Article: KoRn in the 90's

Korn: Album by Album Overview: The 1990s | Suite101.com: Hailing from Bakersfield, California, Korn came from the band LAPD. That outfit included James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), Brian "Head" Welch (guitar), Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu (bass) and David Silveria (drums). After releasing one album the group met up with Jonathan Davis (vocals) and the name was changed to Korn. Over the course of the next few years they released some of their most influential albums and became one of the most powerful forces in alternative metal.

Korn
The idea of Korn turning this (1994) self-titled debut to platinum status, while remaining virtually unnoticed by radio, or MTV might seem impossible, but that's exactly what happened. Based heavily on the type of musical strides that had been made earlier by groups like Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, Faith No More, Helmet, Public Enemy and Anthrax, Korn created a sound that was heavy and dense. It had rap built into it, but was also very aggressive and metal. The funk influence of heavy bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living Colour was also present. The combination, while not wholly original, was fresh and struck a chord with many. Korn had arrived and done so with style.

Life Is Peachy
Anyone who heard the debut disc from Korn was sure to know, right away, that the title of their second album (1996) was an act of sarcasm. The violent and dark lyrics of Davis would certainly not be painting any pictures of a tranquil life that would qualify as "peachy." That wasn't Korn. If anything, "Life is Peachy" was darker than the debut disc, borrowing at times from black metal. Still, cuts had enough hooks to keep them catchy. While some might consider it to be "more of the same," really the sophomore release represented an extension and evolution of the Korn sound.

Follow the Leader
If one looks at "Life Is Peachy" as "the leader," then 1998's "Follow the Leader" was appropriately titled. In many ways it is a continuation of that album. In fact, that comparison worked even better than it had for the connection between the first two releases. The sound on "Follow the Leader" had more focus, and it seems the band was perfecting their craft to new levels. However, there was no real expansion of sound from the previous disc. "Follow the Leader" represented a "more of the same, but done with a higher level of skill" approach.

Issues
Korn closed out the 1990s with "Issues" and it was, again, similar to the last two releases. The sound was dense and heavy. Songs seemed to spring from one another and the album worked best when taken as a whole than as separate songs. It served, essentially, as an immersion into the world of Korn. While there wasn't a big change from their previous releases, the album was just as effective and pleased fans by offering a fresh slab of the Korn sound they had come to love over the years. Released in the fall of 1999, "Issues" served as a strong closing salvo from Korn for the decade.

Korn would continue to dominate the music scene in the new millennium , but the seeds were planted in the 1990s for the musical juggernaut they would become. While the only substantial change in sound had come between the first two discs, Korn had been perfecting their particular wall of sound ever since. In the process they brought in large numbers of fans and earned themselves a reputation for delivering dark, somewhat complex, aggressive and extremely heavy music that still managed to groove.

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