isn’t just you’re everyday music album. In 1993 at a local C.B.G.B’s club in Bakersfield, California there a band with the most amazing talent that was introduced. It must have been a sign from god, because after a 30 minute set producer Ross Robinson just happened to be in the club, when he heard he heard the band playing there brand new demo, “Blind”. As soon as the set was finished, Jonathan Davis (Lead singer/ Bag Pipes), James “Munky” Shaffer (Lead Guitarist), Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu (Slap Bass), Brain “Head” Welch (2nd Guitarist), and David Silveria (Drummer/ Percussion) were quickly sent to Epic records were upon they signed a contract, and they recorded their first self titled album. Once in the recording studio, the most amazing sound magic was created, and Nu Metal was born. KoЯn got there name from Jonathan Davis, when he took a crayon and wrote the band’s name like a child, using a “K” instead of a “C”, and a backwards “R” to look as if it was written by a three year old, for originality. The band came up with their name because everyone except for David had Cornrows or Dreadlocks. The original name for band was Creep, but they changed the name once they got John to join. He felt the name of the band name was too bleak. Once their first album was released in October of 94’ the band became an instant hit. With Jonathan’s original vocals, mixing rap, rock & roll, and deep Metal anger tones into his voice, there’s no fight that just he alone created this intense rhapsody that no one could touch. For the first time in the history of Metal a new style of Bass called Slap was brought to the stage, by Guitar god Fieldy. And with lead guitarist Munky with his strange way of playing his guitar well jumping around like a monkey (how he got his name), made the band come together. And with the sensual vibe of Head giving off odd guitar strums to the background, and David rocking the drum just made the band complete.
After creating two executive top charting albums that scored in my mind the greatest ensemble of music sense the birth of Aerosmith, iSSUES later became the most impacting album in my life. First off the album was featured in four different covers designed by KoЯn fans as part of an MTV contest. The winning cover was made by a cartooning artist, Alfredo Carlos which was voted the top rank album cover by the fans. An album cover which in my opinion, shouldn’t have won because it was just a picture of a old –fashioned voodoo doll, as a pose to a cartoon picture of the band in a nut house, which was unfortunately a 3rd place winner (featured above). The album was written for teenagers and adults that go through everyday problems and issues. Jonathan wrote all the lyrics carefully to help people understand the struggles of being famous, being part of a popular metal band, and having bad karma.
The c.d. is really dark and full of many tracks that help you understand what it’s like to be in pain and agony, and touches upon all the levels of stress. Through the whole album, KoЯn indulges all the problems that people go through in everyday life as well as the issues that are chronological, like all the things that bother people with emotional disabilities. The album also contrasts the differences between everyday emotional outbreaks and the emotionally unstable issues of the artist. Such as the first song on the album entitled, “Falling Away From me” in which Jonathan say’s “Day, is here fading, I flirt with suicide./ Sometimes kill the pain.”, is a great example of how the illiterate pain of living has caused him to want to feel the literal pain of harming himself with a razor blade to tease death. In a sense he’s trying to reach out someone and has figured out that writing out his problems in lyrical form to help coupe with his issues is a good way to deal with them.
The album has a way of putting you into his life like a story, to help understand the discretions of his intangible impulses. Just like the track, “Trash” a song about trying to understand psychology of being popular, and getting all the love in the world suddenly; after never having the ability to get with or be with a girl before fame hits you. This is a great song because it’s narrated by to emotional set points. Being loved with the idlest of greatness, and understanding the lust involved with being famous. The song touches upon a really straight forward point, when you get into the entertainment business, people will do anything to have there 15 minutes of fame. Weather it be in front of the camera or behind the camera (behind close doors so to speak), just to have a story to tell someone when they get older. Jon makes an apparent but poetic point when he says, “I just feel the craving. /I see the flesh and it smells fresh, /and it’s just there for the taking. /these little girls they make me feel so god damn, exhilarated.” Because it gives the imagery that he’s become addicted to the sensual intercourse.
As much as he try’s to stop himself from expressing his nymphomania toward woman, it becomes so much of an issue that he has the need to release it in song. There isn’t a great deal of poetic devices through out the album, but the album does have a great deal of puns/word play. KoЯn is constantly playing with words to make there songs sound strange, comedic, and obvious. They don’t do a great deal of cover-up language or layering, but they do change a lot of lyrics around so they can sound original and different. When the c.d. came out it was nominated most original album of the year and sold 8,000,000 copies world wide in the first year. On the album there are little introductions that prepare you for the fallowing tracks. The way there written, makes you feel as if you were in a sanitarium. This is to help you get a visual of somebody with psychotic problems. A great example of this analogy is the track, “Am I Going Crazy?” This is an amazing interlude because it’s a great depiction of what you’re mind goes through when it’s altered by insanity. The end of the album is just priceless, because it shoots an explosion of many different issues in your face at once, in one long on going finale. The actual song finishes @ 3:43 but it has 4 minutes and 7 seconds of static. Usually on a typical KoЯn album, it has a hidden track at the end, but this album is the first album without one.
But all in a sense, this is an all out fantastic album. If you haven’t heard it, it’s defiantly worth the listening. It’s no drought, what can be seen as the strangest frenzy of odd songs on a c.d. you’ll probably ever hear in a life time, but is what makes the album so outgoing and original. Of course if you’re not into great music and, have no taste for originality, you might as well pick up a Britney Spears album. Because no other major label of music will be able to deliver, such an impact of great rhythms, instrumental flows, or intense vocals. Other than the masters of Nu Metal, the birth of a sensuous divinity, the creators of modern talent, my favorite band in the world. The most superb and intense band to ever stain the souls and hearts of head bangers around the earth,