Reviews (page 4 of 9)
I knew Freak on a Leash of course which is alright but I always stayed away from Korn because they were like the band version of a Spencer’s. Also associated them with Limp Biskit which I dislike… oh good Fred Durst is on here. Honestly I liked the rhythm section, especially how dirty that bass sounds, and the aggressive parts. On a whole though the rapping portions and influences are just terrible. I got excited to hear an actual rapper when Ice Cube came on but good lord that Fred Durst song really lived up to the expectations I had (even if I think it’s intentionally poking fun that song still sucked) I don’t think Korn will ever really be for me and that’s ok (2.5/5)
Nu metal - nostalgic cringe.
I will always love this album.
Solid numetal, edgy, abrasive, and at times very fun. Freak on a leash always a good time.
Nu metal what a time
Enjoyed this, some bits more than others, interesting vocal range and style…. Angry as expected!
Excellent album
C'était bien nul.
I genuinely like this. I liked it when it came out, and I like it now. In a sea of extremely forgettable nu-metal bands, Korn managed to be interesting enough to stand out, and have a unique sound that still hasn't been duplicated (not sure anyone has tried to be fair).
2 Aged horribly
I like KORN fineish. Not a fan of Jonathan Davis, his vocals get on my nerves. Before I relisted to this album (it's been years) I was planning on giving it 3 stars. I prefer the first album and Life Is Peachy over this one but then I heard Fred Durst on the record and that song is fucking trash. I dig Korn's Nu-Metal shit, but Fred Durst is shit and if you have him on your album that is not saving you, even Ice FUCKING Cube having a guest spot on your album will not save you from the 1 star of Fred Durst.
I’ve not got time to listen to this kinda shit. Got through 3 songs and turned this nonsense off. Not an album that needs to be heard in any way.
Honestly this exceeded my expectations. I'm NOT a metal guy and this was fucking epic. I did not care for the Fred Durst feature but I understand sonically why they'd make a song together. Vocals are fucking phenomenal. And the songs are catchy as hell. Plus the Ice Cube feature was both the perfect balance of corny and badass. Also the drums and bass are great.
You know Korn, nu metal with themes of childhood, abuse, and trauma. Hadn't appreciated before that this album dropped even before Slipknot self-titled, and yet the sound is so well-developed already. On a close critical listen am I getting influences from funk and even disco? Ice Cube on Children of the Korn is cool! And then you have All In The Family, clearly the apex of nu metal My Gift To You sounds like a Slipknot track in places Best track (other than Freak On A Leash, Dead Bodies Everywhere and All In The Family) - It's On! 4 stars
нихуева
I know people love these guys, but I never caught the bug, and this album didn't do it. It feels closer to Marilyn Manson in its impotent rage that feels more like a tantrum than declaration, insistence, or even resistance. Except that it also feels like teenagers that think lots of obscenity, homophobia, and rape-yness counts as sticking it to the man of squares or whatever.
I more or less want to just forget the whole nu-metal thing happened*, but in 1998, blaring this as loud as you could made you feel invincible. 27 (!) years later and the two singles ("Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash") with monster rhythm sections still rile me all the way up. I'll admit this had a home in my CD binder, and for like 3 months of my life, a place in my 6-disc changer. However, there are two issues with this album. First, the rampant homophobia and misogyny are out of control. What was it about the late 90s that fueled white men to be so pointlessly cruel? Second, it's basically the same formula over and over again, with no real discernible differences. It certainly doesn't need to be an hour and seven minutes. Putting the two monster singles that have at least some personality right up top saps any potential momentum it could have had. There are albums out there that sound like they were crafted during drug-fueled orgies because of their sharp teeth and dangerous, slightly sleazy vibe (Prince and Iggy Pop are two sides of a spectrum on this.) This one literally was and yet there's not a whiff of any carnal temptation that seems worth throwing your life away to pursue. It's all tilting at windmills with no care or craft, rendering the whole thing impotent. Which, given the bacchanalian way the album was made, I guess makes some sense. Still, the two singles have a permanent place on several of my shuffled nostalgic playlists and workout playlists, and if I'm in the right mood and/or setting I'm always game to sing along and remember what it was like to be a teenager in the late 90s. (Not for nothing, but watching those kids explode at Woodstock 99 on MTV in the various docs they made about it was nuts. Somehow Korn was the biggest band on the planet for a year or two. Just absolutely wild.) *obligatory note that Deftones are the exception to everything I'm positing about nu-metal, a category they got clumped into and then transcended. And still "White Pony" is nowhere to be found on a list that includes albums by Korn, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and Linkin Park.
Some hits on here but overall feels like a product of its time. Would’ve been a 4-5 when I was 15, closer to a 3 now.
Quintessential nu-metal album. Slap bass, trashy snare and unintelligible grunting. Great album 4/5.
one of their best
It's Korn, some vibes but a lot of cringe
The best KoRn record, one of the best in nu-metal, always gets in any top20 album list of mine
It's alright. They do have their own sound. Just depends on how much you like it
This sucks... some real good basslines here, big fan of the bass tone and the drumming is good, but not enough to outweigh the unbearable cringe, molested my ears. That song with the Fred Durst vocals is one of the worst things I've ever heard in my life
Tedious nu metal. If there weren't gaps between tracks, I would have thought it was pretty much a 67 minute song with tempo changes.
I never really could stomach Korn. Their groovy and accessible sound was huge for propelling the nu-metal genre (and metal in general) into the mainstream, which is a good or bad thing depending on who you are. I just think there was far better and more interesting things happening in metal at this time.
7.5/10
This was a different album than what I usually listen to, but not something I’d listen to again
Not a fan, couldn't actually get through it, vocals are annoying lyrics are cringe inducing, riffs are nothing special
2 out of 5. I was both excited and a little scared to listen to this album again. I haven't played this in over 20 years, since middle school, and forgot how this one sounds. It doesn't hold up, but the bass playing is easily my favorite part of this whole album.
This held up much better than its contemporaries. I guess a metaphorical Full Windsor rather than a Slip...sorry. I think Jonathan Davis said it best in Freak on a Leash, "Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da. Mmmmmm na da nnnnnnnn da da da." I take it back. This is every bit as bad as Slipknot.
It’s important for all the 40 year olds with kids to remember how incredibly moody and angsty we all were. I forgot how much “woe-is-me” nu-metal l/alt rock there was!!! Were we actually the worst? Also ice cube - wtf?? Giving it a 2 because it is layered, has creativity and a tune. Not my fav but no way the worst on this list
I used to think that I might like Korn, but every time I would actually listen to a song I'd be underwhelmed. And then I listened to an entire album and ... well... now I don't feel like I ever have to wonder if I like Korn again.
DNF
Zo hard, zo strak, en zo goed geproduceerd. Heel origineel
Never listened to Korn before. Low-key made me mad haha but it was like a clarity mad if that make sense, so I caught some things I probably wouldn't have cared for.
Oof. I already know there’s only so much time I’ll be willing to waste on this one. Funny thing, Korn’s debut record released right at the right time for me to gravitate toward it. I even enjoyed Life is Peachy quite a bit. Of course, I was 16 at the time, and full of angst. By the time Follow the Leader came out, I had well and truly grown out of their sound and I’m not sure that I’ve listened to Korn since. And revisiting the band for this record makes me think I’ve made the right call for the last 27 years. This record truly sucks. I now understand what some of my buddies already understood what took me almost 3 decades to really see: Korn, while spearheading a whole new (at the time) genre of metal, probably shouldn't have. Because it's lame, and it sucks, and my friends were right to make fun of me. I’m tapping out 3 tracks in. I just can’t do it. 2/5
Perfect representation for the weird 00’s rock-rap ish and 14-year old me loves it.
