Korn tried 'challenging' recording methods on new album

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Korn guitarist Munky admits he was unsure of the new studio experiment on The Serenity Of Suffering – but says it was "fun" and helped him play better

Korn
Korn

Korn’s James ‘Munky’ Schaffer says he tried a “challenging” new recording method on The Serenity Of Suffering.

Though the guitarist admits he and his bandmates were reluctant at first, producer Nick Raskulinecz insisted that recording both guitars simultaneously would save studio time by helping frontman Jonathan Davis “wrap his head around” the “unusual” new material sooner.

Munky tells Jake Serd (via Blabbermouth): “It was a method that our producer Nick decided. We were trying to make this record in between doing the 20th anniversary shows last year. So every time we came home from the road, we would jump in the studio and try to get some writing done, get some recording done.

“Nick was, like, ‘Maybe if you guys record at the same time, it’ll save me time and then I can start getting some rough mixes and we can start sending them to Jonathan and getting his vibe, just get him to wrap his head around some of the material and kind of unusual structures that we were laying out.”

He continues: “He plugged in both amps. We came in and he was, like, ‘Check it out. I want you guys to both record at the same time.’ And we were, like, ‘What? We never did that before?’

“He was, like, ‘Just trust me. It’s gonna be awesome.’

“It was challenging. If Head made a mistake on recording, we had to stop and start over. Like 99% of it was, ‘Okay, we can fix that.’ It really made us play better on the album, and it was a lot of fun. I can’t believe we’ve never done it before until now.”

Munky previously said they’d left their comfort zone for the album, and revealed it contains more ‘progressive” moments.

The Serenity Of Suffering is due out on October 21. Korn are currently touring North America.

Korn tour dates 2016

Sep 02: Camden BB&T Pavilion, NJ
Sep 03: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA
Sep 24: Fargo Scheels Arena, ND
Sep 25: Omaha Baxter Arena, NE
Sep 27: Cedar Rapis US Cellular Center, IA
Sep 28: Peoria Civic Center, IL
Oct 01: Madison JJO Sonic Boom, WI
Oct 02: Lousiville Louder Than Life, KY
Oct 05: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC
Oct 07: Pelham Oak Mountain Amphitheater, AL
Oct 08: Southhaven Landers Center, MS
Oct 09: Biloxi Mississippi Coast Coliseum, MS
Oct 11: Tampa Mid Florida Credit Union Amphitheater, FL
Oct 12: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, FL
Oct 13: Alpharetta Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, GA
Oct 15: Rogers Walmart Amphitheater, AR
Oct 16: Tulsa Bok Center, OK
Oct 19: Colorado Springs World Arena, CO
Oct 23: Sacramento Aftershock. CA

Korn The Serenity Of Suffering tracklist

  1. Insane
  2. Rotting In Vain
  3. Black Is The Soul
  4. The Hating
  5. A Different World (feat. Corey Taylor)
  6. Take Me
  7. Everything Falls Apart
  8. Die Yet Another Night
  9. When You’re Not There
  10. Next In Line
  11. Please Come For Me

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Christina O'Neill

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.