It’s hard to say a bad word about Korn when, without them, nu metal as we know it may never have existed. However, 30 years of them making white guys think they look good with dreadlocks makes it a bit easier. Bursting onto the scene in ‘94 and carrying us through life on a wave of chunking guitar and industrial scatting since then. Listening to their back catalog forced us to relive a lot of past fights with parents, bullies, and kilt seamstresses so sit back, shut up, and read The Hard Times definitive ranking of every Korn album. Are you ready?!
14. The Path of Totality (2011)
The natural progression of the nu-metal fan in 2011 was to blossom into a dubstep fan. This album marks that evolution in the most sonically abusive way. It is an attack on every single one of the senses, from the opening gut punch of “Chaos Lives in Everything” to the closing nut kick of “Tension.” That being said, this album was hugely important to closeted teenage lesbians looking for something to talk to their cover-up boyfriend about. And for that, I am thankful.
Play it again: After pounding 7 cans of Monster Energy and setting the neon lights inside your home-made computer set-up to “seizure mode”.
Skip it: If you have any ounce of self-respect in your body.
13. Korn III: Remember Who You Are (2010)
Ah yes, the album that makes us all wonder, “Did we miss a Korn 2?” The nod to the band’s self-titled debut only succeeds in making us remember how much better that album was than this one. There is an aggression lacking in this album that makes songs like “Move On” and “Pop a Pill” sound more corny than Korn-y. Much like everything about 2010, it is easily forgettable and not really noteworthy.
Play it again: “Trapped Underneath the Stairs”
Skip it: “Never Around” because we all enjoy when JDevil’s real-time recording noises/cries/screams are kept on a track, but that forced laughter is just creepy.
12. Untitled (2007)
The wet blanket of Korn albums, lacking depth and bagpipes in a way that is seriously missed. It doesn’t even have a creepy child on the cover. To top it off, each song just sounds like a different version of the last and don’t carry the same weighty anger that Korn fans feed off of.
Play it again: By accident, because you’ve already forgotten that you listened to it already.
Skip it: And you won’t miss out on much.
11. Untouchables (2002)
This album acts as a solemn farewell to the ‘90s. By this release, Korn had established their sound and fans knew what to expect. And this album does nothing to challenge those expectations or anything else really. If you asked ChatGPT to make a Korn album, it would probably sound something like this. It is undoubtedly an album by Korn, there is just nothing overtly exciting about it.
Play it again: “Hollow Life”
Skip it: “Alone I Break” (which at the chorus weirdly follows the same progression of the verses in “The Sun Always Shines on TV” by A-ha… Make of that what you will.)
10. The Paradigm Shift (2013)
Coming off the back of “The Path of Totality,” Korn had everything to prove with this album. And they fuckin’ deliver. Seeing the welcome return of guitarist Head, this album was like a refreshing Mountain Dew at the end of a long hard shift at GameStop. Funky and heavy in all the right places, drummer Ray Luzier finally has a chance to show off his skills on songs that don’t suck.
Play it again: “Victimized”
Skip it: “Lullaby for a Sadist”
Honorable Mention: MTV Unplugged: Korn (2007)
Although not a studio release and therefore not part of the official ranking, it would be cruel not to mention Korn’s “Unplugged” recording. Someone at MTV decided to take the risk of seeing if nu-metal would sound good acoustically. This should have been a fireable offense, but somehow it kind of worked. This album also gave us one of the greatest mashups of all time as The Cure joined the band to play a mix of Korn’s “Make Me Bad” and their own “In Between Days”. It also gave us the chance to hear the opening of “Blind” being played on a set of bongos. Golden.
Play it again: “Make Me Bad / In Between Days” (feat. The Cure)
Skip it: If you’re afraid of an acoustic 5-string bass.
9. The Serenity of Suffering (2016)
A gorgeous, filthy, sludgy record that feels heavier than the weight of your car loan on your shoulders. Feels like being stuck in a landslide down a mountainside and hitting multiple rocks and branches on the way down – but in a good way. So the album title is apt.