Gar nicht mal so schlecht. Zum normalen hören zu hart. Für Training eventuell ganz gut.
Pretty strong start - I forgot how good ‘Got the life’ was. the bass tone and guitar riffs are honestly pretty sick throughout, I can see why it spawned an entire genre. But holy shit some of the lyrics are cringe and did not age well at all. All in the family makes me wanna kms
Lmfao how did they get ice cube. Some funky ass white boys but yuck. … maybe we dont need funky ass white boys. Better than slipknot self titled? ONE!
These guys have some major issues.
My freak off-leash 💯 💪
(7/100)
I heard about Korn 30 years before I heard their music. I was driving a cab overnight in the sleepy, Meth infected desert town of California. The dispatcher was some girl, name unremembered. We talked about music because, fuck me, there were no rides. Except the nightly lab specimen and the one guy who hired me to take him to the bus station every morning so he could go to work. "Have you heard of Korn?" She asked. And she wouldn't stop talking about them. I talk about my location because I was about the same distance from Lancaster as Lancaster is to Los Angeles. So, they were local. I heard some of their music on MTV but I never listened all the way through. This is the soundtrack to Gen X depression. From the imagery on the covers to the music. It's all schism and chaos. It's primitive rage borne from soul wrenching. Inorganic but also purely meth capital desert bloomed. If you took a lot of Meth and forced Rage Against the Machine to listen to nothing but Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nine Inch Nails all day long, this is what you get.
It's metal music with rap lyrics... Its ok but it doesn't stand out for me.
omg it’s korn that was fun, good nu-metal 4.5
Hit of nostalgia. Starts of strong and then kind goes downhill. Still a well produced album
The dumpster kids unite over this album. As a critical listener I appreciate what nu metal did for music. But Korn is far from my favorite in the genre. Thematically the sludgey guitars and demonic vocals make this a unique standout from the genre that definitely imprinted in on music for generations to follow. You don't have to be a fan to appreciate. Middle of the road album, I don't love or like more than the hit(s) freak on a leash. But still think this was important for metal and music in a whole.
Not sure I’ve ever listened to this album in full despite being a pretty big Korn fan in middle school. “Freak on a Leash” and “Got the Life” are perfect nü metal songs that stand out from the pack. Several other songs play with the same ideas. Others are nothing but immature, misogynistic, homophobia-laced diss tracks. Will stick with the singles on this one!
A lot of hate for this album on here, and I'm not here to defend it and say "y'all just don't understand it's genius" or whatever. Davis has a unique voice that's honestly very hard to listen to for a whole album, but for a metal album from the late 90s, this album did a lot to influence so many other bands and is actually pretty interesting overall. "All In The Family" certainly didn't age well...
This is like if Limp Bizkit didn't suck as much
Dreadful
Auf dem Heimweg im Zug vom Pogendroblem Konzert nach Hause. Ich hab ja gedacht, dass ich sie damals Jacke fand, weil man sie halt kacke finden musste. Aber offenbar finde ich sie einfach kacke.
Can't believe I listened to over an hour of Korn. Not really my thing, but if you like it, enjoy it.
The great Steven Wilson in one of his Album Years podcasts once said that everyone should own at least one Korn album. I remember this because at the time I had never heard of Korn. As his and my musical tastes seem to coincide (if not obviously his great musicality) I did stream a few Korn tracks but was largely unimpressed. Then I get this album on the list so considered by the 1001 Gods good enough to be on it. Again I’m unimpressed. Not an all out stinker as there are some good great guitar sounds going on but the vocals let it down. This is a common thing to my ears when I hear heavy metal singers. Seems that they are communicating in Klingon instead of the Kings English (nearly put Queen there) Striking album cover in an horrific way. Little kids playing hopscotch to oblivion? 2/5 20/10/25
Not as unpleasant as I feared. Some songs I even listened to the whole way through without having to exercise much self control. But still not my scene and struggling to understand the appeal. The voice!!
Not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but definitely don’t feel I had to listen to it in this lifetime
Aside from the singles this album is 100% nu metal cringe. From the lyrics to the rapping, I honestly have no idea how this album made it on this list
I tend not be a huge heavy metal fan but Korn is King in this genre. Strong metal rifts and you can understand the lyrics. One of the great bands for those who like to be fully energized.
Nope. Never.
Favourite Tracks - Freak on a Leash, Got the Life, Dead Bodies Everywhere
not for me
DNF. I do not like this.
Bad!
I am shocked at how much I liked this. I never tried out nu-metal but this album isn't half bad. This was genuinely almost a five for me.
Damn. I remember when I first got this album it seemed like a huge step forward. but now I find it hard to listen to a complete song, IMO I think Jonathan Davis' vocals just did not age that well.
Not my favorite.
Better than I was expecting but it's a lot.
NOPE
The audio equivalent of the smelliest guy at the party cornering you and saying “you really need to listen to Dance with the Devil by AESOP Rock, but like REALLY listen to it, hahaha” and then he flashes a weird fucking smile
3.2
Un álbum aunque sea mítico, una representación del nu metal de los 2000, es un álbum bastante bastante repetitivo. Freak on a leash es literalmente la main canción del álbum y después de esa, no hay ninguna que digamos, destacable.
One banger, the rest is a bit meh.
Some of the drum and guitar grooves are an interesting skeleton, but then everything on top seems designed to sound as irritating as possible (singer, lead guitar tones, random extra noise). Somehow this is the worst thing Ice Cube has ever been part of, even counting Amazon's War of the Worlds.
I've never been a fan of Korn, so this review is quite biased. The vocals and the bass both just sound terrible to me.
Hey, you know what aged really poorly? That song where Fred Durst and Korn Man insult each other
I dislike Korn. Quite a lot. They’re brand of metal is so slow sounding and annoying, also it’s bad
There are parts that are okay, but I really don't like most of it. 2 stars or D+.
This is just awful. Korn represents the mall rat douche bags who populated the suburbs at the end of the 20th century whose lives oozed with privilege but they were angry about something. The songs all slog along a mid tempo hip-hop beat while the guitarists dick around with harmonics and effects rigs. Listening to this is the aural equivalent of a of eating a Taco Bell Mexican pizza from a dumpster behind the mall with a very large Mountain Dew.
Nierda!!!! Ese bajo no me dejó escuchar si alguien cantaba o se quejaba. Increíble que había gente que no movía sus ojos al parecer. Tortura.
It's cock rock. Wasn't a fan at the time, but I can acknowledge its influence.
2.9 Will start by saying I used to absolutely love Korn. But after a cracking debut album and an underrated follow up, this album never stuck well with me. Years later I can reflect on why - children of the Korn and all in the family completely ruin the album. BBK is actually a good song but I'm still too wound up after Children to enjoy it. Same goes for the next couple after Family. - the misogyny ("fucking bitches daily") and homophobia ("you little faggot") leaves a sour taste in the mouth, particularly after they literally had a song on their debut in support of kids getting bullied at school for being a "faggot". - way too fucking long. Should have ended after Seed. - the shitty trend of inserting convo's they had when high at the end of albums. As a kid I thought this was cool but fucking hell they sound like bellends in hindsight. - Earache my eye. Enough said. The only redeeming thing about this album is the first three songs. They should have released those as an EP with BBK and moved on to Untouchables.
Forgettable.
