eye has always reminded me of Cathedral but with the Korn bass sound, whoever's doing vocals has a similar exuberance to Cathedral's Lee Dorian. Cameltosis with Tre Hardson from hip hop group The Pharcyde is probably one of the band's strangest songs, but once it hits it really does. Closest comparison is something from an alternate universe The Real Thing.

Unfortunately there are a couple songs that I'm not a fan of and/or feel out of place. Rap metal battle All in the Family and Children of the Korn, the latter with one of the most laughably bad intros I've ever heard, courtesy of Ice Cube. I don't want to spoil it, listen to it yourself and have a good laugh. All in the Family has actually grown on me a bit, but being an intentionally comedic song it would've fit better as another hidden track like the Earache My Eye cover.

While maybe the weakest of Korn's classic 90's albums, it's still obviously an excellent album. Cut out the little bit of filler, and this would be as fantastic as the rest as it holds some of their best songs.

more than 2 years ago
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Tupan wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Well, it's the first time EVER I see someone comparing Korn with Cathedral... Although I agree that My Gift to You has sort of a doom metal sound.

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I love Scatterbrain's cover too, and Soundgarden is yet another metal band that covered it (albeit only live), I think Scatterbrain's probably overall my favorite version, with Korn's a close second.

I think See You on the Other Side was my first Korn album, first heard it when Coming Undone was on the radio back when it came out.