Reviews (page 5 of 9)
all in the family is the worst song i've ever heard the opener was pretty good tho 1/10
2.9 - I actually thought I was gonna like this but I found it pretty cringe in places. I don’t have the nostalgia of listening to this as a kid. Some parts were cool, but just not mind blowing at all
This was trash. I actually quite like Freak on a Leash, and I’m open-minded even to Nu Metal, but this sucks. It has aged awfully. All in the Family is a top 10 worst track that I’ve heard during the 1001 so far. I was thinking this was a 2 star, but the last 4 tracks are somehow even worse than the start of the album. They sound like they were written by a dangerously angsty 12 year old. 1.4/5
No
find every copy of this album and burn it. erase it from the internet. go back in time to when the members of this band were babies and pay for their families to move to the opposite sides of the globe so that they never meet. all of this would be doing too little to destroy this wretched album.
I’ve listened to a lot of Koran over the years but this was the first time listening to this album from cover to cover and it was awesome. Not sure what that Cameltosis shit was though
Cool
Not in the mood for this. Not sure I get the hype.
Its on: Musically it's actually really good. super well produced, interesting sounds, catchy. Lyrics are fine, vocals aren't that great Freak on a leash: Absolute classic - again, vocals are ok but much better on this track than first track. Drums are a little hollow Got the life: Intro was meh, and drums are meh, overall kinda meh but again production is great. definitely don't love it though Children of the korn is awful. I mean the album is definitely unique and musically interesting, but maybe a little to "midwest edgy" for me and kinda juvenile and not in the way I appreciate
Does not belong.
Korn's music is what you get if you forget to tell a teenage mic-yeller band that they suck and they keep practicing. They eventually get good at making really shitty music.
This was a good listen. I dabbled in Korn but never got stuck in so was great to come back to the album.
Nu metal is dope! :)
Freak On A Leash is listenable, but one, maybe two, songs is all I need from Korn for a while. As an album though, it's exactly what I imagine a performative edgy kid from the late '90s and early 2000s latches onto for no reason other than they think offending people is cool. What even was "All In The Family"? There's a very samey energy all the way through.
Fuck the haters this album is great.
I know some cool people, people of taste, who unironically love Korn. When this album came up, I was excited to check them out for the first time. Terrible.
Very angry, without a huge amount of direction.
Einfach nur Gebrülle!
This was a 2 until I heard Earache My Eye.
4.5 - Could listen to this all day and not get bored
Voll die Jugend Erinnerungen hervorgerufen dieses Album. Was hat man das früher rauf und runter gehört. Es gibt aber dennoch bessere Alben von KoRn
Bisschen Nostalgie spielt natürlich mit, aber cooles Album.
Schrott, wenn man keine Nostalgieaktien drin hat.
I wasn’t aware that vague screaming paired with some background noise now qualifies as music. Good to know.
Ugh. Well... it's over and I'll never have to listen to it again. So there's that.
Better than I anticipated. Some similarities with Killing Joke but became quite samey as the album wore on
Great cover. An interesting album. I've learned something again. I wasn't familiar with Nu Metal. I like some of the approaches on the album. In some places the music sounds like Faith No More (probably no coincidence), in other places I recognize Rammstein (Neue Deutsche Härte) or Linkin Park. Nevertheless, the band has a lot of originality. Overall, I find the music exhausting. Beforehand, I thought that I would get through the album quickly and only play a few tracks. And now I've listened to it in its entirety. Maybe I should give the album another chance when I'm in the right mood. 3/5
3.5 - Good
Dry. It’s dry. The lead singers underwhelming capability to deliver memorable vocals (outside of the beastly adlibs on “Freak On A Leash”) and the bands just passable compositions left me wanting more. “Children Of The Corn” has a fun Ice Cube feature in concept, but wow it was clunky. And the Fred Durst feature?? That was a phoned in stinker with verses that sounded like a bad imitation of Beck’s “Loser”. There’s some recurring sound/recording technique here, I’m not sure if it’s the zipping of the guitar strings, some sort of wood/rim hits, or both, but they wayyy overdid it in the mix for most of these songs. I don’t think I’ll remember a single hook in this project, which is sad. I was ready to be captivated like I was for the Slipknot album we had not too long ago. Instead, Follow The Leader just blended altogether. 2/5. Anyways, using this time to remember that Korn made a full dubstep album at the advent of the genre’s blowing up in America with a crazy producer features list. Additionally, the Korn lead singer was apart of Killbot, which had some real early 2010’s dubstep bangers of its own. The guy knew ball.
Classic album! I remember listening to this as a kid! Haha mostly holds up still!
Korn!
Moc
Nah.
I could appreciate parts of it.
Good God this sounds like ass. Some of the instrumentals sound okay but this just sounds ugly and crap. Not for me at all, even back when I was listening to nu metal.
Usually, I enjoy metal and longer albums. I didn't mind the instruments, but I strongly disliked the vocals
Nope
As far as Nu-Metal goes, this album was the epicentre of it all.
generally dislike metal but this is pretty good. 3.5
Not a fan.
A combination of iconic and awesome songs with those which should be well forgotten.
More eclectic than I expected. Masterful execution of effects.
2.5 rounding down
3.75
Korn nicht unbedingt meins 3.5/5 fav Freak on a leash
Bin ned so ne crazy Korn Fan Top: Freak on a leash
I hated this less than I expected!
I can imagine metalheads going nuts over this group live, moshing the night away (is that a thing for metal bands?), but boy this was painful. Vocals just screaming, horrible lyrics, and not a melody to be found. Decent drumming, though.
It seems “got the life” got its hooks into me so thoroughly when this first came out that I still like it. The rest, though…
I like this band, they did a good job making a unique sound. Sounds dimented and crazy, but hard af in a really weird way
Not for me.
Nu Metal is what you get when you mix Rap with Heavy Metal. It's OK, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Far far far too long. Its not a genre I'm a huge fan of. Its a bit messy and uninspiring and drags quite a bit because of the length but its decent enough One listen is enough lad 2/5
I was doing ok with this until those last couple songs. Terrible ending to an already not great time.
Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🧗♀️👧🚸 Production: 👊💥🔊 Music: 👦❤️😳⌛🤫🎧⁉️🤷♂️🔊😎🔥 Rating: 🌾🌾🌾(🌾)/5
Every song has pretty decent guitars. I even started to like some of them. But every time they ruin it with either the worst beatboxing or a goofy sound effect solo. Fun fact, this album features Cheech of Cheech and Chong just so you can know it's a joke before you make the mistake of listening to it.
Boring TBH, the only good part was Ice Cube.
Too long and not good. Couple songs aren’t horrible. 2
way better than it needs to be.. cut out the songs with features and you got yerself a pretty weird “nu metal”-y album that id actually like. got the life is the shit
As heavy as you imagine it to be.
Kind of disappointing. Maybe it’s just dated? Like the Fred Durst song is cringe, some tracks like Got the Life are skippable, and even the Ice Cube song is just ok. Freak on a Leash is still great tho.
Way better than I was expecting
3/5
Not my genre, but it was pretty good.
if i could go back in time, i wouldn't stop any world wars or invest in bitcoin or meet my baby grandparents. i would eradicate everything that led to this album existing.
Nu Metal really doesn't stand the test of time, and under the modern gaze a lot of this is downright reprehensible. I was never a Korn fan, so I didn't come in here with the cloud of youthful nostalgia, but this just didn't sit right with me at all... Lots of stuff to talk to my therapist about though.
Not a lot of range here... I lived through when this was possible. I thought my parents objected to the transgressive aspects I imagined. Maybe they objected because it's actually kinda boring.