Play it again: “A Different World” (feat. Corey Taylor)
Skip it: “Calling Me Too Soon”
8. Take a Look in the Mirror (2003)
One of the heaviest-sounding Korn albums, what it lacks in lyrical substance it makes up for in crash cymbals. A nice amount of screaming from JD on this one that acts as a perfect soundtrack to smashing the shit out of your sister’s doll collection. Not too good for much else besides that.
Play it again: “Here it Comes Again”
Skip it: “I’m Done”
7. Requiem (2022)
Korn’s most recent offering comes off as if it could be some songs that didn’t make the cut for their previous album The Nothing. The sound is right but none of them quite hit the same. The shortest of all Korn albums, it ends rather abruptly and unsatisfyingly. Much like a night spent with any Korn fan.
Play it again: “Lost in the Grandeur”
Skip it: “Hopeless and Beaten”
6. See You on the Other Side (2005)
Not as sludgy as some of their records, not as cookie-cutter radio-friendly as others. See You on the Other Side straddles that line like Jonathan Davis straddles his weird metal alien mic stand. Also, this is the last album to feature David Silveria as drummer and he leaves us with a pounding echo of technicality.
Play it again: “Coming Undone”
Skip it: “10 or a 2-way”
5. Follow the Leader (1998)
The ultimate “fuck you” to stepdads everywhere, Follow the Leader is the Kornest Korn album there is, with tight guitars, loose bass, punchy drums, a major hip-hop influence, and plenty of spit. It is also the only Korn album that has an Ice Cube feature. And the weirdest love/hate duet with Fred Durst. Credit where it’s due, Jonathan Davis is a guy that understands that sometimes you get so angry the only thing you can do about it is scat.
Play it again: “B.B.K.”
Skip it: The music videos for “Got the Life” and “Freak on a Leash”, if you’re a VJ on MTV’s TRL
4. Issues (1999)
The crème de la Korn – Issues is your favorite artist’s favorite Korn album. Starting off with bagpipes droning, you know you’re in for a treat from the get-go. And the treats just keep coming throughout the album. Delicious. Side note: The album artwork that has graced so many bootleg t-shirts and sweaty upper arms since was the winner of a contest held by MTV.
Play it again: “Falling Away From Me”
Skip it: “Dead” (if you hate Scottish people)
3. Life Is Peachy (1996)
Straight in, no kissing with some growling scatting and it only gets better from there. Munky and Head’s guitars shred and twist while Fieldy’s grinding bass keeps you pumped. David Silveria’s tight snares feel like a welcome smack on the ass on each track. This album single-handedly made tracksuits the sexiest clothes on earth by bringing us A.D.I.D.A.S.
Play it again: “Wicked” (feat. Chino Moreno), when you’re cruising with the homies to pick up a fresh six-pack and some sweet chicks.
Skip it: “K@#*%!”, when you’re driving Grandma back to the nursing home.
2. The Nothing (2019)
More bagpipes!!! More bass strings!!! More singing through gritted teeth about the abhorrent reality of human life!!! The Nothing came to remind us that Korn are and always will be the masters of nu metal. This album makes that seem like something to be proud of. It’s melodic and polished while still angry, loud, and full of misery in the best possible way. This is their modern masterpiece – exactly how a mature Korn record should sound.
Play it again: “Cold”
Skip it: “Surrender to Failure” (it’s about his dead ex-wife, you heartless bastard why are you skipping it)
1. Self-Titled (1994)
There is no way this couldn’t be number one. Korn’s debut is the best record in their repertoire. Every song on this album is a gut-punching furious fist of emotion that hits harder than the last. It’s fast, it’s hard, it’s loud. It’s perfect. And if you’re being honest it was probably your introduction to heavier music, but you are going to pretend to be too cool to admit that aren’t you?
Play it again: Loudly, so you can hear it above the sound of your wallet chain whacking off your eyebrow ring while you mosh around your apartment.
Skip it: If you have never experienced a negative emotion.