A classic nu-metal album which unfortunately the songs with the features are the worst ones. Overall, it’s fun and Korn in their finest form
A bit dated, but I thought this was a kind of clever album with some interesting music.
Nja, visst tuff rock men för mycket beat framför melodi för min smak, sången blir också jobbig.
I have nostalgia for Freak on a Leash, but the rest of the album is hard to listen to...
I grew up with nu metal and although Korn wasn't my favorite at the time, I can appreciate them now. I loved this but not giving 5 stars due to some problematic lyrics - will skip over those song
никогда корн не нравились - хоть и, будем объективны, у них есть свой стилек. ну и фит с айс кьюбом ужасен.
Freak on a leash and Got the Life 💞
You know, we all have guilty pleasures. Down a point for the misogyny and homophobia though.
I'm not too much of a fan of metal, but this was good metal, a lot of my friends quote their growling a bit. I don't think this is anything special, just good. Guitars were pretty killer tho, instrumentally it had it's cool moments
What a rubbish metal album, seriously, I can't find much of this album to like. His voice is just creepy and doesn't suit the bland backing band that can't get anything right. Also, the homophobia and misogyny are present throughout the whole album, which is just gross. Why is this band so popular is something I can't understand.
A particular type of person likes screaming metal. It’s not me
90’s hard grungy / rock
Heavy ass rock & lol rap
Korns studio efforts always pail in comparison to their live work.
This was difficult listen. I didn't really like this kind of music back in the 90's and early 00's and it looks like I still don't.
My first child was still a baby when this was released. I was past the angsty teen stage of my life. I did not like the way nu-metal sounded, so I never bothered listening to any Korn music. This was all new to me. It started off decent enough before it descended into edgy, angry, juvenile, explicit, screamy, growling, garbage. And it was over an hour long. Also they diss Winger. I will not stand for that.
Nice
Can’t be bothered
A slog.
One of the best albums from the nu metal era. Classic.
"Freak on a leash is such banger, wonder why i haven't listen to more of their music?" "...Oh" Everything kinda sounds like a lesser version to me. The vocal quirks get a bit tiresome for me. Almost sounds like the guy from Police academy joined a metal band. It is iconic from the era, I'll give it that and freak on a leash is actually pretty good. But as a whole it wasn't for me (even though I remember seeing them in concert once)
Bored half way through, a couple of decent riffs but I found the vocals very annoying, I can't stand Fieldy's bass style some of the tracks with guest rappers are absolutely cringe worthy. It's also way, way too long. Shit.
YOOOOOOOO GOAT album when I was 13. First CD I bought myself.
If I could give this a zero I would. I lived through this period. I was in high school. No one needs to listen to Korn before they die.
It's undeniably angsty and childish, and the last track and All In The Family have aged terribly, but the highs are great and I was bobbing my head listening. One of the better albums to come out of Nu-Metal
This was not for me. A lot of yelling and screaming. 1.6/10
More palatable than Slipknot. But still just sounds so futile.
They just don't make them like this anymore. My hotmail address was KoRnTimmie@hotmail.com back in 2002, so I can't give this a one star.. Alright, give it 3 stars for freak on a leash. Mbaaah maam mumm brapapapapap
Deze gasten zijn goed getikt. Even een stukje normaal zingen is er niet bij. Verder worden weer alle donkere krochten van de menselijke ziel opgezocht, waar ik ook niet om gevraagd had. Werkelijk afschuwelijke nihilistische bagger, een andere benaming heb ik er niet voor. Halverwege afgezet. Ik ga even een andere leider volgen.
Korn deed mij rond de eeuwwisseling weinig. Ondanks de stevigheid voelt het altijd wat leeg. Toch kan ik de muziek van Korn niet over één kam scheren. Ondanks de terugkerende grauwen, is er best veel variatie. Vooraf zitten twee nummers gelijk in mijn hoofd en die staan beide op dit album. Freak on a Leash is een nummer met een handtekening, dat vrij toegankelijk is. Ondanks en grom en een (lekker) lage lange bassdrum is het best een rustig en prima opgebouwd nummer. Het tweede nummer dat vooraf in mijn hoofd zit, is één van mijn grote ergernissen. Children of the Korn is wat betreft de muziekstijl best mijn smaak. Een combi tussen rauwe rock en rap. Maar de uitvoering is zo belabberd, dat het eigenlijk een schande voor het genre is. Ook na het opnieuw luisteren blijven deze twee nummers dominant in mijn hoofd. De meeste nummers doen mij weinig. Korn heeft vrij veel geluid, maar toch mist er vaak iets. Dat blijkt ook wel ruim 10 jaar later als de band The Path of Totality uitbrengt. Het bekende Korn-geluid wordt aangevuld met dubstep en ineens voelt het niet meer zo leeg. Dat had ik nodig. 2,5 ster
Een album dat numetal combineert met rap, waarom vind ik dit zo ontiegelijk vet? Het codewoord: groove. Het komt het beste naar voor bij Got the Life, maar eigenlijk is het vrijwel elk nummer waarin die groove zit. De manier waarop de drums onvoorspelbaar en teringstrak zijn, de gitaren op de perfecte manier een distorted muur van geluid zijn en de bass die zo laag gestemd is dat de snaren tegen de klankkast kletteren. Die doen het voor mij. De zang en de scratch djs of hoe de gitaristen halve djs zijn, heb ik het niet eens over. Wat een muzikanten, op hun manier. Tering. En dan vind ik dit niet eens hun beste album. Begrijp me niet verkeerd, als je 1 album van Korn moet kiezen voor deze snoblijst, dan zou ik deze kiezen. Maar ik heb zelf het debuut, snob die ik ben, nog vaker geluisterd. Maar dit album heb ik fysiek in bezit gehad. Oh man, die groove. Hoe dik. Schijt aan die rap, want daar koop ik zeker niet zo'n album voor. Maar die groove, die albums kun je echt op 1 hand tellen. 5 sterren, want die groove
I love corn but I hate Korn
Godt metal album, jeg kedede mig sgu ikke.
It's Korn! It doesn't have the juice! Also I knew there was a reason why I stuck to Linkin Park during the nu-metal craze.
Cuando tenía 16 era mejor
Not as great of an album as I remember. I think I’ve kind of ”outgrown” this type of music. A lot of the songs just sound the same. Still knocks though.
Better than Coldplay
Great another limp bizkit adjacent band. For some reason I expected to enjoy this more but it's genuinely really bad. Limp bizkit at least has some catchy songs. Korn just throws a bunch of vulgar shit at the wall and hopes some of it sticks. The lyrics are terrible the instrumentals are terrible I genuinely don't understand how people like this band. 2/10 Favourite: None Least Favourite: All in the Family
A wild ride
I will always be down with Got the Life, but this was never my bag.
This is where corn jumped a shark. I mean really one of the lyrics is get your boogie on. Cringe. I didn't like it then. I don't like it now
Used to love this album. Used to love this band. I guess I have mellowed out some in my old age as it doesn't really hold up. However, I can see how it is on the list and it should be IMO.
Meh - long, pretty samey, I like metal genre but got a bit bored of this
Did not listen to Come back to later on
korn at its finest. great rhythm, angst, and the only complaint is its a bit long and samey. 4.5
Randy Newman is Bob Dylan for squares
Look, Nu Metal has every right to be on this list - I had fun with the Slipknot offering some time ago - and you can't spell Nu Metal without Kor—... wait. U Metal. Well, I guess you can, mostly? Cool, because this album is kinda shit. Their "Life is Peachy" had a spot in my Music I Listened To history, but only because it was new and musically interesting enough, then, to outweigh how (purposefully?) unpleasant and nasty it felt, the edgelording of it all. But the latter is pretty much all that's left, now and today. I found myself nodding along here and there for a bit, the track with Ice Cube could have been on that "Judgment Night" soundtrack (iykyk), but I do not need this today. Or ever again. Where's "White Pony"?