Good rap metal
No cóż. Nie jestem fanką metalu, ten gniew mnie czasem przeraża, ale tu było dobrze, niektóre kawałki nawet mi siadły. Ale… po co te kilkuminutowe mówione wstawki? Nigdy tego nie zrozumiem, zawsze mnie to wybija i irytuje. Obniżam o jeden punkt za takie właśnie zapychacze, których nie pojmuję. Dodatkowo same utwory też mogłyby być krótsze. Zdelegalizować ośmiominutowe rąbanki proszę. 6.5/10
Hell yeah borther
Hyvä albumi kornia
Korn has always been one of those bands that I've never knew how to feel about, so on YouTube's 20th birthday, I fired up this album. It was okay. I like the outlandish, and unique spins on Rock(or should I call it Nu Metal), but it became repetetive, and it's tough to enjoy thoroughly for over an hour. Favorite Track: "Freak On A Leash".
Amazing album. still sounds great after all these years
2loud4me
Maybe for thee but not for me
Good metal, and I've tried multiple times to get into Korn; however, I can never really get over the angsty/weird side of Jonathan Davis' vocals that are present in a lot of tracks.
There's a handful of mosh worthy songs on here. They got in early on that 2000s metal sound. Really not my favorite genre.
this nu-metal is not the kind of metal I like - too shouty and a lack of searing solos
The two hit songs made this worth listening to. The rest of the album was meh.
Een stukje jeugdsentiment. Heerlijk. Alles wat hierna geschreven is, is eigenlijk gewoon [oude man wil weer jong zijn en geeft een 5 voor wat 'ie al kent]. Aan de reviews te zien snapt een groot aantal gebruikers het niet. Mensen die nu-metal kut vinden moeten maar eens kijken wat er tegenwoordig allemaal in de top 40 staat. Schoorvoetend zullen ze moeten toegeven dat we het met Korn, System of a Down en Slipknot eigenlijk nog niet zo slecht hadden. Het waren in ieder geval nog originele nummers met een nieuw geluid, gespeeld door bandjes. Nu zitten we met zo'n autotune cowboy als Morgan Wallen die z'n werkstuk heeft overgeschreven van Mika. Of menig huismoeder's favoriete rapper Snelle die nu zanger Snelle is. Een heerlijk dik basgeluid, enorme gitaren die haast klinken als onheilspellende motoren, die zanger met z'n typische maar goed bijpassende stem. Volle bak ambiance. Een muur van geluid en dan in de goede zin. Freak On A Leash is een groots nummer met een iconische videoclip en bevat een iconische breakdown. Na Got The Life zijn de dikste bangers van dit album wel geweest, maar ik luister dit met plezier helemaal uit. Ik snap zeker dat niet iedereen dit 5 sterren geeft, maar toch wordt naar mijn mening dit album hier wel ondergewaardeerd. Ik ben nog subjectiever dan normaal en ga wel 5 sterren geven.
easily the worst one yet and I struggle to see what will be worse then this highlights: none
Some great riffs here. Really interesting sound. The vocals haven’t age well and make this album a tough listen. I’d rather listen to an instrumental version of this album. Highlights: It’s On, Got the Life, Pretty
I usually love some nu metal, but this was difficult to get through.
This album sounds like a band with nothing to say stole the vocals (and to some extent the sound) from a Deftones album that was released a year earlier. The fact that Korn had any fanbase by 1998 when people could've just move towards a much better Deftones doesn't make any sense to me. 1.5 out of 5 rounded down because the rapping is so lame on this album and All In The Family is just uncomfortable in so many ways. Also that's the worst outro I've ever heard. I don't even know why this album made the list, it seems like people generally like Korn's debut more.
Ugh, All in the Family is musically intriguing but I think we've got a little too much of the Eminem shock value shit. I guess some of the music here works. I like the guitars and instrumentation (I mean, it's nothing to write home about, but listening while I work, it's kinda neat). But we may be at some of the worst, most irritating lyrics of the whole thing thus far. 2 stars.
I have one rule for an automatic one star, use of the f-slur.
the rap interlude somehow made this worse
I prefer Korn's Debut and Life is Peachy over Follow the Leader. That is not a knock on this album because I still very much enjoy it, but I feel is a bit inconsistent at times, particularly after the mid point of the album.
-…well. some of this was shockingly bad. like genuinely painful to sit through. that rap battle with Fred Durst.. oh god -there were definitely a few good songs I think. they were best when they were trying to sound like Soundgarden. it’s nothing brilliant but i suppose I’ve heard worse and I can appreciate the aesthetics -Favorites are It’s On! and Got The Life
Pretty cool album. Freak on a Leash is a calssic
Almost brought down to a 1 by the last track but at least the drums were fun
Yeah you guys are just haters. It’s not a good album but it’s still a pretty fun album and the two biggest songs are good. I also think All In The Family NEEDS to be included solely because of when they randomly just start saying gay stuff at the end. Like dude that’s funny come on
I tend to like metal but this is pretty generic and lacks what I want from a metal album. Just emo garbage.
Fucking horrible schizo ramblings of a psycho idk how this was popular
Years ago when I taught fifth grade I asked a student what his favorite band is and he said Korn. I thought, what a perfect band for a ten year old playing air guitar in his bedroom. That hasn’t changed. My god what awful music this is. To me it has zero musical value. Grinding, screaming, funk beats mix to create perfect mix of brain cell killing crap. Yes I know there’s a place for this kind of drudgery but I don’t live there.
Has some hits but there are so many better options from the era. Anything system of a down put out smokes this.
I will admit Freak On A Leash is a good song. After that, it's just noise, angst and misplaced anger that the late 90s was filled with but really didn't add up to much. Also, a Fred Durst cameo? Really? Ugh!
got the life is fantastic and the rest of the album just blows
I love freak on a leash. Besides that the album was good but nothing to write home about
It’s giving manifesto and not in a good way. It’s for some people I’m sure, just not me! I essentially listened to this against my will, 0/10 never would again. I don’t even think I would ironically acknowledge I ever did this.
90s heyday
Meh…
Might have been because this came fast on the heels of the "meh" that was yesterday's album (Creedence Clearwater Revival), but this, and the subsequent Spotify playlist, was just the burst of energy that I needed. No idea about the lyrics, no real recollection of song structure, but the vibe was just what I needed
Short of the two singles, this is aggressive dribble. I really loved those singles as a kid, so I’m kind of shocked at the quality of the rest. The songs with Ice Cube and Fred Durst are absolute garbage. The guitar work and bass blasting are key enjoyables, but the screaming vocals can get tired. Nu metal was a brief renaissance. Glad it didn’t go any further.
Pros: for a heavy and heavily distorted album the production is really crisp and clear, so much so that you can actually hear every word. Cons: for a heavy and heavily distorted album the production is really crisp and clear, so much so that you can actually hear every word.
1+ Stars (3/15)
I like Korn, but it was really their first two albums that I thought were so much better. Other than singles this just seems like filler, also All in the Family is so bad and hard to listen to.
Pretty good, liked the vocal style
Wegweisendes Album für das Genre des Nu-Metal. Trotz der innovativen Produktion und einigen denkwürdigen Tracks ist es zu polarisierend. Es fehlt vielen Songs an Tiefgang und musikalischer Reife. Der experimentelle Ansatz der Band, hat sich nicht positiv auf die Qualität des Weks ausgewirkt.
dropped an f bomb or two in ALL IN THE FAMILY and I dropped it right down to 2 stars, maybe 1. I've never been so relieved to hear Bridgerton start again.
I went into this with an open mind and they managed to close that bitch back up so damn fast. I could’ve died 9 times without ever listening to this. At least Ice Cube’s verse was cool!
