NASHVILLE |FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/ AMANDA CAGAN
KORN'S `LIFE IS PEACHY'
CRITICAL SOUNDBITES
"…compelling fusion of heavy riffs and tight hip-hop beats."
–David Grad, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, October 25, 1996
"Korn aren't heavy metal, but their music defies any other simple moniker. Their cross-pollinated sound values tone and texture over distortion and volume, incorporating hip-hop rhythms, industrial-strength guitar, violent fantasy and grim reality, macho posturing and sensitive angst."
–Eric Gladstone, ROLLING STONE, April 3, 1997
"While most metal-heavy music chokes on conformity, Korn's new album bursts with original time structures and chord progressions–not to mention far-wilder-than-usual vocals from Davis."
–Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, November 4, 1996
"Korn's music–a heavier-than-heavy mix of shock-wave vocals, wailing guitars and pummeling bass rhythms–is a way for Davis and company to purge demons. In songs often laced with profanity, they share just how much hell they felt as kids. It's terrifying music, but overwhelmingly powerful…Korn's music is an `emotional rollercoaster,' says Davis. That's an apt phrase because Korn doesn't play with a monotonous thrash, but has a tension-and-release sound that softens to moments of calm before revving back up to brutish, metal crescendos."
–Steve Morse, BOSTON GLOBE, November 8, 1996
"The group has expanded its coarse musical attack to expose new facets of angst, from a humorously ham-fisted take on `Low Rider' to a seething expletive extravaganza. Threaded throughout are glimmers of gloomy pop, aggressive, hip-hop-tinged grooves, even some gnashing scat singing. Deftly provocative."
–Sandy Masuo, LOS ANGELES TIMES, October 23, 1996
"Here we have an assembly of twisted souls–perverts, psychopaths and paranoiacs–dramatized by the creepy multipersonality soliloquies of singer Jonathan Davis. What emerges is an overload of troubled emotion: thrashy hip-hop, the vocal spasms of Davis and guitarist Head, and a sound that is both grooved and jagged."
–Dean Golemis, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, November 8, 1996
"`Explosive' is a good word for Korn's angry, aggressive music. Most songs are twisted tales about childhood emotional traumas caused by broken or dysfunctional families an abusive classmates in the band's hometown."
–Gene Stout, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, November 29, 1996
"Anyone who has heard Jonathan Davis vent and rage at the helm of Korn will believe the singer when he says, `I have no problem sharing my thoughts with people.'..He doesn't so much sing as he hollers, growls and screams above the thrashing two-guitar attack and propulsive rhythm of the Southern Californian band. His bleeding-throat delivery makes his conviction clear, and he most often is addressing the alienated, discontented life of an angry young man."
–Michael Mehle, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS (CO), October 11,1996
"The band has the right idea, blending surging heavy metal riffs and experimental guitar squeals with alternately moaning and howling vocals."
–Jon Wiederhorn, PULSE!, November 1996
"As unsettling as its debut was, Korn's sophomore album is positively fiendish, full of portentous pauses that lead to all kinds of sonic shocks…LIFE IS PEACHY runs the gamut from near-wackiness to disturbingly whacked-out. But like any good creep show, it's always engrossing–even at its most grotesque."
–Sandy Masuo, REQUEST, December 1996
"…brutally heavy guitar riffs, swinging, funky rhythms and visceral vocals."
–Chris Gill, MAXIMUM GUITAR, December 1996
"With its combination of eerie melodies, quirky guitar textures and the most massive riffs since Metallica's Master Of Puppets, this album establishes Korn as contenders for the title of `Heaviest Band in the Land.' Head and Munky's guitar playing may have more in common with avant garde and experimental music than metal, but their relentless grooves are catchy as hell."
–Chris Gill, MAXIMUM GUITAR, February 1997
"It's that kind of musical mutation that makes Korn's new album, LIFE IS PEACHY, such a potent dose of metallic madness. With songs like the paranoid `No Place To Hide,' and the haunting `Kill You,' Head and Munky, along with singer/lyricist Jonathan Davis, stir up a peculiar ruckus that's not so much rock music but a creepy narcotic mood. Much of that raucous comes from the band's dueling seven-string Ibanez Universe guitars."