4/5
The album that launched a million chain wallets. As easy as it is to make fun of nu metal, Follow the Leader is pretty good.
This is one of those bands who were incredibly unique when they came out but, 30 years later, just feels really corny to me (sorry, couldn't help it). I can still get into some of the songs but for the most it all just blends together.
You can hate the album. It's messy. It's homophobic. But you can't deny that teens everywhere were relieved to find music that spoke to them. It charted after all and won awards. There's very few Korn songs I keep, even in my music playlist Time Capsule, but Freak on a Leash made it (so did Falling Away from Me from Issues)
I loved Korn in the 90s, and I still think that overall this is a very good album - it's just not the rock solid 5-star I thought it would be when I saw it pop up. I still think the bangers are bangers, but I never thought this was one of Korn's best albums, and I think that there are plenty of songs that sound dated, and the one with Fred Durst deserves a docked star all on its own. Overall, I think it deserves 4 stars. It's a good album that maybe didn't stand the test of time, but was an important and critical piece of art from a time where this style of music was dominant in the zeitgeist.
Korns not really my thing A lot of sounds
A lot of yelling and screaming. Enjoy
Not totally into Korn, but this was a pretty solid record.
The beginning o the end for great it's rock. Insert mad at the world, I hate my parents, blame everyone for my decision emo screamo rock. Hate Korn
Laughably bad... at least i was able to laugh at the rapping efforts and some random noises
They're basically a pop group who think they're quite scary. I used to enjoy the videos that popped up on MTV in the early noughties, but I'm not really captured by any of it now. I still like the very low-tuned bass.
This album was designed in a lab to help you max out on the squat rack Best Song: Children of the Korn Rating: 5.5/10 Stars: 2/5
Great. Haven't listened to this in quite a while. ★★★★
The most interesting thing about this album is the reviews on this website. Mostly because they have the same tone I would imagine parents had when this album came out. Idk why we need to jump to, "this album is evil and will corrupt the mind" when it is just try hard edgy metal. Some of the sounds I like. A general creepy atmosphere that is pretty unique. But it all sounds samey by the end and the aforementioned try hard edgy lyrics are cringe. But it is not corrupting or the end of the world.
Not a fan, very familiar with this band and not even one of their songs has made it into my library
Starts as 4/5 ends as a 3/2
Nu-metal Bun de spalat vasele si curatat frigiderul
I heard Korn once and since then have done everything in my power to never hear it again, this was a close call!
This album sounds like a 14-year-old boy's bedroom smells.
They’re good at what they do but it ain’t for me
just not my jam, but interesting listen nonetheless
Aw, shit, is it nu metal time again? Y'know, nu metal gets a bad rap as a soundtrack for angry white boys getting mad at their parents taking away their Xbox — and it's not an unearned reputation. Besides Linkin Park, I struggle to think of any nu metal band that I could say wouldn't fit that stereotype to at least some degree. It's an angry genre, but it's also an incredibly juvenile genre. And, sure, angry white boys need their music, too, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to like it. Though, with that said... It's still metal. Or metal enough, at least. As I've said many times before, I'm not particularly discerning about metal. You give me loud guitar riffs and some pounding drums, more often than not I'm a happy girlie. Even the shittiest nu metal could probably satisfy me, assuming the guitars were crunchy enough and I could ignore the lyrics. This, I think, is where Korn comes in. Now, I wouldn't call them a shitty band — far from it. In the pantheon of nu metal, I'm pretty sure they're up there in the ranks (if you ignore their Skrillex co-production, anyway). It's just that, for my money, they generally don't do anything to really embarrass themselves and get in the way of the lyrics. There's some exceptions in spots, of course, but if you're coming to this just for some late 90's nu metal, you're probably gonna be more than satisfied. But let's talk about those exceptions. For one, the lyrics, for the most part, are fine. **For the most part** — we'll get there. But it's about what I'd expect from nu metal: a lot of angsty songs complaining about their parents or high school bullies. It's something I'd probably wouldn't mind too much if I wasn't aware that they'd go on to spend the rest of their career complaining about their high school bullies. Like, guys, at a point... You **can** write about other stuff, y'know; there's some songs with darker subject matter mixed in here. You hear "My Gift To You"? Take it as a character song and not Davis singing his literal thoughts and it's some intriguing "Kim" shit. But I guess **I** wouldn't wanna write those songs all the time, **and** the angst sells better, so... Then there's Johnathan Davis as a vocalist. I'm largely fine with him, between his yelling and his somewhat melodic groaning. From what I've sampled, it's pretty unique in nu metal, and I have no issues with it. Except for his scatting. Yes, of course: the scatting. The BOOM DAH BAH UMMM BAH MAH EE MAH and BUUY SUMTHIN AH MAH EE MAH OOOO. I think he's trying to be menacing with his scatting... But it's just goofy as hell. And I kinda love it for that, and I enjoy scatting along, but, like... Goodness me, you're not Limp Bizkit. I am supposed to be taking you seriously, and Davis turning into a cartoon gremlin and bouncing around yelling out nonsense isn't helping. You've got an otherwise respectable-ish-type vocalist! He's not Fred Durst! Speaking of Durst... Look, I wanna take the time here to admit, maybe I was too hard on CHOCOLATE STARFISH in my review of it. Don't get me wrong, it's a **bad** album. It hasn't earned its reputation for nothing. But looking back on it, being painfully aware of the existence of RESULTS MAY VARY and the shit on it like "Eat You Alive"... Like, CHOCOLATE STARFISH is just funny. I gave that thing a 1, but honestly, I shoulda bumped it to a 2, just for how much enjoyment I get out it, between the honestly good instrumentals and just getting a laugh out of Fred Durst shitting things up. Seriously, as if I don't get a kick out of imitating his dumb voice. But then there's Fred Durst's guest appearance on this album. And, y'know, on the features, they're largely fine. Ice Cube is fine — y'know, good enough that I wouldn't introduce him as "the star of WAR OF THE WORLDS '25." Slimkid3 is sure there. And I do enjoy Cheech showing up on the hidden track cover of his and his partner's "Earache My Eye". With "All In The Family", though — y'know, I don't mean to spend so much time focusing on it, 'coz I get what the point of it was supposed to be. It's a song where Davis and Durst shittalk each other back and forth. Y'know, some disses between friends. "Oh, you like Winger and you got dumb rhymes." That kind of shit. I get that But it's just fuckin' lame. Like, seriously lame as fuck If there's anything on this album I'd honestly call embarassing, and honestly drags the whole thing down a point, it's this song. Neither of them have good disses, when they're not just calling each other homophobic slurs, and Fred doesn't even have the funny whine in his voice yet. And then, despite the slurs being flung around, oh ho, the song ends with them changing the "I hate you and you hate me" lyric in the chorus to "I love you and I'll buttfuck you" — harr-harr-harr! So fuckin' funny! Yeah, no wonder Davis would later disown the song and call it the worst thing Korn's ever done. It's a pretty big mark on an album that I otherwise think is perfectly fine, at least by nu metal standards. It's no HYBRID THEORY, but it sure ain't CHOCOLATE STARFISH (as much as I said I'd give that some benefit for entertainment value). Like, I'unno. I don't dislike it by any stretch, but I wouldn't tell you I was wowed by it — especially when a few songs probably coulda been cut (for pacing reasons, I mean; not just for being "All In The Family"). The part of my brain that's an angsty teen-ager enjoyed this, and metal to me is still metal at the end of the day... But, eh, there's metal I'd go to first before following this album's lead. (BAH DOOM BAH DAH OOOOM DAAHM AAH EEE MAH.)
