K o R n -- F O L L O W - T h e - L E A D E R
Written by Korn
Produced by Steve Thompson, Toby Wright and KoRn
Released on August 18, 1998
Running length of 69 minutes, 10 seconds
Introduction
In 1998, Korn were one of the largest metal bands on the planet - and MTV didn't want anything to do with them. Their angsty lyrics and insane guitar style was too much for MTV to handle, and they refused to show any of their videos. Then came an album called Follow The Leader - an album which as been affectionately dubbed by Korn fans as their MTV album.
Follow The Leader is Korn's third studio album, and quite possibly their most commercial as well. Follow The Leader was a massive shock to fans, as it was radio-friendly. Korn weren't supposed to be radio-friendly at all, but managed to get two massive hit singles in the from of "Freak on a Leash" and "Got The Life", as well as having numerous guests on the album. This caused Korn to lose quite a large number of fans in the same way Limp Bizkit did with their Significant Other album - they "sold out" aparently. Sell outs or not, this is a great album in it's own right and the most accessible work they've done.
The sound depicted on this album has a tendancy to be quite experimental. Munky and Head's guitars splurge out complicated riffs and lots of distortion. This album has a tendancy to be a studio album and nothing else - a few of the songs would be hard to recreate live, with a lot of sampling and background vocals added in. This is also where Korn first started to experiment with Hip-Hop, especially with their collabarations with Ice Cube and Fred Durst. And although this may cause pretty negative responses, it is still a good nu-metal album, which any fan of the genre should add to their collection.
Also, probably just to mess with our heads, the first 12 tracks are complete silence. Don't ya just love 'em?
Track Listing:
- It's on!
- Freak on a Leash
- Got The Life
- Dead Bodies Everywhere
- Children of the KoRn
- B.B.K.
- Pretty
- All in the Family
- Reclaim My Place
- Justin
- Seed
- Cameltosis
- My Gift To You
For reference, KoRn are:
- Jonathan Davis - Vocals
- Munky - Guitar
- Head - Guitar
- Fieldy - Bass
- David Silveria - Drums
Sleeve Art
As with the other Korn albums, the sleeve is worth mentioning simply on it's own credit. The cover is drawn by Spawn artist Todd McFarlane, and depicts a girl dressed in red about to walk off a cliff with a long line of children wearing Korn merchandise about to follow suit. This is an obvious stab at the state of music at that time, how countless bands tried to imitate Korn's sound and take credit for it. It is a faithful nod to the remark "if he were to jump off a cliff, would you follow?" Great stuff.
The inside of the sleeve is just as important as the cover. It shows Jonathan Davis tied up like a puppet and placed in a not so comfortable position, while his band mates and a small girl merely watch on. This is in line with the theme of the album, and how Jon always feels like a puppet, or a "Freak on a Leash" as it were.
Song Meanings
Note: If you would like to contribute your feelings toward any of these songs, or you think I may be wrong, /msg me and I'll add it.
- It's On!
This song is about how Jon used to party and drink all night, and how he now regrets this after becoming clean. Throughout the song, you can hear Jon wimpering and close to tears. Very heavy, very good. "Save some for me, it's what I like / I wanna play, you know it's time".
- Freak on a Leash
Korn's most popular song is unsuprisingly the best. Jon sings how he always feels as if the music industry is using him to their advantage, and how he never gets the respect he deserves. "Something takes a part of me / Something lost and never seen / Everytime I start to believe / Something's raped and taken from me".
- Got The Life
This song is about how Jon has everything he ever needed, except it doesn't feel quite right as if there is something missing. He yearns for something different, wishing that there was more to life. "God hates me, the more I see the light, he wants to see / God told me, I've already got the life, oh I say...".
- Dead Bodies Everywhere
This is, as the title doesn't suggest, about peer pressure. Jon's parents didn't want him involved in the music business, simply because they didn't want him to go through the trouble they did when they started out. Jon claims that all that came out of it at the beginning was Dead Bodies. "Your dreams never achieved, don't lay that shit on me / Let me live my... life".
- 409 says:"the song dead bodies everywhere is about the time when john worked in a morgue, he is actually qualified to do this..."
- Children of the KoRn
This is a collabaration with Ice Cube, and is about people telling you what to do with your life. Some of it stems from peer pressure like the previous track. There is also some about bullied because of being different. "How you gonna tell me where to skate, who to date / how to fuck, how to kiss, who to love, who to diss /
how to live, what it is, somethin' gotta give".
- B.B.K.
This song is about Jon's struggle to keep up with his new lifestyle, and how sometimes he can't handle the pressure of being a rock star. The title has nothing to do with the song (Big Black Cock). "So you've seen I've gotten this far / Please give me some place to worry / I'm not trying to go there, so take me away".
- Pretty
This is the sad story of a small girl was sent to the coroner's office where Jon used to work, and she was raped by her father, her legs broke. Jon claims to still have nightmares about it. How? Why? Legs
Broke / The pain between her thighs / I see your pretty face / Smashed against the bathroom floor".
- All in the Family
This is a collabiration with Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, and is basically just Fred and Jon shouting abuse at each other. It's quite a funny listen, especially if you hate Fred Durst. The great thing about this song is that when Fred speaks, the music is cut down to bass and drums, while when Jon speaks the guitars are let loose in a savage fury. "Fred: All up in my face with that... / Jon: Are you ready?!? / Fred: But halitosis, is all you're rockin' steady / You little fairy,
smelling all your flowers / Nappy hairy chest, look it's Austin Powers! / Jon: Oh Yeah, baby!".
- Reclaim My Place
This is about how Jon was called a fag during his youth, but then he became a big rock star and is still called a fag. He wishes he could get rid of them all. "All I hear is disgrace / Erase them all and reclaim my place".
- Justin
Justin is the name of a boy who was suffering from terminal cancer and his last wish was to meet KoRn and hang out with them. Jon really admired his strength, and couldn't even look him in the eye while they were together. "You watch me play / I look away / Your lights turn bright / You found the light".
- Seed
This song is about how Jon became "jealous", so to speak, of his son Nathan's inncoence. He misses being care-free and not have anything on his back, and wishes he had that in his life again. "Every time, god damn, I look at my son, I see something I can't be / Beautiful and care free, that's how I used to be".
- Cameltosis
It's how Jon cannot get into a relationship easily after being rejected from another in a hurtful way. This song features Tre Hardson. Tre sings about how great iit is to be with a girlfirend, and Jon sings the opposite. Cool guitar riffs as well. "She's the epitomy of sweet misery / The sweeter the stroke, the deeper the pain given".
- My Gift To You
This is a song dedicated to Jon's ex-wife Renee, and it is a rape fantasy. Jon wanted to do something different to the tradional love song, and Renee actually liked it. The best song on the album as well. "Your throat, I take grasp / Can you feel the pain? / Then your eyes roll back / Can you feel the pain?".
There is a hidden song at the end of this track, but it doesn't really have any meaning to it what so ever. It's just the band messing around with vocals and stuff. It's actually quite cool, so listen to it!
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
- Freak on a Leash
- Got The Life
- All in the Family
- My Gift To You
This is a very good album, and I would recommend it to any nu-metal fans out there. Everyone else should really stay away from it, as it's unfortuantely become a template for nu-metal from 1998-onwards (quite ironic, actually :).
Produced and mixed by Steve Thompson, Toby Wright and KoRn
Additional Enginerring and Editing by John Ewing, Jr.
Cover Art by Todd McFarlane
May many nice things happen to:
409
Cornflakes
ConfusionTheWaitress
Sources:
http://www.songmeanings.net
http://www.gotkorn.com
http://www.korn.com