–Bob Gulla, GUITAR, January 1997
"If you like music that makes you squirm, then the second album from the enthusiastically harsh hard-core quintet Korn will do the trick. Guitarist Munky has one of the gunkier tones in the land of the pissed-off proletariat, and Korn gets almost funky on several cuts, including a cover of War's `Low Rider.'"
–Buzz Morison, GUITAR, January 1997
"…it's the group's cut and paste production, fueled by guitarists James `Munky' Shaffer and Brian `Head' Welch, that finds the band breaking new ground. They still rely on heavy riffs to walk a song home, but random noise bursts, passed squeals and Hendrixian blowouts are of equal importance–afar cry from the stolid mechanics of metal past. This added dimension has make Korn a favorite of both musicians and rocker kids, though the band pleads ignorance where technical matters are concerned."
–GUITAR PLAYER, March 1997
"The guitars are roaring out thick, juicy, dissonant riffs that hover near the bottom. The singer is intense–angry, occasionally nervous, sometimes ecstatic. And the drums are getting funkier by the minute. In the middle of it all, at the source, there's that sound: the subterranean bass groove that moves it all. It has to be Fieldy–and it has to be Korn."
–Bill Leigh, BASS PLAYER, February 1997
"Barely bridled anger and angst, so close to the top it's ready to boil over, bordering on the scary–that's the essence of Korn, and more specifically, of singer Jonathan Davis. Lucky for music fans that Davis appears to have survived a rather troubled childhood, because in songs like `Mr. Roger,' the singer rants, raves, growls, and moans–in a voice that sounds like it's drawn from the depths of…well, the depths."
–Katherine Turman, CAR AUDIO, December 1996
"Describing Korn's music as rap-flavored industrial metal is like saying that Dennis Rodman is a fashionable guy. Well, yes, but that's not the half of it! These are hip-hop beats and heavy riffs turned inside out, guitars tuned way, way down. Here is a singer (Jonathan Davis) who veers from quiet intensity to a death gargle in a single tortured breath; likewise, Korn songs are sonically schizophrenic, defying any traditional dynamics."
–Marina Zogbi, METAL EDGE, January 1997
"LIFE IS PEACHY, has a funkiness with its dancing bass lines and trademark thundering bass drum, which occasionally sounds like a hammer hitting a nail. Davis' vocals alternate from a gruff, angry tone to a soft, high-pitched near-whisper. With an album saturated with angry, passionate tunes like these, Davis has hopefully undergone a cathartic experience that could strengthen him after the unhappiness of his childhood. Davis may have gotten his sweet revenge at last."
–Jerry Rothberg, CIRCUS, November 1996
"On such new songs as `Chi,' `No Place To Hide' and `Lost' these rap/metal masters have bravely forged ahead, creating a style so vitriolic and so inspired that any dissection of minor creative faults seems mundane."
–HIT PARADER, February 1997
"With this brilliant follow-up to the band's self-titled 1994 debut, Korn answered the skeptics' most frequently asked question: `Is Korn a one-hit wonder?' Hell, no! Filled to the brim with Korn's trademark jagged guitar, schizophrenic grooves and passionate outbursts, LIFE IS PEACHY explodes with one raging gem after another."
–CMJ NEW MUSIC REPORT, December 23, 1996
"Propelled by the band's edgy rhythms and bizarre noises, Davis' vocals range from raw-throated raving to raspy whispers. Given the unsettling moods on the disc–hatred, anxiety and anguish–it's surprising to find humor as well, as when Davis plays bagpipes on a quickie version of `Low Rider' and their cover of Public Enemy's `Wicked' (featuring guest vocalist Chino Moreno of the Deftones). Korn ride both sides of the emotional rollercoaster with equal aplomb."
–Janiss Garza, HIGH TIMES, February 1997
"Part of Korn's appeal…is the unsettling heaviness of their music. Add the electrifying presence of frontman Jonathan Davis, who vehemently and unabashedly explores the netherworlds of his psychological turmoil…and the effect is intense, to say the least."
