KoRn - The Paradigm Shift (Album Review)

I haven't really been in the business of enjoying Korn's music since the early 2000s. I've listened to all of their albums since then and nothing has really stuck out much post Follow The Leader. The Paradigm Shift is an interesting album and I put it on my radar after it was announced it would feature original guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. He previously wrote an interesting book about himself, drug addiction, the experiences he had in the band, and how he found Christianity. He also more recently has performed in his Christian band. I was really interested to hear how he fit within the band after all was said and done. This is his first album with the group since 2003’s Take A Look In The Mirror.

Well sound wise you get a fairly classic Korn album with elements from some of their more recent material. I can't say I think it's going to jumpstart Korn's mainstream fandom again at this point in their career, but in terms of Korn albums, this one is probably what fans who have stuck with the group have been waiting on for years. Overall the song that sticks out the most and the one that I think is actually a really decent song is "Never Never." It has a really cool sounding late 90s early 2000s vibe thrown in. It's really catchy and arguably the best song on the album. The guitar riffs, vocals, and rhythm section are about as good as one can hope from this genre of music. It also incorporates some new elements found in their music with an interesting electronic part thrown in towards the end.

The album artwork is okay. My main beef with it is that it really reminds me of the artwork for Tool's Lateralus album that came out way back in 2001. It is far better album artwork than Korn have had for their last two or three albums.

Korn is in an interesting position with this album. It's their strongest album in a long time. It is interesting that Head is back in the band and that alone should draw the old fans back in for another album. I'm not sure it will generate many new fans, but it is a far better album than the Limp Bizkit album that came out a few years ago. I hate to even compare the two bands, but let's face it they are lumped together in the history books forever. So if you've gotten a little tired of listening to "Got The Life" and "Freak On A Leash" or if you've recently pulled Follow The Leader out for nostalgia purposes I'd recommend giving this album a shot. It definitely shows Korn can still make a decent Korn album in 2013.