Korn - Evolution (Virgin)
1/5
By: Charlie Potter
I am now 23. When I was 13, I used to listen to Korn - and I loved them. I didn't like them, I loved them. That may sound pathetic, and in a way it is, but where I was 13 in 1997 no-one listened to Korn, alright? I wasn't one of those kids who used to hang out with other kids who listened to Korn, Slipknot and the like. Anyway, in 1997 there was no Slipknot. This was two years previous.
I don't know why I'm proud of this, because it means that I genuinely liked this kind of music. Not only that, but it lead to not hanging out with other people. I liked Korn, I was branded as a freak, which of course only fuelled my lust for this carnal self obsessed release of listening to Korn. I have in fact since found out that people in the year below would mock me and even call me 'Korn' as if it was my name.
The main question that people like me ask themselves upon hearing Korn these days (leaving aside those few poor souls who've listened to them the whole time) is this - were they always this bad?
Pretty much.
I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that can't be true, and I have to admit they at least never sounded quite this desperate, but believe me, I have done the research. And the research - oh, the research - left me feeling that three of the most important years in my forming were not what I thought they were at all. For all those indie kids who are sat there feeling gratified about their own music upbringing right now I say remember Gay Dad, the Warm Jets, China Drum, 60 ft Dolls, Shed 7, Menswear, Rialto, Space, The Seahorses, Heavy Stereo... I never listened to any of that crap. You did. So don't get too smug.
'Evolution' is really, really bad. Korn have been mixed exactly like a pop band. Granted, the guitar sounds are actually pretty crushing in places, but they're mixed so low that you can barely notice their presence at all. Instead, the two things you do notice are Jon Davies' whining vocals, a sound about as gruff or rocking as Pee Wee Herman, and the sound of the high hat which just serves to emphasise that nearly every Korn song since 'Follow the Leader' is essentially a disco track. The other thing that makes 'Evolution' sound like a pop song are the hundreds of layers of vocals, simply there to soften the blow of this putrid feather bomb.
The lyrics, according to Jon Davies, are about how humans haven't evolved since monkeys and America going to war like bullies. What I suggest you do is go look up the lyrics to see what sort of correlation there is between the words and their supposed unifying theme. 'And I, I do not dare deny the basic beast inside, it's right here, it's controlling my mind!'. What? I'm not about to get into a debate over whether a foreign host could control your mind, but it does often seem like these lyrics were perhaps written more with the emphasis on rhyming than making sense. Really, go look up the lyrics. Last time I laughed this much was when I read the lyrics for 'A Bad Dream' by Keane.
This doesn't even deserve the score I'm going to give it.
Watch the video to 'Evolution' HERE.
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