Korn’s The Path of Totality – In Defense Of…
November 24, 2011
Even though it’s 2011, some people still find mixing genres offensive (Just look at all the “Pendulum isn’t real DnB!” comments) so Korn’s The Path of Totality will definitely get some very negative reviews, probably from rock-focused sites/magazines only because it mixes Dubstep with Rock. There are all kinds of reasons why criticizing them for this alone is silly (One reviewer will definitely say mixing Dubstep with Rock is a cliche), and instead of choking the future review with them I’ll just put them here.
- Dubstep and Rock were bound to meet. Dubstep is a very rock-friendly Electronica genre, and a lot of it is structured similar to Rock music. The lengths are similar (The average rock song is 4-3 minutes, the average Dubstep song is 4-5 minutes), the WUBWUBWUB bass is often parallel to guitar riffs (Example), and the breakdowns can be compared to Metalcore breakdowns. There’s no reason why mixing Dubstep with Rock should sound weird. Also, Nine Inch Nails came and went, and it’s a lot more natural for Rock music to mix with any Electronica – Just ask Pendulum and those Crabcore (A better name than Synthcore/Trancecore) bands. Finally, Korn were always a band who borrowed from different genres. Funk, Rap and Industrial all left their stains on Korn’s music.
- Have you heard the singles? Notice how the songwriting hadn’t changed much since their debut album? Maybe adding Dubstep was something they needed to do in order to find inspiration. Korn are a pretty unique band but not the most diverse. Strip the Dubstep, and shouting about shutting the fuck up and getting up comes from Follow The Leader, and aggressive melodies of “Narcissistic Cannibal” come from Take a Look in the Mirror. Add the Dubstep, and it suddenly sounds so fresh and inspired. It’s not a “gimmick” – It’s simply a way to make a well-known style more interesting and fun.
- What other direction should Korn go to? Oh yeah, I forgot, in the world of Metal, the heavier you are the more ‘original’ you are.