Nu Metal might not be the greatest of genres, but damnit, if it didn't have some killer albums, this included. 4.5 bumped up to 5.
I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump down to a 3, though I did honestly enjoy a solid chunk of this. If you like nu-metal, you’re gonna fuck with the production on this a lot. All the general tropes of the genre are here, and in terms of the energy it all brings, it will evoke a sort of 1998 mosh pit of overblown guitar, wacky bass & percussion booming in your ear. From solely an instrumental standpoint, I don’t think I have anything really major to complain about for the album. Lyrically, I think the only obvious super duper miss here is “All in the Family” – Fred Durst has not honed his songwriting at all (and frankly, I’m not sure he ever really did), nor has he trained his voice to go into its goofier tone that made “Chocolate Starfish” a fun listen regardless of how mediocre most of the tracks are on that album. It’s a juvenile back & forth that’s too edgy even by the Springer-y standards of 1998, it’s aged terribly, and it’s not even a witty rap battle by the standards of fucking Supa Hot Fire. “Boom Bam Bop Badabap Boom Pow” is probably a better line than anything Fred Durst or Jonathan Davis wrote here. Speaking of “boom bam bop badabap boom pow”, it’s time to talk about the vocals, which are ultimately fine – Jonathan’s voice doesn’t lend itself to a very musical tone, so he relies a lot more on grittier, heavier, moodier stuff to try and enhance the instrumentation. Generally, it works well enough, but there are moments where he sticks out in a bad way, specifically on the multitude of times he does his weird scatting bit throughout the album. It’s jarring as hell, it never really works, and it sounds more like the Tasmanian Devil thrown into a spin cycle in a recording booth. I want to quickly touch on the torture porn of “My Gift to You”, which is far more digestible if you treat it like he’s playing a character consumed by his demons. Honestly, the mood of that track sets it apart in a cool way for me, as the eerie atmosphere the instrumentation builds around the track is kind of incredible. It’s totally fucked up to a sickening degree, but they at least know it. They’re not making it into any kind of pleasure except his own sick twisted fantasy. I would deeply advise against following any of Jonathan’s deeper, darker, cruel, rape-y fantasies in that track, but if you can accept it as a character of sorts, its perverse nature is fascinating, and his vocals feel almost primally sub-human. Overall, I liked about 9 of the tracks here (10 if you include Cheech Marin’s very goofy bonus gift), but I didn’t like the entire album experience that much. It’s a bit bloated due to CD length, it rounds the bases on its tracks a number of times, and the overall nu metal style feels a bit repetitive even after 45 minutes, let alone 67. Since this album takes itself far more seriously than “Chocolate Starfish” did, and doesn’t really have the same charisma behind it as “Hybrid Theory” does, it just ends up as sort of an average metal album draped in nu metal production. It’s totally fine, and an enjoyable listen if you love the production, but as a whole experience, I think it’s a 3.5 that I just can’t bump up to a 4, hence a 3. Always skip “All in the Family”, at the very least.
4/10
ooh rah babopdumalamama growl ooh rah babopdumalamama
I had streak of three great albums in a row and it was bound to end at some point.
A whole lot of annoying noise, that is repetitive and boring.
Been putting this one off for like a month because I expected it to suck, and honestly it does? It's more interesting than like post-grunge or whatever, but "I guess I'd prefer this to Creed" isn't enough to avoid the 1, I'm afraid.
My first exposure to Korn was a collab with Notorious BIG of all people. I hated it. Now I get to listen to over an hour of it. It's for edgy teens who do poorly in school. Any high reviews are of those edgy teens that are now adults. It really is horrible. 1/5
This album reminds me my teenage years. The first half of the album containing the hits from Korn is amazing, the songs, the lyrics, the transitions. The second half of the album the quality decreases and becomes something repetitive and songs that for me felt like fillers.
Pointless, generic "Nu" Metal from a group that desperately wants to be seen as edgy.
Nu Metal is not anything I need to hear before I die ... I heard it, and it sucks! Kill me already!
No
Decent, but got a bit tired of the angst by the end
Surprisingly fun, lots of interesting little ideas and didn't really get repetitive despite being an hour long.
1/2
Follow The Leader is Korn's most well know album by a long shot, this and Issues have somehow managed to stand the test of time and still be some of the most streamed Nu-Metal projects 25 years after it came out. Personally I think this album is a lot messier than Life Is Peachy as it truly is yet another mixed bag of songs ranging from actually great to embarassingly bad. As much as I wish this was on the quality level of Life Is Peachy, it simply is not, it feels a lot less interesting and consistent especially now that their formula is running a bit dry here for me. The first 4 tracks were actually pretty cool, but after that I just didn't really care or connect to the album, it just flowed by with some decent bits and some very bad bits in between. Korn's bit of being gross and sad is really starting to fade fast as their music doesn't really have much going for it other than that, and even Limp Bizkit had something to look forward to as they did try to make solid music for part of their career.
I mean...
Métal
Nu metal, electronic, rap, homophobic lyrics, BTE Freak on a Leash BBK Pretty
Hell yea Korn with a K
Haven’t listened to a lot of Nu Metal, but it’s been growing on me. Really enjoyed this album although I haven’t listened to anything else from the band catalog. Found the blend of influences and musical styles really well executed. Hip-Hop, Metal, Grunge, etc. Cool, aggressive sound.
Didn’t float my boat
RumbodiROOO
interesting, so 2000's
Ah, Korn. To paraphrase one of their quotes from the wiki, Korn is a dumb name, but the music makes it cool. I definitely thought Korn was pretty cool 20ish years ago, so it's interesting to listen to dive into one of their albums now. Not sure I really can say I feel the same way I used to. Stylistically, the music is pretty intriguing. I know that it is considered a metal/nu metal album, but it actually felt more like a heavy style of funk/jazz/reggae at times. Some hip hop aspects too. There are a lot of unique movements and choices being made to create the songs, usually showing up in the rhythm. The vocals have a gritty, impactful quality that really adds to the whole package. Lyrically, though, it's often rough. Plenty of inflammatory language and outdated ideas, a lot of them seemingly homophobic/misogynistic. I found it the worst on All in the Family, which was exacerbated by the appearance of Fred Durst to offer his unwanted input. I can't tell if its supposed to be an indictment, or some type of confrontation/denial of their own feelings. Whatever personal strife is included is a bit hard to decipher, which is true for most of the tracks. Really, there are only a couple songs here I would say I actually like. Freak on a Leash is still pretty good to me, and Got the Life is close to it. I think I tuned out a bit after All in the Family, as that was a put off. I can't say much for the later half of the album as a result. But, that also means it wasn't strong enough to bring me back in. The album was too long to not have more strong songs than it did. To rank it here, I can't put it very high. There are a few good tracks and interesting music choices, but the album mostly is unimpressive. Parts were downright bad. While I'll probably revisit the tracks I liked, I don't see myself listening to the whole thing again. Overall: 2.25/5
Not for me
I don't get it. What are its messages? Who are its audience? It's not even actually shocking, if that's what the album was going for. Sure, it's influential -- unfortunately.
2 // some true butt rock. this smells like sweat, in just the worst way. worst part about it: can't truly it's terrible, it's definitely iconic.
