Time has always been the ultimate test to any band to see how well they hold up even decades after their creation, and we’ve seen a good number of bands survive that test to go on to become legends in all of music. Some, such as Anthrax, can go that time without much change to their sound while others go through many different changes whether it be due to wanting to do something creatively different or to appeal more. Korn is possibly my favorite example of just that as just glancing at their discography sees so many changes that Korn is far from stagnant if anything. I was very curious to see where they’d go next after becoming progressively heavily and getting closer to their roots across their last two albums, but I really wasn’t expecting something like this that really went head-first into a twitching void that Korn has only ever touched on in previous works. It’s here, though, that they fully immerse themselves in its nothingness.

Really, is there a need to try and introduce a band like Korn? We’ve all heard a classic song from them at some point or another on the radio whether you’ve liked it or hated it and they’re popularity has spread across the globe like wildfire with their reach only increasing in recent years as they’ve slowly gone back to their roots. I was very much hoping for something along those lines as their last two efforts greatly intrigued me and I got plenty of enjoyment out of them, and I had confidence Korn wasn’t going to just copy and paste for this album. Fortunately, my faith has been well rewarded. While I’m not too big into some of the singles that came from the pre-release of “The Nothing”, it’s the entire rest of this effort where Korn shine in a light they’ve very much basked in before but it feels so much more intense and stronger than we’ve seen in years.

I could sit here and try to break down the record in order for anyone, fan of Korn or not, to get an idea of what “The Nothing” has for them without even listening to a single note, but I refuse to do that. It’s simply because I really feel like this is a quintessential album the likes of which Korn hasn’t released in a long time. There’s so much to dive into this album that Korn has utilized for several albums and even their whole careers like hypnotic melodies and crushing riffs that are timed perfectly for maximum impact while driving home a fucked up and deeply disturbed emotions that we saw a comeback of it, yet again, the last two albums, but it’s one this third voyage back to something to get under your skin that “The Nothing” accomplishes everything it should in that field: penetrating the mind, grabbing hold of your insecurities and fear of failure, and then boiling them to the surface as you crumble to your knees. It’s all so incredibly intoxicating such that it’s hard not to call this Korn’s most potent offering that we’ve seen in this decade, and how fitting seeing it’s coming to a close so why not leave it on one fucking hell of a smasher? “The Nothing” has brought together so much of what made Korn a staple in the first place and it brings all that classic brilliance to the present yet again as we see Korn continue to embrace the dark side but with a firmer grip than ever before along with an understanding of what makes their sound so potent and how to do it right such that every calculated note provides an experience that can only be considered to be of the best material Korn has ever produced.

In every possible form, this was an album I was not expecting. It’s a culmination of everything that’s ever made Korn a damn good band to listen to in the first place and what else is there that I can say about “The Nothing”? Its magnitude is undeniable and its quality is all but obvious, and of all the albums they’ve put out this should be easily considered as one of their most impressive.

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