It has been claimed that the nu-metal movement of the 1990s was the last occurrence in mainstream popular culture where metal was the coolest thing in town. Obviously, the people who made these claims probably weren’t aware of Finland, but this weird Nordic pocket of metalheads notwithstanding, maybe they had a point: the pioneering nu-metal bands redefined the limits of what metal could be with such seismic force that it seems pretty stunning even in retrospect. The birth of nu metal is often attributed to a single act – KORN – albeit there were a lot of pre-existing factors that allowed it to happen in the first place, y’know, bands like FISHBONE, LIVING COLOUR, and FAITH NO MORE, that had already injected their metal sound with a hefty dose of funk and hip-hop. Then along came a wild bunch from Bakersfield, California, who laced this iconoclastic mix with downtuned guitars, bouncy breakdowns, and a meth-induced sense of angst and danger – and the rest is history. The seed for this new genre was planted by KORN‘s eponymous debut in 1994 (if not their early demos, even), but it was their sophomore effort – “Life Is Peachy,” released on October 15 th, 1996, that proved to be their first significant breakthrough. Although the album was met with somewhat mixed reception by critics, the metal kids loved it. Why wouldn’t they? The album features no guitar solos (those were increasingly frowned upon at the time), and instead of waxing poetically about mythological battles or other topics that had little or no relevance whatsoever in the lives of the slacker generation, the songs spoke about real social topics, such as sex, betrayal, revenge, and – of course – drugs. The music was a wild amalgamation of something cool (hip-hop) and something abrasive (metal), and the lyrics hit a nerve. Even the album title is a stab at Zeitgeist: the Boomer generation was having a field day pillaging the world, and their disenfranchised GenX kids could merely stand by and watch as their future was being ruined in real time. Life was peachy? yeah right.
As it appears to be the case with so many classic albums, the birthing process of “Life Is Peachy” was not exactly like an episode of Care Bears. After fourteen months of touring in the wake of their eponymous debut, the band took a month off in order to start writing new material. There was a problem, however: the band members had only been sober when performing, and now, with no performances coming up, the drugs and alcohol were gaining more and more foothold. The recording sessions were interrupted constantly due to such a debauched lifestyle. Rumor has it that the band put more effort into booze, meth, and fighting than songwriting, but that’s hyperbole, of course. You don’t create a landmark album by accident, bro. These birthing pains surely charged the album with a menacing aura, though. “Life Is Peachy” remains one of the band’s darkest efforts – it’s raw and angry, and at the same time, wild and creative.
The pros and cons, then? The three singles were among the highlights, no doubt: “No Place to Hide,” “A.D.I.D.A.S.,” and “Good God.” Jonathan Davis‘ vocal performance on the last of these has been viewed as encapsulating not only the album’s true essence, but also the budding nu-metal sound at large. Then, while the first two tracks, for instance, do not necessarily reach the same spheres as “Freak On A Leash,” you simply cannot resist the urge to make gibberish noises with your mouth while listening to these weird experiments. Finally, you simply cannot talk about the early KORN albums without reminiscing on Fieldy‘s signature bass antics. I vaguely remember that there were wild rumors circulating in the metal community about the custom gear he used to get that ultra-low, slinky bass sound. The Internet was not yet a thing in this neck of the woods, so the speculations reached pretty far-out realms. One of the more realistic views was that it was his thumb ring that added more click to every hit. Whatever the case, that percussive bass sound became a phenomenon in and of itself. Plus, it certainly added to the band’s mystique.
The album debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, so regardless of what the critics thought about the whole endeavor, the metalheads widely approved. “Life Is Peachy” was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1997 and platinum later that same year; it reached double platinum in the US in November 1999, and by 2009, the album had sold almost three million copies worldwide. So, maybe the world was going to hell in a handbasket – and maybe it still is – but, at least for KORN, life indeed seemed rather peachy in terms of album sales. Their sophomore effort also laid the basic template for a good number of albums to come – y’know, killer bangers with a few silly skit tracks thrown in between – not only for themselves but also for a good number of copycat bands. Yeah, shortly after this landmark album started to make waves, the corporate labels cashed in and pushed the nu-metal aesthetic to its logical extreme, if not beyond the point of being ridiculous, but that’s another story. In 1996, this Bakersfield bunch rushed out of the gates with a killer banquet of unique dishes that still taste pretty damn good.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Twist
- Chi
- Lost
- Swallow
- Porno Creep
- Good God
- Mr. Rogers
- K@#o%!
- No Place to Hide
- Wicked (feat. Chino Moreno)
- A.D.I.D.A.S.
- Lowrider (War cover)
- Ass Itch
- Kill You / Twist (Acapella)
Lineup
Jonathan Davis – lead vocals, bagpipes, additional guitars
Head – guitars, vocals on “Lowrider”
Munky – guitars
Fieldy – bass
David Silveria – drums
Label
Immortal Records / Epic