Я всю жизнь не любил эту группу, и теперь в миллиард лет я ставлю группе КОРН единицу за всех тех уебанов, которые ее-таки любили и ни во что меня не ставили. Идите НА-ХУЙ! Во имя внутренних забуленных детей! А музыка просто неинтересная. Лучшая песня - Freak On A Leash.
Energy was nice in the beginning but the annoying vocal style + edginess + spontaneously turning into a gremlin bring it down. Then "All In The Family" brings it even lower. Then a few tracks later I can't even be bothered to finish
I probably should not but I put Korn in with Limp Bizkit and all that nu-metal stuff that we should all be ashamed of. Maybe I should not lump Korn in with the others but there is a "duet" with Fred Durst, so you know... If we include Korn, then I think we don't need Korn or pretty much any other nu-metal band. Save my ears. Korn jaywalked so that Limp Bizkit could run us over with a car. Reclaim My Place would certainly have a place on a Limp Bizkit album. I think what disappoints me the most is not that I do not enjoy this music but the fact the songs are long. I can handle an album I don't love, yet when I have to listen for 70 minutes I tend to become a bit more hostile towards the music.
made it like one song in, not my vibe
Nope
Iconic album from an iconic band, not as cohesive as I would prefer but overall pretty good.
Every body loves a little Korn.
HELLL YEAAAHHH i love terrible shit like this, nu metal is the shit. all in the family has aged so badly but still love it. fred durst and johnathon davis should kiss i think that would be really cool. this is like most badass shit ever lets be so fr
I thought I had reached a point where I give good scores to anything remotely hard in this list, but this was actually not good. 2.5 rounded up. Stand-out: Pretty
I can appreciate the music but the lyrics (ie using the f slur) are pretty childish. I did like the track with Ice Cube tho. Shrug
I enjoyed more than I expected.
For the metal head in all of us.
I think (and desperately hope) that this is the last nu metal album on this list. All In the Family is enough to make this a 1 star. None of the rest is enjoyable either. Annoying vocals, bad lyrics (with plenty misogyny and homophobia because that seems to be the theme of this genre), and nothing about the music really drew me in either.
I didn't expect to like or enjoy Korn, but I sure did. Are they great? No, but their influence and presence in nu metal cannot be discredited. Plus, the songs on Follow the Leader are catchy and go so hard. Unexpectedly, they had bagpipes in a song? Somehow that makes sense for Korn. That being said, boy oh boy is this album dated. I sure could've gone without the slurs. I also think Korn could have expanded and not relied on the same sound, but honestly I do enjoy the distorted, uneasy vibe throughout the album.
As I think back on Korn's career, this definitely seems to be the album that put them on the map. A lot of people really seem to hate and discount nu metal. I for one have always enjoyed it. Here's what I will say: based on what nu metal I know, I have never found most nu metal artists to be particularly good album artists. They drop one, maybe a few good tracks per album, and the rest is pretty much filler. They're ultimately measured by their singles, and when you try to look at them through the lens of album artists, they quickly fall apart. All that said, Korn was never my favorite (or among my favorite) nu metal acts, but I have long recognized their contributions to the genre and their distinct recognition factor even within the genre. This album really sees them harness that signature Korn sound. I head bopped along to the majority of this album, so there was a baseline enjoyment, but honestly, so much of this sounded the same. I couldn't have told you where most tracks ended and others began, save for a couple of the more well known songs on the album. So yeah, probably around a 2.5 for me overall, but I don't really feel inspired to round up.
I can appreciate the musicianship, but not a fan for the genre
Like they’re following RATM, NIN and Soundgarden but sounds engineered rather than heartfelt 3.1
This reminded me of music from a heavy metal parody film, the sort that's supposed to be over the top, and just a joke, but you actually also enjoy it a little bit. With my brain disengaged from listening to the lyrics, this was kind of fun. Really all over the place, with no sense of any reason or structure. I would listen to it again, so it gets 4 from me.
Highlights - Freak On a Leash - Got the Life
I love nu-metal But I fucking despise Korn
Creepy. Some really interesting guitar tones and effects. Aside from the standard downtuned nu-metal guitars, the flangers choruses wahs and leslie effects are really cool. Some songs just work in my opinion and some just don't at all (the limp bizkit guy one which is actually second hand embarrassing and fun to laugh at). Its also not overproduced like the Linkin park was which is good. The lyrics are pretty bad and over-edgy and the singing is weird but gets ok as you get used to it, definitely fits the atmosphere of the instrumentals tonally thought. Some of the rap crossovers work better than others (the pharcyde guy one is the best, the ice cube on is ok) Favourite songs: its on!, got the life, dead bodies everywhere m B.B.K., pretty, Justin, Cameltosis and the Ice Cube one kind of. Overall around 6/10 (quite close to 7 ig)
A very cohesive sound, just not a sound I like
Say what? Korn flakes, that’s what. This album is an hour of some whiny, angry guy yelling into the void over screeching, droning, static scratching noise (music?) while a couple of band mates whisper “korn” in dark, hushed tones in the background. Earache My Eye is the Weird Al parody of themselves, which is funny but still not good. Couldn’t wait for this one to be over, alt rock is just not enjoyable to me in any way. (1.2*s)
This fits right in with the 90s NIN, Linkin Park, Marylin Manson scene. I did not get into any of this genre at the time but have come around on LP and NIN...still not Manson and Korn. The album started out alright but quickly deteriorated. John Davis must have been bullied a lot. Was into the gothic, vampire sound of the music but not his weird ad lib possessed sounds. Worst track which should be removed is "All in the Family." I get that it is knock on rap beef but good god it's fucking terrible (and homoerotic). Sounds like the whole thing was produced by the Zoolander Evil DJ. Not following the leader here...2.05.
Nu Metal as a genre commonly gets picked on (deservedly). As much as it tries to have edge or attitude something about it comes off as lame. Korn is a perfect example of this. While they had/have somewhat of a following there's a certain lameness associated with them. Follow The Leader is a pretty ridiculous album and not one that I enjoyed much on the listen. The best thing I can say about this album is that it transported me completely back to the time of its release. 1.87 stars
I don't need to check the reviews to know this album will have divided opinions. I understand why. The vocals, lyrical content, and it hasn't aged too well has it. Yet they created a unique sound all their own, which changed and influenced the music that followed. I find that amusing given the title of the album. It's the sort of innovation you just don't get anymore. I haven't come across any rock bands with an innovative sound in the past decade, and hardly any this century.
Yes. Umm.... yes. Finally something different!
This album rocks pretty hard and the arrangements are quirky but quite catchy. Language is quite offensive so that knocks it down a point for me.
Just terrible. How's garbage like this and not one but two Slipknot albums on the list? I get that in the late 90s Nu-metal was all the rage for some reason but it still sucks.
was avoiding this for long time cant even deny it i felt something listening to this album and i liked it
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, they brought in some hiphop artists... Terrible
Suffering from a severe lack of sober adults in the studio.
Didn’t necessarily hate it but generally sounds like angry depressed man were given instruments
Lame
One of the worst things I’ve ever heard.
I've never listened to them before. Oh, yeah. Not for me.
Nope.
Yeah this is pretty awful. Freak on a Leash is OK.
This album is really fun and really challenged the metal genre's old clichés. This is nothing like the classic metal of the 70's and 80's. But at the same time it's very metal. 'Freak On a Leash' is pretty much impossible to not have heard at least once if you are a metal head. It's in many ways a very fun feeling album, but the subjects it deals with are anything but. The bass is super heavy, but also a bit funky. The guitar has heavy riffs but also these spacy ambiance whines. And the vocal switches between dark and raspy to clear into basically scat. All of this makes this album very oppressive in it's sound, but at the same time also kind of silly. This was the album that really legitimized nu-metal Standouts Freak On a Leash Seed My Gift to You 5/5
Shocked to see so many 1s. I listened to this album a lot throughout my mid teens. I still like it now. I prefer Limp Bizkit, but they're a great band that jilted a generation.
