A Twisted Transistor of sound.
Korn are a band that have always been known for pushing the boundaries within sound and creating a unique trademarked sound that is recognised worldwide, and after a long break Korn have made an incredible comeback that sports their trademark heavy and wild sound on a completely new and evolved level. 'See You On The Other Side' is everything Korn have come to represent musically, a twisted and warped barb-wired edge of blinding musical fury, dark and twisted demeanor blended perfectly with sociopathic tendancies. It is everything Korn represent and more, evolved and morphed with an industrial strength alter-ego blending industrial metal beats with Korn's already classic bass-heavy sound. 'See You On The Other Side' is easily the most revolutionary and dynamic album Korn have released since their debut. Indeed there are a great many throwbacks to those days of old within Korn's career but these have been built upon like foundations to create something ultimately more unique and heavier than anything Korn have ever produced before. For those fans who believed Korn had gone downhill after the release of 'Follow The Leader', 'See You On The Other Side' may make them seriously reconsider, it really pushes the boundaries of what defines heavy metal and makes the result something very personal to Korn, it's Korn but revamped and morphed into something a little different, not to mention that Davis' obsession with the Scottish Bagpipes is a little more apparent in the closing tracks of this album. It's certainly different from anything else Korn have ever released and it's bound to make waves within the industry.
The album opens up with the preceeding single 'Twisted Transistor' which has already become a hit. 'Twisted Transistor' kicks in with a deliciously warped and distorted beat that's oddly dancey. The opening bass and guitar riffs have a kind of swing-like beat to them that continues throughout and gives the song an infectious and catchy appeal. However, it still retains the deliciously dark attitude of Korn that has made them so well loved over the years and what this creates is an incredibly refreshing and sparkling new sound that's scrumptiously bass heavy and contagious. Korn still use their famous distorted five string bass and seven string guitar riffs that pump up the volume of the music and give them their classic layered and abrasive sound but it's so much more structured and evolved, somehow more infectious and darker then ever. The chorus is incredibly brash yet melodic with lead guitar dancing lightly in-between loud and aggressive rhythm and bass assaults as Jonathan Davis' unique and raspy vocals purr overhead like a contented cat with its kill. The bridge is equally dark and deadly with an almost challenging lyrical blow, leading into a fantastic closing that ensures an explosive opening to the album.
'Politics' is a dangerously controversial track pumped up with complex drum fills and rhythms as atmospheric warped guitar and bass effects give the opening verses a real trance-like and otherworldly appeal. This works wildly well with Davis' vocals that seem to take on a similarly alien appeal and create a violently challenging mood. The chorus is deliciously funky, seeming to be mixed in with an incredibly heavy industrial metal like demeanour but even better, the chorus seems to retain a sound not unlike the previous release 'Here To Stay' from the 'Untouchables' album, a classically brash Korn song considered to be among one of their best evidencing clear influence from the past. Davis also displays incredible vocal harmonics skills in the closing build up that uses guitar and bass riffs to build up suspense and key change, morphing into searing guitar slides that threaten to cut through the music like a knife.
Following on from the darker mood, 'Hypocrites' continues the political attack, opening up on a moody and atmospheric guitar intro and exploding into something a little darker and heavier than anything previously featured. The pre-chorus features incredibly sharp and brash lead guitar riffs, jumping around on an ostinato riff between beats before mutating into an incredibly violent and challenging chorus, Davis' vocals taking top form in this brutal and abrasive song. 'Open Up' and the closing track 'Tearjerker' on the other hand are the much slower, tamer songs of the album, sporting melancholy harmonics and dark, mysterious chord progressions in atmospheric and moody fashion. 'Open Up' is the more aggressive and brutal of the two, a mysterious and challenging serenade revealing love for what it really is, tough, complicated and painful. Korn have always been known for their bluntness and controversial honesty within music but within this album there is a darker kind of groove that really enhances this and brings it to the surface more and more. 'Open Up' is beautifully dark and cynical, all parts working beautifully together to create a threateningly foggy atmosphere as the drums pump out a war-like beat and vocals harmonise with a macabre appeal.
'Tearjerker' is similarly dark yet incredibly quiet and sensitive, ditching the usual heavy pounding riffs and opting for a more atmospheric approach to match the emotional take on the style, highlighting a new horizon for Korn's music. For the great majority of the song, the music focuses only on Davis' vocals backed only by several synthisised chords to create an intriguing atmosphere and the bass, heavily saturated by effects, to define the dark and melancholy beauty of the song. The music almost weeps isolation and loss as the tempo gently speeds up and becomes heavier, leaking power and emotional force as the sound resonates from progression to progression. It makes the perfect closing track simply because it is so different from anything heard before on this album and is such a contrast from the really heavy music Korn have to offer just by being so atmospheric and laid back, while still keeping in style of Korn's music. It's a fabulous closing to an incredibly heavy and revolutionary album, one that really is not just an evolution of Korn but an evolution of heavy altogether.