In the late 90s around suburban New Zealand, there were tonnes of kids who claimed they loved this album. Kids under the age of 12 who claimed they loved this album. Wore the tshirt etc. I can't really complain, my mother bought me a South Park tshirt with the word 'ASS' on it when I was 10 (which is MASSIVELY surprising considering she would have skinned me alive had she caught me watching the show!). Call me all the names you want, but I would be horrified if my ten year old son was listening to this crud. It's angry, uninspiring and quite depressing. You can tell that there is a talented musician calling the shots, as there is a nice range of guitar lines and structures within the songs. Sadly, it's overridden by tasteless screams and kind-of-whine-and-cry-but-still-sound-menacing vocals. There's nothing wrong with raw angst and anger, and there were plenty of albums that did this well in the 90s, trust me! But, this is miserable. I gave up. Couldn't get past the halfway mark. Go on, judge me! Ice Cube (cool!) and Fred Durst (not cool!) make cameos. But even that doesn't help this age well. I'm sure there are a lot of lawyers, accountants and surveyors who have embarrassing memories of listening to this (and probably even more so when they read the lyrics!). Say 'Okay Boomer!' to me if you wish, but this was a 1 star. And hell, I'll say it, would have been 1 star in 1998 when I was a ten year old! 1 Star (even though I cheated and never finished it!).
This album is like enjoying a loving, privileged upbringing. You decide that you want to be edgy, so you start lashing out at your parents, even though they are supportive of everything you do. You have literally nothing to complain about in life, but you complain anyway as if you have it tougher that everyone else. Nobody listens to your complaints, and your parents hate you.
Starts very strong with some great songs but goes down hill fast and just becomes a noisy slog
I saw Korn at a festival once and thought "what the fuck is this" and walked on by I was only familiar with Freak On A Leash. The rest was decent instrumentally. Liked the guitars - vocals not so much Album was also way too long but it was better than a lot of stuff I've listened to on here. Giving it an alright rating 3 ⭐️
The older I get the less I enjoy listening to harder rock music. I was never into Korn anyway. So, from a musical perspective, I didn't really care for this album. I do like Brian "Head" Welch's story, which can be read in his book "Save Me From Myself". An amazing redemptive story!
I have problems digesting this.
NOt for me
This made me question the meaning of life too. But mostly in the sense of pondering 'how have I come to listen to Korn in 2025?'. It's poor fare from start to finish, although not absolutely without any merit at all. Like almost all nu metal, you have to hand it to the drummer and vaguely respect the guitar.
Drop-D tune lords, Korn pushed themselves into the national consciousness with this album. While it hasn't sustained them, it was certainly an influential and highly listenable effort. Factor in the video prowess they brought, and deal was sealed.
In a nutshell: oh, it's on alright. It was very hard to not compare Jonathan's vocals to Trent Reznor. All in all, I agree with critics - it's a landmark nu metal album. Overall: 4/10
Didn't expect to like it but I did. It's complex, structured noise that pulls you in then spits you out with his vocal range. I liked the hip-hop percussion, the thrash guitar and groove bass, but his manic voice is standout.
Very interesting sound - bit too juvenile in places, or tackles subject matter that is too much for them but a-side is hit after hit and the vocal performance is incredible. Weak 3 but I would be interested to hear more
No me interesan nada.
I really thought that I’d enjoy this… I did not.
Some great tracks on here (freak on a leash, got the life) but also some truly awful ones ( all in the family ). There are better Korn albums and honestly surprised they didn't go with the self titled debut with it being the 'first nu metal' album in effect. Very mixed album.
Dog shite
I was a fan of Korn back in the day but I have not really listened in the last 20 years. They certainly have a unique style and probably merit their place in this list but I would question whether I'd choose this album or one of their debut or Life is Peachy. Having listened again, I don't really see the appeal for me these days but nonetheless, a decent album that was of its time.
Would have given it a 2 maybe if not for the lyrics. Very future-convict edgelord teen vibes.
Not my genre, the first songs are very repetitive.
Ah NuMetal the bands that influenced the genre were good. The bands that are NuMetal ARE NOOOOOTTTTTT “in my best NuMetal voice” … I Tried and it’s just not good at all.
Industrial rock/rap.
The year was 1998. For a brief moment, Joey wore all black and baggy pants. But that lasted only for a few days. Still listened to this album and other Korn albums a ton over the next few years. I can jam to it on occasion.
Too discordant for me
This about matched my usual experience with Korn, at first I'm interested and wondering if it's for me after all, by the end I'm cringing and waiting for someone to explain to them how badly it's going.
Rating: 1.7 Freak on a Leash is a great, foundational nu-metal song but everything else was borderline unlistenable. Some of the lyrics were very very bad and the album seemed very unfocused, especially in the second half which seems to be a common problem with albums on this list.
Very top heavy album
Just because an album is a must-listen means it's a good album. Take in consideration "Follow The Leader" by Korn - an album that calls out to all of the disgruntled angry underachievers. From a musicality point, there is nothing original or worthy of influence for future bands. I say this as a metal head and rap fan from the early 80s that saw what the originators of this sound were trying to accomplish, this wasn't it. 2/5
This was a tough one… the Ice Cube feature was a nice reprieve.
No thank you, not terrible but really not enjoyable, especially for its bloated run time. This reminds me of Linkin park which is a negative comparison in my view, the best part was the feature from Ice cube as at least it sounded a bit like an Ice Cube song with Korn as the feature, the rest of it was mostly cringe nu metal with the vocalist making the most annoying noises ever with his goofy beatbox he does for some reason, his voice wasn’t terrible though, kind of sounded a bit like the dude from helloween but not as good, but he barely used that vocal inflection anyway. The instrumentation was nice sometimes which is the most positive thing I can say about this album, but it was mostly boring, annoying and too long, it wasn’t unbearable to finish but I will definitely never listen to it again, it also had some blatantly homophobic lyrics which were definitely just not needed. Favourites I basically mentioned were the songs with the hip hop features (other than Fred durst but the fact he’s a feature says everything), overall, 3/10.
Just because
The juvinile is suprisingly self aware. The rock rocks.
The soundtrack of adolescence. Not really very good, but interesting and nostalgic.
Was into this and then I heard scat boxing ONE STAR
This was brutally difficult to get through
Ъъъъ не
Korn is interesting. IMO the King of Nu Metal...certainly one of the most sincere. This album is not as good as their first two, but still a worthwhile listen in general. 3.5/5
+: All in the Family, Cameltosis +-: It's On!, Got the Life, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Justin, Seed, My Gift to You -: Freak on a Leash, Children of the Korn, B.B.K., Pretty, Reclaim My Place 3,2/10
- Ich mochte Korn schon immer ganz gerne, deren Sound ist einfach nahezu einzigartig. Habe sie natürlich erst irgendwann in meiner Jugend entdeckt, als ich alt genug dafür war und auch Metal gefeiert habe. - vor allem "Freak On a Leash", "Got The Life" und "Children Of The Korn" stechen für mich heraus, danach geht es eher bergab mit dem Album - letztes Jahr dann in Wacken live gesehen (und auf dem RaR auch die Chance gehabt) und es war echt gut - insgesamt irgendwo zwischen 3-4/5 mit der Tendenz zur 4 4 – Hat mir gut gefallen 👍 Ich hatte Spaß beim Hören, einige Songs bleiben hängen. Könnte ich mir gut nochmal anhören.
If the only thing you see is Freak on a Leash... you will be a better person for it. Notice I said see... the song is awesome but when you can have a visual concept as well it can elevate both.
