The Paradigm Shift
October 10th, 2013
“Good bye. So Long. Wish I could stay but everything is all wrong.”
When Brian “Head” Welch left Korn in 2004, many of us wondered what Korn would be like without the support and influence of one of its founding members. When drummer David Silveria left the band in 2006, many of us wondered if Korn would continue and how their sound would evolve if they did continue. Thankfully Davis, Fieldy and Munky continued to make music. Their sound evolved after 2003’s Take A Look In The Mirror, the last album to feature tracks written with Welch. Silveria’s departure before 2007’s Untitled album, and the addition of touring drummer Joey Jordison of Slipknot/Murderdolls, found the band’s sound expanding to new sub-genres of the style of metal that the band was pivitol in bringing to the masses. The band’s Untitled release, Korn III: Remember Who You Are introduced Touring Drummer Ray Luzier as a permenant member and The Path of Totality saw the band shifting into a less brutal but just as aggressive style of metal, with The Path of Totality being the most musically diverse album the band has released.
Fast forward to 2012. After years of rumors and whispers from the fans, the return of Welch was finally confirmed and fans around the world rejoiced and held their collective breathe waiting for the release of Korn’s 11th album and the first with Welch in nearly a decade. Sadly Silveria wouldn’t be included in this reunion.
Returning to their stomping grounds in Bakerfield, California, recording and writing of The Paradigm Shift began in October 2012 and was finished in May of this year. The album also finds the band’s style returning to their metal roots. Thankfully Davis, Head, Munky and Fieldy were all in the right places in their lives to craft one of the band’s most brutally honest and intense releases to date. The Paradigm Shift incorporates the dark elements of of 1999’s Issues with the shear intensity and heaviness of 2002’s Untouchables. Davis’ vocals, while still edgy and agressive, continue to have a disturbed melodic tone. The sense of urgency in tracks like Prey For Me and Never Never is apparent.
The tone of The Paradigm Shift has the underlying tones of anger and frustration that the band’s previous releases all have but those emotions are more focused. With this release, you can tell now more than ever that the band truly cares about their music and are having more fun now than ever continuing to make the soundtrack for some many of our lives. This being the first Korn album to be produced by Don Gilmore, who’d previously worked with Three Days Grace and Linkin Park, Gilmore pushed the band to focus more on the actual craft of song writing. That push can be heard clearly on each track of the album. Tracks like Love & Meth, Punishment Time and Victimized are laced with some of the heaviest and most hypnotic hooks the band has ever written. The band admits that Gilmore pulled them out of their confort zone and urged them to experiment more with new harmonies and chord voicings.
The Paradigm Shift is brilliantly crafted. While the album’s sound is reminiscent of early Korn releases, it shows a forward progression and perfect continued evolution for a band two decades in the making. That being said, Korn are showing no signs of slowing down any time soon and will continue to give their fans, both new and old, the musical perfection that we’ve all come to expect from them.