Loud and thuggish metal that has additionally imported several of the features that make me dislike hip hop, like random noises.
Not as good as the next album they put out that I had in middle school
Kinda terrible, cheesy and, one might even say... korny.
Je ne pensais pas aimer autant cet album. Le son est très précis et clair, presque chirurgical ; l'interprétation du chanteur est singulière ; les guitares et les rythmes, efficaces et accrocheurs.
4 stars
nah.
I liked this more than I thought I would. I wasn't expecting Ice Cube to make a guest appearance that's for sure.
I couldn't wait for this one to be over. I knew Freak on a Leash already, but couldn't get into any of the other tracks.
Very much not my jam, but I jammed to it none the less. Pretty catchy hooks all through it. Reminded me of Spinal Tap or the Blues Brothers, where they meant to be a joke and parody of their genre, but they still produced solid music in the process. I don't know that they meant to be a joke. I sort of hope they meant to be a joke? I mean, they are a joke, right?
Frightful.
Trashy and now I know why I never listened to this back in the day when it was cool (it never actually was)
Here's my most positive thoughts while listening to this album: It's not Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Sometimes, they sound like they can almost pull off a cheap System of a Down cover band. It's encouraging that their homophobia has gone a complete 360, from being totally fine, to being a huge problem, to being just annoying, and now it's just quaint. It's good that this rage is directed at nothing in particular, otherwise I might have to care about it. Oh, hey, he can, in fact, sing competently enough to not be kicked out of middle school choir. It's unfortunate that he doesn't try to do that often. It's comforting that my grandpa's friend, who barely remembers which hole to blow in yet still played at his funeral, is not the worst use of bagpipes in my lifetime. Racist album skits are not just for rappers. Congratulations on bringing non-musical racism to a broader audience. The last two minutes of this album might be the best work they've done. I'd like to see it built out into a full song. By someone else. I'd like to make it clear that I have Linkin Park, Finger Eleven, and Evanescence CDs within reach while I write this. I don't hate nu metal. I hate this, though.
Listening to this album brought back memories of the late 90s/ end of high school. It was fun to hear the songs again but after the first few it already stayed to get old. By the time ice cube came on I was tolerating it and when Fred Durst came around I was done. The last few songs I was waiting for it to be over. I know that this album ushered in the nu-metal sound as I knew it but it has not aged well.
jeg er ikke stolt af det, men jeg synes faktisk Jonathan Davis har en fed nok stemme, så den kommer op over 1 selvom det er et meget anstrengende, tryhard abum at lytte til
Bandet lyder cool! Fede riffs, meget groovy! Jonathan Davis lyder som en 11-årig der er meget stolt af alle de fede bandeord han kender, det er pinligt at høre på
I really like a lot of the songs, but there's so much shit in between.. Most of the songs featuring other artists are pretty cringy. +1 for bagpipes
Enjoyed this more than Slipknot's self titled album which I had a week or so ago from the randomiser. In my head they were basically the same band but Korn are a bit more Nu Metal, I hear some indications of how they might have influenced the likes of Linkin Park. The vocals are slightly less screamy than Slipknot and there are some decent hooks. I basically considered them the same band until now, but I prefer Korn This album rocks but it's too long and sounds a bit samey so I can't go higher than 3*
Korn slaps sometimes if I'm in the mood. Meh to this one.
This album was a lot, there were definitely times I started to like it but overall it's really not my thing. I respect it though. Wouldn't relisten
I don't usually listen to stuff like this but I gave it a try and found it be tolerable to the point that I'm up to Track 10 and still headbanging. I've heard a lot worse.
While I was admittedly a fan of some of their imitators/successors in my younger years, Korn never held any real appeal for me. This album has energy and style to it, for sure, but just doesn't really resonate with me the way it might have as a teenager.
The music and instruments are decent but the lyrics are some of the cringiest shit I’ve heard. Like an immature 12 year old boy’s idea of how to be edgy and cool
i don’t think i’ve ever listened to an album as inconsistent as this one
liked it. will listen to more
Follow the Leader is great but personally I prefer Issues
Hey cultural Touchstone for the goth Industrial 20-something that dance to this in clubs
no❤️
I'm not a Korn addict :/
i’d be lying if i said Freak on a Leash wasn’t one of my favorite songs 🤷♀️ most of this album was pretty tiring though.
2/5 bof
I was never a KoRn fan, which is interesting because I did own albums by Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, and Orgy (oh, to be a middle schooler again). I just never vibed with Jonathan Davis' whiny growling — how he manages to do both at the same time is as impressive as it is annoying. I will give him my grudging respect because he's responsible for Queen of the Damned, in my opinion one of the best soundtracks of the early 21st century; but that's mostly because he got other people to sing his songs (I still think Jay Gordon from Orgy should have been the voice of Lestat in the movie). Anyway, I digress. I'm still not a fan after listening to this album for the first (and last) time. The two singles, "Freak on a Leash" and "Got the Life" are okay, and the video for "Freak on a Leash" will go down in history both for its innovative visual effects and for bumping BSB and NSYNC from the top of the TRL chart (oh, to be a middle schooler again). I don't know, I guess it's not the worst album I've ever listened to, but it's not good. The dark power chords and the screechy, horror-movie guitar sounds mixed with rap rock just aren't for me. A lot of the songs sound very similar, with some new, random distortion noise being the only thing really distinguishing them from each other. And I'll never get the appeal of Jonathan's dog growl scatting obsession. The lyrics really haven't aged well, especially when adding Ice Cube and Fred Durst to the mix. I'm not sure if "aged well" is the right phrase, since they're pretty vulgar and juvenile to begin with, but that Jon and Fred "rap battle" on "All in the Family" sure is cringe. They really went all out on the casual homophobia ... and homoeroticism. Toxic masculinity is a hell of a drug. This album is just a lot of super aggro noise, which obviously played well with the male teen demographic they were targeting. But it never was and never will be my thing. The best thing about it is probably that Ross Robinson didn't work on it (I'll forever dislike him for what he did to The Cure's self-titled album). I can kind of see why it made the list — as much as I don't love the sound, it was pretty different from most of what was happening in music in the late 90s, and Korn should get credit (or blame) for ushering in the rap-rock/ nu metal trend that would dominate over the next decade or so. I'm just happy to never listen to it again. 2/5
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood to be yelled and growled at today but this just isn't something that has resonated with me and I don't plan to go back for more listens. I don't hate it but I also don't particularly like it.
Come on! What’s not to love about this record. Jonathan Davis’s tortured melodic vocals and violent guttural screams combined with Brian Welch’s dissonant and outrageously heavy guitars really made for something special. Arguably the first Nu Metal band, it’s impossible to imagine any band coming close to mimicking the magic of Korn. I’ve always loved this record, and I really enjoyed this excuse to sit down and listen to it beginning to end. “Reclaim My Place” is my favourite song on this album, it’s just such an excellent exhibition of what makes Korn so special. Jonathan Davis repeatedly yelling “what the fuck?!” takes a great song to the next level. 5*
Honestly, fuck this garbage. For the first three songs, I was thinking "this is... not that bad? The lyrics are cringy and I hate the vocals but if it were instrumental I could maybe even give this four stars?" but it all just dramatically devolved from there. Awful stuff, truly, and I'm extra annoyed about it for starting off not completely awful and pulling a bait and switch. I fear that listening to this album in full caused some germline mutations that will undoubtedly increase the odds of any future children to be glue-eating little assholes that are mean to animals. 0/10
Just say no to nu-metal
there is a time and a place for music like this and i think i can appreciate that. but this type of music is simply not for me
Ah the 90s, Todd Mcfalaine, poor spelling, and Rap Rock.I’d write this hasn’t aged well but it sucked in 1998 too. Leave me alone mom rock, insipid and not in a fun way. A.J.Soprano music.