1/5.
I was looking forward to this after Abbey Road, as stylistically it suits my personal tastes more. While the instrumental side of things was exactly what I would have wanted, I will admit that vocally I am not as sold on the style. While the popular portions of rhythmic repetitions of syllables were interesting, it wasn't enough to push the album any higher than 3/5.
People out here giving Steely Dan 5's and Korn 1's are showing their age and their thrash taste. My album yesterday was Abbey Road. Safe to say this won't be another 5 but if you can't appreciate Freak on a Leash I pity you. Limp Bizkit had more an influence on me than Korn but they are still groundbreakers when it comes to nu metal. I haven't listened to this album much. I like it. It's a bit repetitive and overly long but I can definitely see how teenagers filled with piss and vinegar would love this. 3/5.
A lot of the same, sometimes the same is freaking weird, not really my favorite nu-metal nor the most exciting Haha, they can't spell the letter R
Uff. So viel aufgetragene Möchtegern-Härte. Ein paar bekannte eingängige Titel, aber maximal Fremdscham bei manchen Passagen.
I liked this album when I was in middle school. Didn't really hit the same listening to it today. 2/5
This album helped me through some dark times in my youth but as time has gone on and I listen back more objectively I’d say this one isn’t my favorite Korn album, that’d be their self titled debut, but still it hit hard when it came out so for that reason I’d give it a 3.5.
In my opinion, this was their last good album. Their first was the best. There was nothing like it, and they could never recreate that raw emotion. That being said, this got several spins back in the day. It has better production. This takes me back to senior year. I saw them a couple times the year before this came out, and they killed it live. Really, listening to this makes me want to listen to their first album. This is still pretty good. It just feels like it has a commercialized darkness, instead of the truly terrifying darkness of the first album. Regardless, this has some bangers, and I'll give this a 3.5.
I always felt that the first 3 Korn albums were full of innovation and creativity. At the time when this came out there was not a lot that sounded like it. This was a bit of a departure from the first 2 though in rawness. I feel like you could tell that some money had been made and the sound on Follow the Leader was a bit more polished. I saw Korn somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd album I think, and they put on a great show. This album and many others like it from around this era are the result of latch key kids, or the kids who felt alienation, loneliness or trauma of some sort, growing up and putting their energy and life experiences into music.
This album is a muddy mess which occasionally yields something sonically interesting. It's innovative in a few ways, so I guess it belongs on this list, but does every possible thing really need to be invented?
Ripper
Not a big fan. Came at the time of a new sound and meaning. Always changing and evolving, but still has roots.
I haven’t listened to Korn since middle school but I did what I usually don’t and read the reviews before listening and thought, Oh no. And then I started listening and I thought hey this isn’t too bad! Not my favorite but Freak On a Leash still is catchy as hell :D …And then Children of the Korn started. And then All in the Family was somehow worse. I ended up taking out my headphones halfway through to prevent my brain from leaking out of my ears and accidentally skipped the next song. Then I was punished by being yelled at that I’m going to die. I disassociated for a bit then woke up to some Britney Spears-esque vocal fry in My Gift to You. Then i checked out again.
Heavy and noisy masterpeace! Music and vocal are brilliant!
I’ve never been a fan of Korn. Blame it on my age when they blew up. I was in college and my musical tastes were snobbish to say the least. Listening to this album as I now approach 50 a few things are clear: 1. There are a few bangers (“Freak on a Leash” and “Got the Life” in particular) 2. I still can’t take Jonathan Davis’s vocals when they get that “rat-ta-ya” sort of way. 3. While I appreciate that this album is a classic within the nu-metal genre I still don’t enjoy it in its entirety
I'm sure there will be a ton of haters on this one. Yeah yeah, NuMetal is bad and lame and whatever. But, I am glad this album is on this list. This changed the game on traditional metal. Freak on a Leash is a really good song. The rest of the album is pretty solid. You would scream like their lead singer if you lived in Bakersfield too. This music matches living there perfectly. 3.55/5 stars = 4 on this scale.
.an Korn was so popular with the emo kids I knew in middle school, but I always thought it was pretty cringe, and I think that doubly after listening here. At times I kind of dig the trashiness of the Nu Metal rock in here, it can scratch the weird parts of the brain. But it didn't clip its nails and will eventually (on short order) scratch and scrape and start to hurt. An hour+ is way too long. The only song here I really knew was Freak on a Leash and it's really the only song I want to know. The lyrics are crass and abusive and just pretty empty in general. Maybe there is a mindset of people that need to hear this, but then again, I find it hard to believe that this would help them get out of that mindset.
Dad metal. A classic.
2 ok songs
The bass sounds like they forgot to plug it into the amp and just held a mic really close to it. Can't stand the vocals. This is, if anything, worse than Limp Bizkit. Couldn't finish.
A couple of times this made me laugh at just how stupid it was. This seems purely for teenage boys in the 90s. That being said, a couple songs were actually kinda cool. Got the Life saved this from a one-star.
Can’t deny its influence, but for me this is the least good of their first four albums
This is the kind of shit that made me hate music of the 90s as a whole.
This band have found a way to create a unique and quirky sound, they are easily distinguishable from the others and that's a great thing. That said, their vibe doesn't have much appeal to me and their album are way too long winded.
This record was all the rage freshman year of high school. The first three tracks remain legitimate bangers, but after that the quality drops precipitously, bottoming out in the truly abysmal “All In The Family” which is one of the very worst products of Western Culture, though emblematic of the late 90s.
I do have some nostalgia for Freak on a Leash, but nostalgia doesn't make me a nu metal fan.
I know Korn--and this album in particular--was big in the nu-metal scene for a while, but that doesn't really mean that they needed to be included in this collection, especially since the project also includes Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park (and apparently System of a Down), and inexplicably *doesn't* include Disturbed. Although to be fair to Korn, I'd have probably included them before Limp Bizkit, as Korn at least seems to have more ambitions than Fred Durst's outfit; that's not saying much, though (and pretty funny that Durst appears on "All in the family"). It's always felt to me that Korn tried to outdo Rage Against the Machine, except they lacked the messages or focus (or talent) of RAGM. As for the music itself, it's about what you'd expect from Korn, and I've always been impressed by Jonathan Davis' distinct growls and guttural sounds, so it's not all power chord, pounding drums and overloaded distortion. I enjoyed seeing the videos for both of their singles, "Freak on a leash" (especially the Todd McFarlane animation) and "Got the life", and I'm struck by just how profoundly *ugly* the band members are (and how SoCal with the dreads and baggy shorts). I also liked it that Ice Cube featured on one of their tracks, plus of course Cheech on the musical part of the hidden track quasi-cover of "Earache my eye". Overall, though, it starts off pretty strong with the first five songs or so, and then tails off pretty quickly; it definitely could have been about half or a third as long and not suffered at all (and in turn prevented a lot of suffering for a large number of this project's listeners, I suspect).
New to Korn, and I enjoyed this a lot more than I though I would--more interesting and stranger than I expected. I believe I might actually listen to this again.
Called "Follow The Leader" because it's what every metal act copied to get popular. Thus, "nu-metal" is born. This album is Korn taking it to the masses of the world but it is not really as good as their debut or "Life Is Peachy". But then again, "Korn" and "Life Is Peachy" didn't have a song like "All In The Family" on it, so maybe this is the best one?
