Korn's Untitled Eighth Studio Album

Untitled

Korn's untitled eighth studio album will be released on July 31, 2007, through Virgin Records. The standard edition holds 13 tracks, while the deluxe edition contains 14 tracks ("Sing Sorrow" as the bonus track). The disc will be released without a title, in what vocalist Jonathan Davis reasons as "why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?" On message boards, retail sites, and fan sites, the album is typically referred to as Untitled as well as Korn.

The untitled affair will be the second studio album without former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch as well as the second studio disc to be co-written and produced by Atticus Ross and The Matrix (though The Matrix left early during the project). The album has been described as more atmospheric, heavy, and at times progressive. Davis comments that the disc draws from influences by The Cure and The Beatles .

Long-time drummer David Silveria will not appear on the album, as he has decided to take a break to recuperate, spend time with his family and run his restaurants. The remaining three members enlisted renowned drummer Terry Bozzio (for 6 tracks), current Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, and lead singer Jonathan Davis, who hasn't played percussion since certain tracks on 1999's Issues..

In a first, the band recruited keyboardist Zac Baird as a studio member for this eighth album. Baird has toured with Korn as the live keyboardist donning a Horse mask, and more recently black-and-white face paint.

The deluxe edition will contain a bonus DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage hundred of never-before seen photos of the band, as well as a t-shirt that can be acquired online with purchase of the deluxe edition.

Untitled

On April 27, 2007, a new song entitled "I Will Protect You", was posted on Korn's MySpace. The song is approximately five minutes long, featuring a technically proficient drumming section during the bridge of the song. The first single from the album, entitled "Evolution" premiered May 16, 2007 on Los Angeles' KROQ with help from Fieldy and Munky. Both tracks from the new LP can be heard on the group's official MySpace and homepage.

An MTV article published on May 17, 2007 includes an interview with Munky as he details the process of the new studio album as well as reveals several song titles.

On May 28, vocalist Jonathan Davis joined Radio 3FM, after just performing at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland. He commented that the band's upcoming album, stating it "will not be titled." He elaborates by saying, "It's not titled. It's not going to be titled," Davis said. "We had the world's greatest drummer Terry Bozzio in and Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion in and I played drums on some songs too. I'm so proud of it, we just can't wait to show people what we've done." Titling the album has become an issue for these reasons, as Tod Martens of Billboard.com referred to the album deliberately as Untitled, despite the same reporting claiming it to be Korn (an album the band has already recorded and titled under). Others dismiss the album as titled either, and explicitly claim the album to be virtually untitled (referred to as "Korn's untitled album"). The cover art released on June 14, 2007 contains virtually no text (or even a logo), implying that the album will be known as the latter ["Korn's untitled album"], and not literally titled Untitled. Vocalist Jonathan Davis has said, "We didn't want to label this album. It has no boundaries. It has no limits and why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"

"We always wanted the atmospheres, and to really go deep," guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer told Billboard. "It wasn't until this record that we really felt comfortable to do that. As records progress, the urge to do that becomes greater. We feel like we've finally solidified ourselves in the rock world, and wanted to take this one a little deeper into that direction. It's less pop, and it's more experimental."

'Korn' is currently set for release through EMI/Virgin on July 31, 2007. The band will venture on the trio's Family Values Tour 2007 several days prior to the release and tour in support of the new record.

On June 15, 2007, bassist Fieldy told Norwegian television channel VG TV that the new album "has a couple of songs on there about [Jonathan Davis] talking about almost dying, which are real heavy because he really experienced death almost so he wrote some songs about it. They're pretty touching, it's cool."

Track listing

1. "Intro" – 1:57
2. "Starting Over" – 4:02
3. "Bitch We Got a Problem" – 3:22
4. "Evolution" – 3:38
5. "Hold On" – 3:05
6. "Kiss" – 4:09
7. "Do What They Say" – 4:17
8. "Ever Be" – 4:49
9. "Love and Luxury" – 3:00
10. "Innocent Bystander" – 3:28
11. "Killing" – 3:36
12. "Hushabye" – 3:52
13. "I Will Protect You" – 5:29

Bonus Tracks

1. "Sing Sorrow" (Deluxe Edition bonus track) – 4:33
2. "Overture or Obituary" (iTunes pre-order track)

Song descriptions

• "Starting Over" — A song where Jonathan Davis channels all of his feelings about the battles he's overcome in the past few years: alcohol addiction, drug dependency, and a near-fatal blood disease. Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments, "The album opens with the seemingly straightforward rocker "Starting Over," but more than halfway through, the guitars drop and give way to a dreamy, psychedelic bridge, only to have the verses resurrected by gospel-inspired keys."

• "Bitch We Got a Problem" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens compares the song to "Do What They Say" as also sporting an almost dance vibe and industrial grooves.

• "Evolution" — Described by Jonathan as "addressing global climate issues." Jonathan said, "It's not political Al Gore shit. I'm just wondering, are my kids' kids going to have a place to live?" The song is also the first single from the upcoming album.

• "Kiss" — One of guitarist Munky's favorite tracks on the new album. "It has piano in it, and there's a very melancholy tone to it," he describes the song. Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song has The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" tones to it.