Not for me! Very silly and goofy and homophobic
Korn and other associated acts have their place in a specific point of time. That point of time is VERY specific and you either love or hate that era of music. I'm specifically talking about nu metal of course, the alt-metal/hip-hop fusion that many know it as. Very much a relic of its time. I've never really had any interest in Korn outside of their singles, and the first two singles you hear on this album are fine enough ("Freak on a Leash", "Got the Life"). It's after that around track 5 (the Ice Cube feature) where things go past the point of no return. I know nu metal is supposed to be visceral, but that track was that unenjoyable. Things just never improve after that point, as the next track with a feature ("All in the Family" with Fred Durst) was just as brutal to listen through. The instrumentalism isn't being questioned here, the drums are guitar playing all throughout are fine. It's just that the distortion sounds/scatting over the disturbing lyrics is too much for almost anyone, let alone myself.
Non il migliore ma spigne
Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum- na-ee-ma Da-boom-da-da-mmm-dum- na-ee-ma
Meh.
I tried.
I know the poster to this album well. When I was a teen boy all the other teen boys were obsessed with Korn. Listened to this album non-stop, had the band’s pictures plastered on their walls, and talked about them all the time like they were modern day profits. I was mostly scared by the heaviness of the music, and preferred to explore other types of music. I’m glad people still get value out of this. I continue to wrinkle my nose at it like the absolute square that I am. 1/5
I’m a sucker for nü metal, truly, but after sitting with Follow the Leader, I can’t let my nostalgia for the genre overall win out when this album just isn’t all that great. Now, I’ll say this– if you ONLY listen to this for the music and avoid the lyrics, you’re going to enjoy Follow the Leader a lot more. The production is immaculate, making it a pretty digestible metal record, even for non-metal fans. More impress, though, are the compositions. Korn is a band filled with excellent musicians. Truly, there are riffs and drum fills and bass lines that blow my mind on this record. (Minus the bagpipes for bagpipes’ sake on “My Gift to You.”) And there’s also some pretty great songs on here, too. I would argue that “Freak on a Leash” is maybe the best song in the entire genre’s history, and it still holds up nearly 30 years later, even without the visuals of the music video. I’d also give it up to the songs “Got the Life” and “Seed,” which feel aligned with the rest of Korn’s general output across their other records. The issue here, though, is the lyrical content. If you’ve listened to the Korn records that came before this, that might sound insane, but the topics covered in these songs are…banal, and that’s me being kind. Again, not every song, but Jesus Christ, you start to read some of them, and it’s oddly just filled with teen angst, which is weird for a band who started off talking about childhood trauma in a very real and honest way. That isn’t the case here. These lyrics mostly feel like a bratty teenager writing in a notebook after he got grounded for throwing a house party while his parents were on a honeymoon in Hawaii and now he can’t go to homecoming. The first cracks come on the rap-forward songs. I want to give Ice Cube the benefit of the doubt on “Children of the Korn,” despite that god-awful beat, but the rest of the song sucks. It’s just not as bad as “Cameltosis,” where Slimkid 3 ruins an already weird track. But the Achilles Heel is “All in the Family,” featuring Fred Durst. Now, I adore Limp Bizkit, but even I have to admit that this is lyrically juvenile, despite the music around it being good. The fact that Jonathan Davis sinks to the immaturity of Durst is mind boggling. But then you look at the rest of the record, and you start to realize that Davis isn’t saying anything with any depth here, either. Even “Freak on a Leash” is just about getting laid. Most of this record is nearly nonsensical, even. I think “Pretty” and “Seed” come the closest to having a message, but even the former is too vague to stay with me. Meanwhile, you have empty songs like “B.B.K” or “Justin,” or even downright offensive “joke” songs like “Earache My Eye,” which are just intolerable by today’s standards. Again, this is so weird, because Korn’s debut is filled with great songs that have great musicianship AND good, heartfelt, meaningful lyrics. It’s not perfect (see: “Shoots and Ladders”), and I do think the gritty production on that record makes it a rougher listen, but you’re basically getting the same impact of Korn, just with actual substance. On Follow the Leader, while it may sound cleaner and may have sold better, you’re getting a watered down, sugar-pill version of Korn. That sugar-pill might taste better when you swallow it, but the effect is a placebo. And that placebo only got worse after Follow the Leader. After sitting with this one for a few days, I had to accept that I can’t stand behind a placebo, even if it sounds good on the surface. Listen to their s/t debut instead.
Even if I don't really like what Korn do, I do like that they've always gone about it in their own way. There's energy, creativity and humour all over their music so they did well to stand out from the mass of Nu Metal dross that was poured into our ears at the time - this album really represents a certain culture at a certain time. Was the world a better place when our biggest cultural concern was that mum wouldn't accept this isn't just phase it's who I really am? Musically, it's a clever album - the bass and drums are tight and always deliver some sort of sinister groove, the guitars weave against each other in dissonant melody/harmony patterns and the vocals are brimming with character. Some fun songs, but I got bored of the whole album easily enough - still not my thing, but mostly well executed apart from all the unfunny homophobia on All In The Family.... Favourite tracks: Freak on a Leash, Got The Life, Pretty
Didn't enjoy listening to this. I kept checking to see how many songs I had left and it felt like the list never shrunk.
Yeah, not really my thing.
I never got into nu metal hen it came around the first time, and in the intervening years I've definitely been more on the Slipknot, System of a Down side of the genre - I'm deeply not a fan of this album, it turns out. From the weird vocalizations, to the bass downtuned so far you can't hear anything over the slappity noises of the strings, to the very 2000s homophobia and a collaboration with Fred Durst who sounds SO like he can't be arsed doing anything here, I personally think this is just a real misfire.
Not bad, not good, it's just there, has some really great tunes others are really meh
Couple songs on this album still sound great (the hits, basically) but overall it just feels really dated. Worst of all is that it really drags on, I had to start skipping tracks.
Better than I hoped
ｉｎｃｒｅｄｉｂｌｅ
they played this soo much in the late 90s. like soo, soo much.
Honestly? I thought I was going to hate this, but in fact, I *really* hated it. 0/5
Not my cup of tea, but fine. I wasn't expecting Ice Cube and I wasn't expecting them to rap. 2/5 stars.
i love nu metal but this album can sometimes feel like a drag. last two songs are awesome though and obviously the singles are classic. probably a 6 or 7 out of 10
Brings back bad memories of aggro middle school guys who loved Korn
gonna be a no from me
Pass
Too much metal scatting for my taste and a bit too much of Ice-Cube screaming bitch in the background. All in the family might be the wort song ever. But, there are some good tracks here - especially the first three.
This was better than I expected
I’ve heard of korn a lot but I actually don’t know them. Like even ‘freak on a leash’ which is their big hit I just don’t know it. Honestly bar it’s hook I didn’t love it actually the first song I thought was really solid was dead bodies everywhere, right after the hits. Its metal in the breed of system of a down who undoubtedly are great, although korn are nowhere near as good and it makes me desperate for someone to include toxicity on the user albums! Like SOAD are weird but in a comical charming way but korn with tracks like children of the korn made me cringe . Admittedly fred durst has sounded much worse, he usually reminds me of shaggy from scooby doo but actually he’s the better half here, not saying much though. Maybe there’s things about the bad O don’t get but they use rape without hesitation on many tracks, I find it too aggressive. 2/5 sad because I was looking forward to this
👎👎
irredeemable. an hour of pure shit- the track with Fred durst being rock bottom. if I ever hear anyone calling themselves a korn fan I will forever doubt their taste and brain
One of the biggest things I have learned while doing this is that year and genre doesn't mean I have listened to an artist or album as much as I thought. Early 00s were my teens and I consumed a lot of music back then yet I still find "new" music to me which I love. That being said I listened to Korn (along with P.O.D a lot) when this came out. I have listened to the album many times and I owned the CD. Great alt-rock album through and through. Its sometimes a bit strange but it works well as a coherent album that brings me back 27 years in time.
