Loma Vista Recordings

Korn, Requiem (Loma Vista 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The indefatigable Korn are back with their fourteenth studio album, Requiem.

One of the most important Nu Metal bands that ever was, Korn formed in the early nineties in Bakersfield, California. For me, it was Follow The Leader (1998) that sunk the hook in to a permanent place. Since then, I have had an ear up for Korn more than any other band in this lane. The live shows are always fantastic, and the new album is a solid axe-swinger that fans are going to gobble up. The band is Jonathan Davis (vocals), James Shaffer (guitar), Brian Welch (guitar), Reginald Arvizu (bass), and Ray Luzier (drums).

The nine tracks on Requiem stomp the terra with refined authority. The melodic, lyrical passages carry the narrative along while the choruses bring us all together in collective moments of shared space. Every change in pace is an understood necessity. Each morsel is fashioned for the most prescient effect.

My favorites are “Disconnect” and the single “Start The Healing.” The latter is a savage prowler and the former has an undeniable resonance. I keep listening to these two over and over. There is something about Korn’s music that lands differently to me than similarly oriented bands. Their sound is unique while remaining in a particular sound zone, and there is an earnestness you just don’t hear in other bands. When Korn a song is about something painful, it sounds like they feel it whereas a different band attempting the same would just sound like they were complaining. The difference matters.

There are other stand-out songs as well. The heaviness of “Hopeless And Beaten” should not be overlooked. “My Confession” is an absolute cataclysm and the closer, “Worst Is On Its Way,” holds no shields against its descriptions and predictions. The album is succinct, reflective, and powerful. It is an important addition to the history of the band. Recommended.

Out now through Loma Vista, Requiem is yours for the taking. It is yet another excellent album from Korn.

Live photo by Wayne Edwards, Aftershock 2019.

Links.

Korn website, https://kornofficial.com/

Bandcamp, https://kornofficial.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/korn/

Loma Vista, https://bodega.lomavistarecordings.com/collections/korn

Korn, Requiem (Loma Vista 2022)

Marilyn Manson, We Are Chaos review (Loma Vista Recordings 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

Marilyn Manson is the monster you know. On his newest album, he shows us we cannot hide from the chaos we see because it is everywhere.

Heaven Upside Down was three years ago, The Pale Emperor two years before that. Marilyn Manson has been keeping up with regular new releases, and it was time for another. But 2020 is a weird year, strange days, and We Are Chaos is an odd album in the artist’s canon. The Shock Rock persona is in there somewhere, and we get flashes of it throughout this new one, but there is less revelry this time around and in its place there is a pervasive dolefulness.

“We Are Chaos” was released as a single ahead of the album launch, as was “Don’t Chase The Dead.” Both of these songs are basically ballads (especially the title track) and it left us all to wonder what the rest of the album was going to sound like. I mean, I am used to Marilyn screaming, or giving us the sinister whisper. The first song, “Red Black and Blue,” has that pulsing energy I expected with punching percussion, strong guitar riffs, and distressed, urgent vocals. Next are the two singles, and then another sweet ballad, “Paint You With My Love.” “Half-Way & One Step Forward” has a very creepy feel to it, and it is quiet, too, although it does get a little louder there at the end. “Infinite Darkness” conveys a spacey odor and has a bigger guitar presence than the previous four songs. It is heavy on the narrative and has a stomping momentum. “Perfume” sounds like it might be the next single – it is very radio friendly (is there still radio?). There is a nice heavy punch to “Keep My Head Together,” and a committed recklessness that is very appealing. The eeriest song is probably “Solve Coagula” with its hopelessness and caustic violence. It also has the great line, “I’m not special, I’m just broken.” The album wraps up with “Broken Needle.” The opening acoustic guitar riff is a quiet signal, a statement that this subdued entry in the history of Marilyn Manson is understandable on the surface. It is exactly what it seems. “Are you all right / ’cause I’m not OK / all of these lies / are not worth fighting for.”

Out now on Loma Vista, We Are Chaos is available in many formats and features. Suggested links are below, but you can get some form of the album pretty much anywhere.

Photos by Wayne Edwards from Aftershock 2019.

Links.

Wesbite, https://www.marilynmanson.com/

Buy Music, https://marilynmanson.lomavistarecordings.com/

Buy Merch, https://store.marilynmanson.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/MarilynManson/

Marilyn Manson, We Are Chaos review (Loma Vista Recordings 2020)