–Janiss Garza, BAM, October 4, 1996
"The fat thumping grooves set by Fieldy, the odd penetrating beats pounded by David, and the massive and quirky twin-guitar onslaught of Head and Munky are uniquely Korn (although many have imitated the sound since). But what makes Korn `Korn,' and truly original, is Davis' gut-wrenching, soul-screeching vocals…The result of Davis' anxiety and the other members' hard work is a musical progression with more experimentation on a style that's already a proven experiment. Even the two cover tracks included on the 14-song LIFE IS PEACHY display ingenuity–Ice Cube's `Wicked,' which features Deftones' vocalist Chino Moreno, is heavy and thick with a Korn treatment; and the abbreviated version of War's `Lowrider,' which highlights Davis on bagpipes and Head's growling voice–gives a new meaning to cultural integration."
–Jennifer Clay, BAM (CA), November 1, 1996
"Korn were active. Very fucking active. And loud. Extremely loud. The angry, blood-boiling noise electrified singer Jonathan Davis as he convulsed and sang while James `Munky' Shaffer was completely out of control on guitar. The chemistry between him and Brian `Head' Welch was amazing…the two played as if they shared a creative soul. At times, bassist Reggie `Fieldy' Arivizu slithered around while playing with amazing precision. More often, he just stood there playing as if he was holding an upright bass. And let's not forget David Silveria on drums, most fierce."
–Christine Scarano, EAST COAST ROCKER (NJ), November 20, 1996
"LIFE IS PEACHY is a bold, challenging work that blows any notion of a sophomore slump completely to hell."
–Peter Atkinson, JAM (FL), October 25, 1996
"The Southern California quintet succeeds at making heavy metal viable again and creating loud, aggressive rock for kids raised on Public Enemy and Metallica."
–Sara Sherr, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, November 5, 1996
"It's a perfect paradox, then, that Korn called its sophomore effort LIFE IS PEACHY. It packs a bloody, emotional wallop that is an ingeniously twisted, piece of personal hell that refuses to be dull."
–Pete Chakerian, PLAIN DEALER (CLEVELAND, OH), October 25, 1996
"Even though Davis' lyrics were unintelligible, his point was clear: He was angry. Not that pretend angry that alterna-grunge bands such as Silverchair and Smashing Pumpkins have been watering down the scene with for the past few years–this was real rage. You didn't hear the emotion as much as you felt it as Korn ripped through songs like `Blind' and `No Place To Hide.'..The anger was not restricted to the vocals, either. The rhythm section, consisting of bassist Fieldy and the drummer known only as David, was thunderous. The duo kept perfect time through complex double-kick-drum and slap-bass maneuvers that shook the walls."
–Jason Galloway, FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, November 25, 1996
"Yes, it's been a while, but the kings of aggro-rock are back with a brutal, valiant new record…No sophomore slump here–just the power, finesse and fury you would expect from one of the most prominent bands in the world of heavy music…Looks like Korn is here to stay for a while. Thank God."
–Tom Hazaert, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, December 10, 1996
"Korn makes very hard music that is also, at its core, surprisingly pliable. A collision of melodic tension, hip-hop curves, and industrial-strength punch, the West Coast quintet brings plenty of musical ingenuity to the headbanger's ball…Even when Davis backs off from his guttural menace and opts for a mild, warbly delivery, the internal dread pours out of him like a verbal nightmare (which, in the heavy-music context, is a good thing). `Lost' roars out of the gate with a metal brio to spare, then brakes into tense spareness just long enough for the suddenly breathy Davis to creepily explain that pesky `thorn in my spine.'..Urban street groove and the Highlands collide on a redux of War's `Low Rider,' where Davis' bagpipes accompaniment snakes through the air as haunting refrain. Clocking in at just under a minute, this terrific cover is all too brief. It's also evidence of what fans of Korn's live shows have known for some time now–these guys inject enough dynamics into the brain-pummeling grooves to set them apart from so many of their thuddingly unambitious peers."
–ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, November 21, 1996
"With quirky, heavy guitar riffs and a hip-hop-inspired groove, Korn is beyond unique. The band, filled out by James `Munky' Shaffer and Brian Welch on guitars and drummer David, is characterized by a psuedo-retro sound, thanks to the use of vintage sound equipment…But their use of downtuned seven-string guitars brings a low-end crunch that quakes the earth, giving them a `90s edge."