I like Freak On a Leash well enough and thought maybe I'd like some of the other songs too. Nope. This is not my jam and I was glad when it was over. That was a long hour.
Not my vibe
Besser als ich erwartet habe. Trotzdem nicht gut. Zwar wird es an einigen Stellen melodisch, die meiste Zeit wird aber nur rumgeflucht und die Songs klingen alle sehr ähnlich.
It's got everything Korn is infamous for. Filthy bass tone, hip hop inspired percussion, and spooky scatting.
Immediately after listening to this I relistened to the self-titled Slipknot album just to confirm I was not going crazy. Yes, I can confirm that one is still good. This album, however, I would not call good. Not even sure how much ironic enjoyment I can get from this. I find the vocals grating and the rest of the band doesn’t do enough to make up for them. I understand that nu-metal has its place on this list, but I don’t like this one.
Trip down memory lane, I was a little young when this came out, but ended up getting this album in Middle/High School. It's kind of an embarrassing period for pop culture, and just culture generally (really represented by the anti-gay slurs in "All in the Family" with an appearance from Fred Durst). But that doesn't mean it's not important from understanding music history and culture, and this is a good summary of late 90s nu-metal.
I have zero nostalgia for this.
Put this on in the background while playing a quick round of disc golf and I started getting into it about halfway in. When Ice cube came on I was intrigued. Goes to show that people really didn't know how music was going to evolve and they were willing to throw some weird stuff on the wall to see if it worked. I enjoyed the track "Pretty" I also liked the song in the middle with some rapping and looked to see who it was and it was Fred Durst, who I only know from that eminem song, but I imagine he's not very cool. I was going to say I felt like there were Beastie boy influences, especially on that track but I don't know, kind of feels insulting to the Beastie Boys now. Overall I think that this project is a fully functional piece and it's a little challenging but it has high points. I remember thinking at one point that this is what Alice Cooper should have sounded like. Overall, it wasn't bad but I think the hardcore music scene was right to choose music like system of a down and death grips over sect.
singles ~nostalgia~, but the rest idk
I'm not going to discuss the actual musical quality of this album because it's decidedly very outdated now, but you can't pretend that Korn didn't have a huge impact on rock music during this time. The singles on this album were on every TV channel and every rock radio station for years, all across the world. There were imitators who mostly were terrible, downtuning instruments so far that the strings are just flapping around like spaghetti doesn't mean that you sound interesting unless you really work it in to your sound like Korn actually did. I listened to this a lot as a teenager, not the whole way through, but a lot of it. I liked it then, I like it a lot less now. I wish the lyrics weren't so ridiculous and that Jonathan Davis went on less trips to the scatman dimension. There's a genuine cool idea in here musically but the vocals (both quality and content) just ruin it. I don't remember their first album (which I think is way better than this?) being so over the top, or maybe it just sounded better because there was less complaining? I don't know and I don't really want to go listen to it now. "Justin" and "Seed" are the best songs on here, it's a shame they're buried deep in to the album and everything else is pretty terrible.
What a power house this was in 1998. On hit TV show, TRL, singles from this album held the #3 spot for months at a time (unable to top whatever Backstreet Boys and N'Sync videos were 1+2) and that spot became known as "The Korn Spot". You could not avoid it. It was everywhere. And I think even then I knew this album was garbage. Got the Life is the really the only track on the album that hits outside of the nostalgia of saying BOOM NOP DA BOOM NAGA DAYDUM during Freak on a Leash. So much trash. And an hour long. I would give it a 1 for enjoyment but I'm bumping it to a 2 for the insane social relevance this had when released.
3.5
Helt ok 5/5
Great album. Weird, melodic and heavy.
Korn were never one of my bands since nu-metal as a genre really didn’t do anything for me (with the notable exceptions of System of a Down and Deftones) but “Freak on a Leash” is pretty undeniable. The problem is that nothing on the album really comes close, so it all feels pretty samey. Very bracing way to start the day, though.
Not good
It was alright, but I don’t i’ll listen to again
Freak On a Leash (that video!) & Got the Life are tunes and the author of this review enjoyed leaping around (dancing some call it) to these back in the day. honourable mention to Ice Cube on Children of the Korn dishonourable mention to Fred Durst on All In the Family, I'm marking this down for that track alone. fuck Fred Durst
Korn is shit
Meh
Ganska spännande och varierade att men inte riktigt svängigt nog för mig. För mycket metall. Tre
Perhaps the weirdest band to come out of the '90s wave of nu metal. In fact, Korn was THE band to pioneer the genre with unconventional incorporation of hip-hop production in their otherwise heavy alternative metal songs. Follow the Leader is most notable here for Korn's biggest hit Freak on a Leash and the heavy-hitting features on other tracks: Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube from NWA, and Slimkid3 from Pharcyde all make appearances to lend a rap verse where vocalist Jonathan Davis only provides haunted ramblings. Most of the album revolves around Davis' traumatized lyricism and angst-riddled delivery while the band lays down heavy groove-driven instrumentation. This is cemented with unique production and tones that rounds out Korn's signature sound. Does it always stick the landing? No. It's actually a bit of a coinflip for me and I could probably cut out half of this album and get a much better product, but here we are. I think there's only so much Jonathan Davis I can take in one sitting, but most of the songs are carried by the excellent musicianship from the rest of the band. It's a simple-yet-effective approach, and the only reason we're here talking about it is likely because of Davis' infusion of personality on these songs so why not. My only hesitation is whether Korn's debut album would be a better choice for the list. Despite lacking the notable features and big hit of Follow the Leader, the self-titled album is generally better quality-wise and boasts the important achievement of being the first True Nu Metal album.
I think this holds up. Takes me back to a fun time in my life
I was bobbing my head so hard I hit it against my car door and forgot what I was gonna say… But Korn is Korn. I don’t listen to this kind of music often but I respect the hell out of it. It’s fierce and it’s potent. If you haven’t already check out their version of Blind (different album but) during Woodstock 99, holy shit. Favorites: It’s On!, Freak On a Leash, Got the Life
This album is a perfect example of how repeated listens can change your perspective. Back in the ’90s, I wasn’t the biggest Korn fan, because I always felt like their best tracks were the radio hits, and the rest of their albums were mostly filler. Fast forward 20 years, and revisiting Follow the Leader was a surprisingly enjoyable. It’s probably the nostalgia factor that pulled me in this time. The album brought back memories of that era, and there’s something comforting about its familiar sound. While it may not have been a favorite back then, I’ve definitely come to appreciate it more now for the trip down memory lane it offers.
