Three years on from The Paradigm Shift, Korn have stepped behind the soundboard again to piece together their 12th studio album. As guitarist Munky tells Metal Hammer, the band have tucked 2011’s adventurous The Path Of Totality firmly under their arms and combined it with the monstrous energy of 2002’s Untouchables, resulting in an updated, upgraded sound that is both a retrospective homage and a bright-eyed gaze toward the horizon, replete with a guest vocal from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor.
“When Head [Korn guitarist Brian Welch] came back to us on the last record, it was our way of getting the wheels greased,” Munky explains. “Now everything is well-oiled and the machine works really well. When Head and I start writing riffs together, we have this endless stream of creativity – we’re like Korn’s yin and yang.”
“We have Corey singing on one track and it’s going to be a fan favourite because he really lets loose,” the guitarist adds. “On a heaviness scale of one to 10 with 10 being the 1994 self-titled, this album is a definite nine!”
Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Alice In Chains/Deftones - pictured), new songs like forthcoming single Rotting In Vain aim to provide diehard fans and newcomers with the disturbing depth that Korn fans have become accustomed to.
“Nick is so passionate and enthusiastic, plus he’s a fan, so he tells us what our followers have been missing,” Munky notes. “He’s taken all those strengths we had 10 years ago and redeveloped them, polished them up and made them fresh. He told us to see the computer as a new tape machine and we weren’t to use any of the tricks it has. For the first time in our whole career, Head and I tracked guitars together side by side in front of the board. It was a lot of fun!”
Having enlisted the help of trippy pop artist Ron English, Munky teases how the new album’s psychedelic artwork pays tribute to their 1999 opus Issues and the iconic ragdoll image associated with the Bakersfield outfit ever since.
“Ron’s put his own amazing spin on that Issues cover and it’s fucking sick,” he grins. “It’s a little different for us because it’s so colourful, but I think it’s one of those things everyone will want on shirts and keychains! This album is a chapter forward and a chapter back at the same time – sometimes you have to step back to take a big leap forward.”
The Serenity of Suffering’ is out on 21st October via Roadrunner Records. You can pre-order the album here and get Rotting In Vain right away