–John Serba, GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, October 20, 1996
"Anyone who's seen the band live knows that this is where its terse, groove-heavy rock really hits home. Seeing Korn attack their instruments with total ferocity, pumping out a jolting thunder…If Korn was a clear snapshot of an intense, angry band, LIFE IS PEACHY is a rough-hewn, metallic, three dimensional sculpture. It is a full realization of all the things that the band wanted to be on its debut. Davis' vocals are both more melodic and grating; he utilizes his voice as an instrument. Guitars both grind out power chords and squeal like sirens. The bass is as percussive as it is melodic, and the drums somehow bring cohesion to the chaos with booming tribal rhythms or subtle, jazzy syncopation."
–Adem Tepedelen, THE ROCKET (WA), November 20, 1996
"Korn's powerhouse is centered on the twin-axe assault of Brian Welch and James Shaffer, who wield their custom-made 7-string Ibanez Universe guitars in a gritty riff-fest that's phatter than holy phuck. Reggie Arivizu's bass is so bumbly and low-end, it comes across as the dyspeptic rumblings of a gargantuan colon. And don't forget the complex, air-tight signatures of David Silveria, flailing his drums with the intensity of an orchestral percussionist."
–Andrew Lenz, ENTERTAINMENT TODAY (L.A., CA), January 10, 1997
"What differentiates LIFE IS PEACHY from Korn, the band's self-titled debut, is the stunning maturation of vocalist Jonathan Davis. Davis has replaced a great deal of the screaming that dominated the first release, opting to go with a toned-down, spoken voice throughout…The casual approach Davis uses throughout the majority of the disc is haunting, creating an ominous aura that pervades the entire release. Overall, it is Davis' nexus approach that is most tantalizing…As for Davis' bandmates, they have improved one thousand percent, most notably guitarists Brian Welch and James Shaffer. Their bubbling riffs are far tighter than anything Korn had to offer, powering cuts like `Chi.' While the NPG features the artist formerly known as Prince, Korn counter with the drummer simply known as David. Last name or not, this guy can flat-out play…Back again is that classic, hard rock instrument, the bagpipes. Their limited, yet highly displayed use stands as one of the high points of the disc. But that could be said of all the instruments, as well as the band in general, as LIFE IS PEACHY is flat-out excellent."
–Chris Akin, SCENE (CLEVELAND, OH), October 31, 1996
"Korn has shocked the music world with their volcanic live shows and daringly intriguing style which blasts through their audiences, putting their fans into a torrid musical frenzy that pierces the soul, infiltrates the mind, and is virtually never-ending, long after the performance is over. In just a few years, Jonathan Davis (vocalist/bagpipist/tantrum thrower) has advanced from being an autopsy assistant (dissecting human bodies in the coroner's office of California) to becoming the frontman of a groundbreaking rock band which has influenced the music scene in an astounding and commendable manner. Band members Fieldy (bass), Munky (guitars), David (drums), and Head (guitars/vocals) have bonded together, creating an aggressive and powerful band with a musical style that exhibits extreme elements of emotion, anger, wit and startling creative expression."
–Shellie Silberger, THE ISLAND EAR (NY/NJ),
"Most of the songs bounce back and forth between a really heavy, muddy, harsh, feel and soft and trippy sound. The vocals are unlike any thing I've heard before, just raw aggression and passion. During the soft parts Jonathan Davis sounds like he's trying to contain himself and during the harsh parts he cuts loose with an intensity that makes a lot of extreme singers look like quiet peaceful gardeners."
–Jeremy Wernow, INK NINETEEN (FL), December 1996
"Davis has mastered a vocal technique that can carry him from a whisper to a whimper to a full-bore banshee howl in seconds. He builds and reveals more emotion in his delivery than the words could ever express on their own…But look a little closer and there's quite a bit of musicianship going on behind Davis and his vocal front…Instead of the ceaseless assault of two bussing guitars, guitarists Munky and Head have mellowed out enough to wedge eclectic riffing and inventive melodies between their massive crunch…Drummer David Silveria and bassist Fieldy have perfected the down and dirty rhythm connection that gives Korn its unmistakable hip-hop beat."
–Elayne S. Takemoto, BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN, October 11, 1996
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