Korn‘s tenth studio album, “The Path Of Totality“, will surely be a divisive listen for many of the bands longtime fans. Essentially a collection of collaborations with various up and coming dubstep artists; it finds the group embracing the aforementioned nascent electronic genre with a youthful eagerness.
Still, while the effort has certainly been a love affair for the bands resident electronica head/DJ Jonathan Davis; its integration with the rest of the outfit isn’t always exactly as heartfelt.
To be sure, the very nature of dubstep, with its wobbling bass throbs, agitated tempos and aggressive ambiance lends itself to metal surprisingly well. But that’s not to say that Korn have mastered or perfected the interesting hybrid on display here.
In enlisting a large list of collaborators that includes the likes of Skrillex, Downlink & Noisia among others; the band have been able to craft a readily diverse listen. Truly Davis seems most at home throughout the effort, laying down his trademark melancholic wails and angsty howls.
This is not a surprising development given that the album’s direction came largely from him. Where things get a bit more stiff is when it comes to the performances of his bandmates. Rather than fluid expressionism, they often blindly follow what feels like submitted loops from the efforts contributing artists.
Because of this The Path Of Totality” comes off like a long distance studio experiment rather than the cornerstone of a new genre. Its frankensteined nature sees it repeatedly plagued with momentum problems and largely uninteresting songs. Sure it captures some intriguing sonic textures and pushes some creative boundaries.
But in the end it feels more like a collection of scattered studio sessions and shoehorned contributions. The riffs are reduced to bland droning textures and restrained jagged lunges. The rigidly electronic-styled drums are even less lively, sounding like little more than a cut and paste programming session.
The bands trademark drop-tuned low end also takes a backseat to pulsing bass dives and drops. Beyond the vocals, the only real tie to the bands roots found here is probably the electronically altered bagpipes found on “Bleeding Out“.
Basically, in bending themselves to their collaborators they have sacrificed much of what makes them Korn. Honestly, the effort is more what one would expect from a Jonathan Davis solo album than anything else. At this stage in their career Korn seem unable to capture any of the fire that once made them so relevant and innovative.
Looking at their back catalogue the desperation to revitalize and reinvent themselves seems painfully apparent. Whether it be rampant guest appearances, working with pop producers, an acoustic album or a flaccid attempt at returning to their roots — the group seem to lose more and more of that initial spark with each failed attempt.
“The Path Of Totality” may have some cheap thrills, but does little to break the unfortunate cycle.