Not my thing
oh dear god it's over an hour long.. alright here goes. Immediate thoughts are that there are some good simple but thrashy grooves and riffs on this. There are some heavy hooks and breakdowns that are accompanied by weird little turntablist sounds and samples, which is cool. That little warble in track one added an otherworldly element which is cool. This poor guy with the microphone is a bit much, however. You can be angry, but if you don't want me to think you're a weak little bitch about it, you can't be wallowing 100% of the time. It seems to be a recent movement to revisit nu-metal at this stage, now that many of those bands are now considered "legacy acts" on touring circuits. Nu-metal, like pop-punk & emo, is now past their prime and that legacy is being examined. It seems that in the face of angst and disconnection in our current day and age, many listeners recognized an enduring fondness for this genre. Where once an anger at father & mother and a community alienation gave rise to the blunt thrash of this music, now we have alienation across a divisive social & digital landscape. I understand the calling to reach for old comfort music, especially with some sonic innovation. Korn was better than many in the genre at combining hip hop beats, funk pedals, metal shredding, and psychedelic production techniques. While ultimately not as cringe-inducing as the Limp Bizkits & Stainds of the era, being hardly the worst is no passing grade. Korn was hard to take this seriously then, and it's harder to take it seriously now. Next time I'll prefer to reach for some System of A Down, Slipknot, or Tool (does Tool count?) should my inner angst reach that point. Got a ways to go on this album, wish me luck while I let it play out.
It’s ok, some good tracks, some felt dated
I couldn’t make it all the way through. And I’m quite honestly embarrassed that I almost got through half of it.
one of the biggest bands from the “nü metal” movement, korn’s driving beats and introspective lyrics really set them apart from the crowd. while most songs can come across as pretty dark (vocalist jonathan davis had a pretty dark past and had experience working in funeral homes), some songs come across as kind of goofy. (to be fair, any song with fred durst is going to be pretty ridiculous). anywho, it wasn’t awful, but wasn’t amazing.
I tried,just not into this shit
1 star, not even their best album and even if it were, there are still many better albums that could be on this list.
Did this album deserve my full, uninterrupted listen? Maybe. Didn’t give this album the chance it deserved? I think so.
Wedged in the festering bowels of late-90s rock, this nu-metal abomination refuses to be flushed away, clinging to cultural memory like an undigested kernel of pure sonic waste.
Wow didnt think this one would be on here. Talk about a throwback to the 90s
I really got back into Korn over the summer and even if this isn’t the best music around or is seen as uncool. I can’t help but enjoy it. They pulled off the nu-metal sound better than anyone and Jonathan Davis is a good singer with tons of emotion. 4/5
268/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
Some hard hitting stuff. This was my shit when I was 15. Kinda tough to get through now.
Well that was a surprise 😮. It sort of was what I expected but wasn't at all like what I expected. There were bits that appeared to be strongly influenced by the likes of Dream Theater. Just not so polished. But I have to say I liked it. And this bit surprises even me, I would indeed consider buying something by them if the right deal arises. Now for the score, and this is really difficult, because I don't think they are quite worth a 4, damn close, but just not there. So it'll have to be a 3.
There was plenty about this I liked, but….so many vocal bits that went beyond the standard growl/scream/roar of this genre and into some absolutely comical, cringey, pathetic noises. Not even lyrics, just silly noises. I just don’t get it, and I couldn’t get past it. As soon as I started to enjoy a track, there he was with his silly childish nonsense.
Ah Nu Metal. I quite liked this genre with Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but this lot passed me by. For good reason, it's awful, especially the vocals which were, like fully fledged Metal, cringeworthy at best. This is like a desert for me in terms of music.
Never liked Korn based on their radio “hits”. Listening to the whole album did nothing to change that. It’s actually worse than expected
I mean they made a song for our boy Justin 2.75
only liked the second song when i want to listen metal i surely would put something else on. hope that speaks for itself xx
It's 1998, I'm 14 years old hanging out at my neighbors house in the basement. We just finished playing Golden Eye on N64 and realize it's almost 4pm. Time to turn on TRL and wait for the Freak on a Leash music video to come on. Pizza rolls fresh out of the microwave and a mountain dew on the side. Life of good.
... better than the Beatles. Sorry, this came out at a very formative time for me. This album is a part of me and I'd rather listen to it than any Beatles album any day.
What saves this from being a one star album is the fact that I was 13 when it came out. I was obsessed to the point that I had the lyrics printed out and would pore over them like holy texts until my dad found them one day and sold my entire cd collection, using the credit to buy two used Stryper albums so I could have heavy music that honored God.
Woah. I do not like the themes in some of these songs. Lol 2/5 One extra star for the waaAAaaAAaaaOOaaa
Though I don't listen to them much, I think I generally appreciate Korn. I think they have a sound nobody else has, and it definitely works. Not sure how fresh it feels today, but it works in my opinion. The first three songs on the record are quite good, with 'Freak On A Leash' standing out as a clear 5 star song to me. The rest is also decent, but I must admit I am got a bit tired of the formula and its was hard to find songs that stand out. I think in the end it's going to have to be a strong 3 for me. There are a bit too many songs that don't do it for me to warrant higher a rating.
I'm really not a fan of nu-metal. Around the 00s was probably the worst time for mainstream metal. Korn's sound is a bit better than many other bands though from the same era. Still I really can't get over the infantile lyrics. It feels like an angsty 14-year old wrote it. The worst offender is "All in the Family" with my least favourite rapper, Fred Durst. There are a few good songs though. "Freak on a leash" is a actually a good song and "Got the life" is decent. It plays too long and I can't get over the lyrics. 2 stars.
Couple good songs and moments. Rest is ehh.
I get it. They're angry and get to scream fuck for a living. I'm fine with both, but don't need to listen to the album again.
Moderne metal, numetal, for langt
Classic Numetal album
Repetitive riffs that often consist of just one or two notes, no memorable choruses to be found. The best part is when he goes “mmm dah dah eee dah dah eenadada”
I have never felt more let down that I did when I generated this. Actually let out a dramatic, slow-motion “noooooooooo.” Last day of the year, last day of my first year doing the project, just got an all-time favorite yesterday, and now this. I know I’m not a Korn fan (at all, even a little) but I had to listen anyway. And wow. If I saw some of these lyrics I would be one million percent sure someone was just playing an awful joke…how is this real? THIS is what all those kids in high school were obsessed with???? Lately I’ve felt bad about being so judgy as a teen, but not anymore. This is over-the-top, comically bad trash, except that’s rude to trash.
Fav: Dead Bodies Everywhere Least Fav: All In The Family (feat. Fred Durst) At its worst, it’s amusingly bad, but some of the songs do go hard af, a noticeable improvement from fellow nu-metal group Limp Bizkit and their tragic album that’s on this list
Brings me back to my emo adolescence.
So, this is a very weird album to include on the list. It is technically thier highest selling album, and probably their most popular, but ask any korn fan, and I don't think any of them will say this is their favorite. Personally this is my 3rd of 4th favorite korn album behind their debut, Life Is Peachy and maybe Issues. If you were to include any korn album on this list I think the debut would make the most sense being that it birthed the nu metal movement. When listening to this album I always skip All In The Family (the album is 10x better when you do), but I actually just got the vinyl for Christmas so I guess I'll listen to the whole thing. Okay it's been a while since I've listen to that and it was worse than I remembered. I draw the line at limp bizkit. The biggest downside to this album is the hip hop tracks, some of them just aren't that good, but I've grown to enjoy them for what they are. There are also some really good riffs and break downs throughout this album. Pretty is a really messed up song, so look up the backstory if your into that kind of stuff. Korn also puts on a pretty good live show if you ever get the chance to see them. I understand why this is rated so low, I just think this music has a fun blend of funk, metal, riffs to headband too, and singable choruses. What I'm trying to say is that this is just a stupid fun album. Low 5.