• "Do What They Say" — Billboard journalist Todd Martens comments the song "sports almost dance-y, industrial grooves"

• "Ever Be" — Munky describes the song as having "this epic ending to it — like, imagine 300 set to song. It's crazy." The song is written about ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch.

• "Love and Luxury" — Davis again addresses the departure of ex-guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. In an interview with Billboard.com, Davis says, "I had to vent, iIt really irritated me that he's putting out this book and profiting off of talking shit about us -- the guys who gave him everything in his life and put him where he's at. If you don't want to be in the band, fine, but don't go out bad mouthing us."

• "Innocent Bystander" — Features a guitar solo performed by Munky.

• "Killing" — "It's a hard riff to play, and if you keep playing it for an hour, your arm hurts," Munky explained. "[Frontman Jonathan Davis] was in writing the song with us, so he's the one who came up with the riff — because he's not used to playing hours on end. He was kind of the second guitar player, filling in the blanks for me."

• "Hushabye" — Shaffer plays a "reverb-y" mandolin. The definition of a hushaby is a lullaby used to soothe or lull babies to sleep.

• "I Will Protect You" — Features a bagpipe intro and a very progressive middle section showcasing Bozzio's drumming.

Guitarist Munky said of the songs, "I don't want to say that it's heavy, because that pisses the other band members off. It's still the Korn sound, but it's also very atmospheric."

Reception

On July 20, 2007 at approximately 2:00 PM (EST), the album was leaked onto several BitTorrent networks in its entirety. Fan reception to the untitled affair has been rousing, citing it as their best work since 1999's Issues, heralding its standout industrial style. Generally, the album has received much warmer acceptance than it's predecessor, 2005's See You on the Other Side.

Trivia

• Despite "Hold On" being included on the standard version of the album, it is not available on the iTunes version.
• "Evolution" was originally titled "Evolutionary Stop."
• "Killing" was tentatively titled "Trained Response" and prior to that "My Arm Hurts." This was explained by Munky as, "It's a hard riff to play, and if you keep playing it for an hour, your arm hurts. Jon was in writing the song with us, so he's the one who came up with the riff because he's not used to playing hours on end."
• "I Will Protect You" is written about Jonathan Davis' children and his near-fatal bout with Idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP). This disease is also the subject of "Starting Over" and "Hold On".
• Popular fan titles in reference to the album include 8, Untitled, Korn II, Korn 2007
• The album features three separate drummers: Terry Bozzio, Brooks Wackerman, and Jonathan Davis.
• The production team of The Matrix left the recording process early, leaving the material written with them to be re-written and re-recorded with Atticus Ross.
• This album marks the end of an unusual contract with EMI/Virgin Records. When Korn signed in 2005, they made a mutual-type deal with them: the label paid them about 23 million dollars upfront, in exchange for profits for the first two albums that Korn made on their label, touring, and merchandise. This leaves the door open as to what Korn wishes to do in the future: renew contracts with EMI and Virgin, or sign to a new label.

Personnel

• Jonathan Davis – vocals, bagpipes, drums ("Love and Luxury", "Bitch We Got a Problem", and "Do What They Say"), lyrics
• James "Munky" Shaffer – seven-string guitar, eight-string guitar, mandolin
• Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – five-string bass guitar, fifteen-string bass guitar
• Terry Bozzio – (6 tracks only) drums and percussion, co-songwriter
• Brooks Wackerman – (Selected tracks) drums and percussion
• Zac Baird – keyboards, organ, synthesizer, various other instruments, co-songwriter
• Atticus Ross – main producer, mixing ("Intro" and "Bitch We Got a Problem")
• The Matrix – former producer (left early and material was re-recorded)
• Jim Monti – recording, engineer
• Frank Filipetti – recording, engineer
• Doug Trantow – additional engineering, mixing ("Intro" and "Bitch We Got a Problem")
• Terry Date – mixing ("Killing", "Hushabye", "I Will Protect You", "Innocent Bystander", "Evolution", and "Do What They Say")
• Alan Moulder – mixing ("Hold On", "Starting Over", "Kiss", "Ever Be", and "Love and Luxury")
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• Stewart Whitmore – digital editing
• Leo Ross – production assistant
• Jeffrey Kwatinetz – executive producer
• Richard Kirk – cover art

Terry Bozzio's Departure

After successfully recording six tracks with Bozzio, Zac Baird announced that Bozzio would not be touring with the band on the Family Values Tour 2007. Though not much is known as to why Bozzio left, Jonathan Davis claimed "things just got weird." Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion was brought in to record some tracks, and even Jonathan Davis himself contributed, something not done since 1999's Issues.

The Matrix's Departure

When premiering their new single "Evolution" on KROQ on May 16, 2007, guitarist Munky noted that the band re-recorded much of The Matrix's tracks with Atticus Ross because of the band being dissatisfied with how the material turned out. This was later confirmed in a Reuters/Billboard article:

This time around, amid some changes—founding drummer David Silveria is on hiatus to become a restaurateur, and The Matrix left the project early in the recording process—the band has crafted perhaps its most musically serious work since 2002's Untouchables. On the album's 13 tracks, Korn balances every chorus with murky keyboard atmospheres and toying arrangements, with songs that deeply explore a mood before exploding into a frenzy.

— Billboard