Nu metal all seems a bit try hard for me
Not as good as their first album
This was terrible when new and hasn't aged well.
nope.
i like the metal rap style they got, follow the leader is a great song as well, very good unserious sounding record, just good vibes with some aggression
Boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum-na-ee-ma
"Ooom da got da boom da gut de boom gat" -me when hear a knock at the door
I genuinely believe this is the worst bass tone of all time. The Fred Durst feature that devolves into homoeroticism and (very quickly) homophobia is one of the most fascinating pieces of media I’ve ever consumed. All in all, nu-metal bad (all of it) and the current revival of it is pissing me off.
I liked Freak on a Leash and Got the Life I found the rest pretty tedious. It has a same ish quality that is wearing.
I was looking at the reviews to get an idea of what people thought and it seems like it's a you either love it or hate it situation. Well that's not the case for me. I like the angry energy and the darkness - it does seem a bit aimless though. I cannot tell you what this guys stand for, and they seem to shout random statements that seem to hide a lot of meaning but really don't. Not the kind of album I was going to pay too much attention to anyway so it doesn't massively bother me. Just aggressively mediocre
This is one of the worst pieces of crap, I have listen to from this list. Who buys this crap?
I think this is probably the last Korn album I bought. Issues came out in 99 and I'd moved and life had changed a lot. I think I liked the big singles at the time, but my taste was changing away from nu-metal. Retrospectively, it's jarring, abrasive. Which, look, the late 90s were.
4/10
Edgy, camp, and pretty fun. The best songs were in the first half, though
I liked a lot of this. But no way can i manage 70 minutes
I think we are collectively more kind to Korn Follow the Leader than we need to be, and it's entirely because of "Freak on a Leash" and maybe "Got the Life". The rest ranges from pretty ok ("It's On!", "Justin") to downright terrible ("All in the Family"). No amount of detuned bass or hip-hop features can save the album from it's edgy tendencies and truly bad songwriting. Follow the Leader barely scrapes by with a 3. I finally understand why our parents worried about us.
A few fillers on this one but otherwise great fun and Fieldy's bass doesn't bother me as much on this album.
1/2
I always thought that stylizing "R" as "Я" is kind weird. Like, it's an actual letter in some languages, so it just looks strange. People like to shit on nu metal, but honestly, that fact that this is not the most complex, innovative, or serious music doesn't mean it's unlistenable. This album is fine. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but at least, it's not boring and has some great riffs. I like the guitar tone in this one, which is a bit deal to me personally. That being said, All In the Family is the worst song I heard in a while. Not only because of the constant use of slurs, but also because it's instrumentally, lyrically, and vocally terrible. Vocals as a whole in this album are just not good. I usually don't care about them, but here... No, just no. They actively make the songs worse. Bro can't sing, but he tries very hard, which makes it worse. But aside from that, the riffs carry the songs. They’re not exceptional but good enough to keep me somewhat engaged. But what’s with nu metal bands making albums over an hour long?
Often sonically interesting, but so lyrically abysmal at points that I could barely make it through one listen, not two, like I normally do for albums I’ve never heard.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It really works for what it is. Especially liked the guest star tracks with Ice T and Fred Durst. That "rap battle" between Durst and Davis is hilarious. Also really liked Davos' demonic "scatting" or whatever that is. Bombastic and ridiculous and it gets more tedious as it progresses.
Freak On A Leash brought me back to my ten year old self, shredding those weird off kilter riffs on guitar hero and attempting to sing along to the raving meth-addled madness. A decent track still, and I dont hate a lot of the album instrumentally, the drums in particular are impressive. But over an hour of this guy snarling nonsense at me definitely got old. Ice Cube feature was unexpected, what an awful song, and ditto for the Fred Durst one, hilariously bad and the worst song on the album. Pretty Korny, pretty shitty, but not quite as bad as I expected i guess
Not my cup of tea, a bit too hard and noisy.
Hits fun, mostly nostalgia left
Good singles, lots of filler, and Fred Durst sucks.
Used to like it. Just not my taste of music anymore
"go figure, once a fag, now a player" Oh wow
When Jonathan Davis hits that "GO!", it's musical perfection. The Nu Metal sound dominated my late 90's early 2000's. ~ 4 Stars cause some tracks on this one are pretty bad.
I'm on the fence about this album. There are are some great tracks on here. Got The Life and Dead Bodies Everywhere are both great. There are some stinkers on here. It's On isn't great, Children of the Korn is pretty bad, and All In the Family is just a train wreck. Korn was the fuckin shit in the 90s. This album is on the better half of their discography, but there are better. If I were to pick one Korn album for this list, it would be their first one. This one is kind of a joke now in retrospect. It was a pleasant surprise to come up on this list, but a once through is plenty. It's a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding down simply because of Fred Durst.
There are a couple of genre defining songs on this album. That doesn't really make up for the rest of it though. The song with Fred Durst is one of the worst things I've heard in years, almost an insult to music as an art form. The playing is okay, but each song sounds similar and the album really drags. 2/5 Won't listen again
When this first came out I thought it was the worst thing I'd ever heard in my damn life and that it was a harbinger of the inexorable decay of society. I was right.
Decent.
Superdry
No thanks. Never need to listen to any thing as vulgar as Korn.
Nope. I tried and decided not to waste my time.
May be the ticket for some, not my itch scratcher. Giving one past baseline because of the instrumentation
I was actually almost enjoying this, in a hilarious vaguely nostalgic ironic throwback way, where they really want to sound dangerous, even though their sound is preposterous. But then Fred Durst showed up on "All in the Family" and really put the entire thing into perspective. It's just so childish, so homophobic, so misogynistic. While this was made for edgy teenagers like my older brother was in the 90s, a bunch of guys in their late 20s should definitely, you know, have grown up. And then I saw that there were 6 more tracks left! Usually the dogshit "featuring" track marks the end of an album, but I was barely halfway through? Fuck.
I was curious to hear this album for probably the first time since high school; as a young metal fan back then I didn't have a lot of respect for nu-metal but hung out with plenty of its fans. There is a certain heavy appeal in 'It's On!' and 'Got the Life' that elevate Korn above some of its contemporaries like Limp Bizkit (Fred Durst's appearance on this album marks its worst low point song 'All in the Family'). Ultimately, this is pretty terrible, juvenile stuff, it's hard to imagine anyone but an angry teenager liking it.
Uninspired nu metal. Gimmicky shouting vocals and monotonous grinding music.
not my type of sht but hits hardd
Oh fan me down. The difficulties.fo being young white American man. Oh very difficult.your truth.os such a cross. Spare me. Tired. Yawn, sad I wasn't a kid when this was out. I may have become more gay, more experimental, less bothered by the.preoccupations of my fellow white kids
There are some interesting ideas here but I can’t stand the nu-metal sound, so I mostly cringed my way through it. I’m wondering if on later albums, once everyone had gotten over the shit nu metal sound, if Korn managed to be alright!??
Musically repetitive with little variation, honestly garbage. There's 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 screaming — the album was not intelligible. Sounds like a pack of angry German men barking. And to the guy in my History class who wears a denim jacket with the Korn logo stitched on: your music taste? Satisfactory at best.
Even worse than I thought it would be
Super front loaded album where the biggest best songs are the first couple then Fred Durst shows up and it all goes to shit. 4/10
I hate to compare the two, but at least Chocolate Starfish was fun at times.
There are parts obviously don't hold up nearly 30 years later, but I'm blinded by nostalgia
Wasn't terrible.
An album that definitely does not belong on this list. Has not held up to time, and was not the album or band that influenced the nu metal genre from this era. An album that I dislike now as much as I did when it came out.
30 years ago this would have sounded great. Now its a little hard on the ears!
Pretty good. Korn has better albums but a lot of bangers on here