Korn

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Korn (sometimes rendered as KoRn or Ko Яn) is a Nu Metal band formed in 1993 from Bakersfield, California. Well, we say a nu metal band. What we actually mean is the nu metal band. Korn are notable for being the first nu metal band - though others had fused rap and metal before (Rage Against the Machine, Faith No More), Korn were the first to play the infamous style of nu metal, adding angsty lyrics, downtuned guitars and funk-influenced bass playing and removing guitar solos. Korn's surprise success in the mid-nineties spawned a legion of similar bands that were more geared for the mainstream, resulting in nu metal becoming a separate genre from Alternative Metal.

Korn themselves are one of the few nu metal bands to try and reject the commercialism of other bands of the movement (not that they're uncommercial, mind you). They even commented on this trend-hopping tendency with the title of their third album, Follow the Leader. They also try and reject all genre classification, including rejecting the term "metal" to describe their music (though this had more to do with a dislike of being classified, period).

Their lineup consists of:

• Jonathan Davis - lyrics (occasionally Guitar or Drums; and sometimes Bagpipes)
• James "Munky" Shaffer - guitar
• Reginald "Fieldy" Arizvu - bass
• Ray Luzier - drums

Former member(s)

• Brian "Head" Welch - guitar
• David Silveria - drums

Discography:

• 1994 - Korn
• 1996 - Life is Peachy
• 1998 - Follow the Leader
• 1999 - Issues
• 2001 - Untouchables
• 2003 - Take a Look in the Mirror
• 2005 - See You on the Other Side
• 2007 - MTV Unplugged
• 2008 - Untitled
• 2010 - Korn III - Remember Who You Are
• 2011 - The Path of Totality

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Song tropes

• Album Title Drop:
  • "Trapped Underneath The Stairs", a bonus track for Korn III: Remember Who You Are, does this in the chorus (without the Korn III).
  • Debatably "Shoots and Ladders", which includes a faintly whispered "Jimmy cracked corn" somewhere in the bridge.
• Alternative Metal
• Audience Participation Song: "Y'All Want A Single". Before singing it, Jonathan calls out the name of the city they're in, thanks the audience for being fans and coming out to see them, and asks then to hold their middle fingers in the air and shouting "Fuck that!" before singing.
• Big "Shut Up!": "Right Now"
• Calling the Old Man Out: "Daddy", from the first album, despite being about a woman who molested Jonathan and his parents not believing the abuse.
• Country Matters: In the chorus of "Cameltosis."
• Cover Version: "One", "Low Rider", "Wicked", "Earache My Eye", "Another Brick in the Wall", "Creep", "Word Up!" and "Fight the Power".
• Cluster F-Bomb: In "Y'all Want a Single", the F word appears 89 times!
  • Precision F-Strike: Most of their songs.
• Everything's Louder With Bagpipes: Jonathan played bagpipes in high school and transferred his talent to Korn. Now at least once per album, there's gonna be some bagpipes somewhere in the songs, and somewhere in the live shows.
• Fun With Acronyms: "A.D.I.D.A.S.": A ll D ay I D ream A bout S ex.
• Guttural Growler: Whenever Davis wants to be threatening his voice goes really low.
• In the Style Of
• Inelegant Blubbering: The sobbing at the end of "Daddy".
• Intercourse With You: "Getting Off", "Inside Out", "10 or a 2 way", "It's Me Again".'"Beat It Upright", "A.D.I.D.A.S.".
• Ironic Nursery Tune: "Shoots and Ladders." Never has "Ring around the Rosie" sounded more disturbing.
• Last-Note Nightmare
• Metal Scream / Careful With That Axe
• Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: For obvious reasons, Korn tends to reside on the higher single digits of the scale. Untouchables is arguably their heaviest album, helped in no small part by the production.
• Mood Dissonance: The lullaby at the end of "Daddy."
• Rap Metal: Despite pioneering nu-metal, their music rarely features actual rapping outside of collaborations with Nas, Ice Cube, Biggie, Q-Tip, Xzibit and Slimkid3.
• Singing Simlish: Davis' demented mixture of beatboxing, grunting and babbling.
• Take That: Despite the lyrics being very ambiguous, "Y'all Want a Single" (especially, it's videoclip) is a song against the music business.
• Trope Maker and Ur Example - Of nu metal, though they deny it.
• The Unintelligible: Sometimes crosses into this territory.
• The Unpronounceable
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: "Dead Bodies Everywhere."

Video tropes

• Animated Music Video: "Freak On A Leash", directed by Todd Mc Farlane.
• Brick Joke:
  • The "Freak on a Leash" music video had several animated characters playing hopscotch on a cliff, who ran off at the end of the video. The hopscotch-over-a-cliff thing is also the cover art of Follow the Leader.
  • The next album (Issues) had a single called "Falling Away From Me" with a music video beginning with several animated kids run past a security guard holding a bullet before the scene changes to live-action.
• Bullet Catch: The aforementioned "Freak on a Leash" video.
• Bullet Time: Most of the "Freak on a Leash" video, as well as the damage the bullet causes.
• Hypocritical Humor: the video for "Y'All Want a Single"
• Monster Clown: Their video for "Clown" contains several. And a few Creepy Dolls.
• Music Video Overshadowing: "Freak on a Leash",
• Self-Deprecation: The video for "Alone I Break," to the band as a whole; it depicts Jonathan killing the other members of the band. And then the cameraman, possibly.

Misc tropes

• The Backwards R: Their logo is "Ko Яn", though it's to look childish, not Russian.
• Band Toon: The Halloween Episode of South Park Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery, a Scooby Doo Homage, Small Annoying Creature and Hoax in all. They at one point pull a Power Of Rock-esque One-Winged Angel moment. The band also debuted its single "Falling Away From Me" after solving the hoax. The song's content and heaviness rather surprises the townspeople gathered, as it heavily contrasts the band's sunny disposition throughout the episode.
• Enforced Method Acting: Reportedly, producer Ross Robinson went to great lengths to get Korn to "remember who they were" when recording their 9th album. This included measures ranging from aggressively taunting/berating the new drummer to make him play more passionately to bringing Jonathan Davis's wife and son into the studio and making them sit across from him while he recorded vocals. Even Davis's therapist got on Ross's case about this, but ultimately all involved seem to have been pleased with the results.
• Exactly What It Says On the Tin: Korn's 2009 tour was called the "Escape From The Studio" tour as a break from recording Korn III. The tour name was ripped off from a previous Metallica tour.
• Genre Shift: To Dubstep on The Path of Totality
• Great Balls of Fire
• Iconic Item: Davis' creepy mic stand, designed by HR Giger.
• The Invisible Band
• Long Runner Lineup: The band was the same for 12 years before Head got religious and left.
• Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Usually around an 7-and-a-half or an 8, especially considering they are Nu Metal.
• Nu Metal: The first band of the genre. They deny it, saying "Korn is Korn."
• One Hit Wonder: Technically, "Did My Time" was their only top 40 hit on the Hot 100, but they are one of the most well known rock bands of the past 15 years. Not to mention, "Did My Time" is certainly not their most famous song; that would probably be "Freak on a Leash."
• Path of Inspiration: The path taken by Brian "Head" Welch after leaving the band.
• The Rockumentary
• Unfortunate Names: Davis named two of his kids Pirate and Zeppelin. Yeah.