I never knew there was a Fred durst song collab lol
It’s good to see that the American Metal tradition of Scatting started by David Lee Roth is being continued. I can understand why Follow The Leader is on this list. Korn were an important part of the Nu Metal scene, and Nu Metal was an important part of the Rock & Metal landscape Post-Grunge. That doesn’t mean it was any good. All in the Family is proof enough of that. I don’t actually think this is that bad, or at least that badly executed. I object to it more in principle. Koяn are not good enough lyricists for either the humorous stuff they’re trying out on some of these songs or the more serious stuff they were already known for to truly land. It’s the same problem I have with Linkin Park. I’m not trying to deny the pain that either Chester Bennington or Jonathan Davis went through, I just don’t think they’re as at good at expressing their pain as Kurt Cobain or Layne Staley were. Certainly not enough to be generational defining artists. The resurgence of interest in Nu Metal will go away and Koяn and Limp Bizket will go back to being leaders of a scene that was of minor importance at best. Cobain will live forever
I saw my friend's 1 star review and I was like, "hey I don't remember Korn being tha t awful" and after It's On! and Freak On a Leash I was starting to get into it but then it just devolves into a big hot mess. You had your time in the sun Korn, goodbye.
I loathed nu metal at the time - Korn seemed maybe slightly less detestable than many of the other acts, but I was never really a fan. I thought this might scrape 2 stars, but no, pretty wretched. Jonathan Davis' vocal ticks do not entertain me - it's all super cringe. Fave track - ugh..... Well, "Reclaim My Place" comes immediately after a track featuring Fred Durst, and the relief experienced that there was no more Fred Durst is about as close as I'll come to liking any of these dog eggs, so that one I guess. 😠
As one half of UK rock band Houmous & Chutney, I know a thing or two about making commercial headway in a polarising genre. 4.3
Lots of hate in the reviews for this. Well that hate is totally deserved, as one reviewer said in my mother tongue: "Tering wat een troep" Only positive thing I can say is that I don't hate Jonathan Davis as much as I hate Johnny Rotten but it is damn close. I did manage to liusten to the whole album something I now regard as waisting my time.
ég hata þetta ekki. frekar einhæft.
It's OK. Rinsed it in the past so I won't go back again soon, but yea. Half is great, and the other half they're just phoning it in.
1998 angry rock Freak on a Leash All in the Family (with Fred Durst)
# Album Name: Follow the Leader # Artist: Korn # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: This has not aged well at all. The Album started off strong. The first 3-4 songs are good. Freak on a leash and got the life are essential Korn tracks. Most people have heard em even if you dont like the band. But damn, the rest of the album was pretty bad. # Top Tunes: Freak on a leash / Got the life # Would I listen to it again? Only the two tracks.
1.5 stars. "Freak On a Leash" is still okay but the rest of this is so terrible. "Dead Bodies Everywhere" so cringey. Thought album was pretty bad until coming to "All In the Family" where Fred Durst's appearance brings things to a new low.
Nah. Even edgy angsty teenage me would've given this one a 3 at best
Korn is one of my favorite bands of all time, second only to Linkin Park so i came into Follow The Leader expecting nearly everything from it, and yet somehow, I'm still so impressed with how amazing this album is. This album had an incredible sound which blurred all the right lines between heavy, weird and haunting which made my whole listening experience so enjoyable. So many songs also had some really fun and unique ideas with an example being All In The Family which is just two intoxicated men just thinking of the best disses on each other and i just loved every single second of it, in fact every song here is just a pure banger. Hybrid Theory may forever be my #1 but this is still easily a close second. Best Song: Dead Bodies Everywhere Worst Song: Earache My Eye
Ok it's not as bad as some other stuff in its vein, as its not wall to wall blast beats and there is the sniff of a tune. But the vocalist redefines marmite. And it goes on for ever.
My personal musical tastes were forged in the fires of the late nineties and the furnace of Nu-Metal. While there is much of the genre and scene from that era that I cannot atone, I will forever be in debt for the spark this album and others from then ignited in my soul. Despite some abhorrent, deeply misogynistic and homophobic tracks on this record that were juvenile then and appalling now, this is a bonafide 5 stars from me. It all starts for me with the iconic album cover and artwork from Todd McFarlane. Profound, thought-provoking, and even a little cheesy I just love the mood that it sets for the music within. Being of the CD age, I remember that this album started on track 13 after a minute of silence (something lost as we've transitioned to streaming). As It's On finally kicks in, the ride begins with all the hallmarks of the Korn sound from the chugging dual guitars, to Fieldy's one-of-a-kind bass, to Johnathan Davis' singular voice. Freak on a Leash, Got the Life, Dead Bodies Everywhere and so much more defined the music of my life at that point and they still hit the same today. This was peak cameo/collaboration in rock and metal music and the featuring tracks on this record are sus, for sure (although Earache My Eye is ridiculously fun and an inspired inclusion on this record, if you ask me). While I have grown and so has my musical palette, I don't listen to this as often as I once did. And while I don't listen to it much these days, I enjoy every moment of the experience when I do. High school is a strange time for all of us and I'm glad I had this album there with me then.
The first four songs are pretty good. Obviously “Freak On a Leash” is iconic, but this album would be nothing without it. That song is the perfect example of what their sound and style is. If they didn’t have it, everyone would be left wondering what they’re supposed to be doing. What are they going for? Is it supposed to sound like this? It would all be pretty annoying. It still kind of is. The lyrics are trying a little too hard to be edgy. Instrumentation and production fucking rock. Vocals are honestly alright by me. Unique and achieving what they need. Writing is original. I’d expect this to be better, but they seem a little too try hard. ‘Look at me! Look at me! I’m dangerous’ vibes. Get over yourselves. Also way too long. They did NOT have that much material. I believe I’ll enjoy this (somewhat) once, but will not be happy if I need to listen again for whatever reason. 3/5
This album is maybe the best example of an album that absolutely no one needs to hear before they die. 1/5
It's just so stupid
As a whole, this is not as fun as i remember. That said, there’s still a few absolute bangers that hold up for me
Sonically incredible with riffs and lyrics that are in your face. I love the Nu-metal and Rap crossover sprinkled throughout. Korn was really at the top of their game here. I only wish this was a few tracks shorter.
Probably the best nu metal band. Might have got 4 if it was shorter and fresh durst didn't show up
Nu Metal nostalgia
Today's lunch: Kumara sourdough sandwich with slices of smoked cheddar, mushroom and red pepper, cooked in the sandwich press until the cheese was melting and oozing out the sides. Could have used some rocket or spinach, but out was delicious nonetheless. 4½ out of 5. This album though? It's the worst one yet. Awful "singing". Facile, whiny, homophobic, misogynistic lyrics. -5/5
We're at album #405, and this is possibly the most lyrically bad album so far. I won't go into the lyrics, because frankly I'm exhausted after 67 minutes of this nonsense. Nu metal is also a pretty bad and unpolished genre, particularly in the pre-2000s era. As a whole, Follow The Leader is (I guess) listenable – but barely. The riffs are vaguely interesting, and in a very specific mood I could see myself enjoying this, but at the moment it's not doing much for me. The artist features on the album are also horrible picks. Fred Durst is widely recognised as one of the worst singers and frontmen in the music world, and the track All In the Family doesn't do him (or Korn) any favours. It's bad. Ice Cube is better, though again rapping is a very questionable choice for the nu metal genre. The song Children of the Korn is a complete outlier in the album, sounding more like a purely Ice Cube-dubbed hit – and it's also pretty bad. Cameltosis, featuring Slimkid3, is experimental-sounding and continues the trend of horrendous, misogynistic, disgusting lyricism. Earache My Eye is a six-and-a-half-minute throwaway track featuring an extended skit/spoken intro followed by several minutes of uninspired ear-blistering guitar noise. The tracks Freak On a Leash and Dead Bodies Everywhere are certainly the only two mildly enjoyable tracks, and any of the others having more than a million Spotify streams is a tragedy. 1/5 Key tracks: Freak On a Leash, Dead Bodies Everywhere