Korn (album)

KoЯn is the self-titled debut album by KoЯ n, released on October 11, 1994 through Immortal/Epic Records. It has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA in the US.

Musical and lyrical style
The album merges influences from alternative metal, funk metal, grunge and hip-hop, which altogether made a sound which would later be called nu metal. It is regarded as the first album of this genre. The band has been said to "disdain the metal or nu metal label," and consider the album more like a "heavy groove".

While these elements have been adapted by other bands, the album includes elements that are unique to Korn, including scatting vocals, and the use of bagpipes.

According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Korn borrows elements from such acts as Pantera, Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, Helmet, Faith No More, Anthrax, Cypress Hill and N.W.A. According to author Cheryl Lynette Keyes, Korn's sound originated from the acid rap style of Esham.

Reception
Since its release in 1994, the album has proven to be a seller over time, being certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA in the US. "Shoots and Ladders" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Q magazine (8/00, p. 127) - Included in Q's "Best Metal Albums of All Time" - "[Their] clinical power generated maximum moshpit activity, while singer Jonathan Davis' lyrics spoke directly to any teen who'd ever been misunderstood, bullied or abused."

Track listing
In the first 13 seconds of the song "Helmet In the Bush" a presumably Latino or Spanish man can be heard talking in what seems to be a message left on a phone. This man is actually a very close friend of the band and was apparently supportive of Jonathan during his addiction.

The song "Daddy" ends after 9 minutes, and after 5 minutes 11 seconds of silence, another bonus track referred to as "Michael & Geri" can be heard. It is best referred to as a dialogue track, consisting of two people (Michael and Geri) having an argument about the exhaust manifold of a Dodge Dart. This argument was found in an abandoned house the album producer was cleaning and was added into the CD as a "hidden" track. The band currently is unaware who these people are.

Rating
The album has been rated for parental advisatory due to its explicit nature and lyrics. After listening to the album itself one can see how the album could have been rated this way, as the lyrics express violent, sexual and explicit language itself many times.