Untitled Korn album

The untitled eighth studio album by American nu metal band Korn was released on July 31, 2007, by Virgin Records. It is the band's only studio release without an official drummer, released between the departure of David Silveria in 2006 and the arrival of Ray Luzier in late 2007. Vocalist Jonathan Davis hired drummers Terry Bozzio and Brooks Wackerman as session musicians. The album was intentionally released without a title, as Davis reasoned, "Why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"^[1] The album was certified gold in the United States on October 30, 2007.^[2]

Untitled
Studio album by Korn
Released	July 31, 2007 (2007-07-31)
Recorded	October 2006 – March 2007
Genre	Alternative metal nu metal
Length	48:47
Label	EMI Virgin
Producer	Atticus Ross
Korn chronology
See You on the Other Side (2005) Untitled (2007) Korn III: Remember Who You Are (2010)
Singles from Untitled album
"Evolution" Released: May 17, 2007 "Hold On" Released: October 8, 2007 "Kiss" Released: April 7, 2008 "Haze" Released: April 22, 2008

Background information

This album was the first without former drummer David Silveria, instead, Korn enlisted the help of Terry Bozzio, Brooks Wackerman, as well as Jonathan Davis for drumming.^[3][4] Also, the band recruited Zac Baird as keyboardist on this album. An MTV article published on May 17, 2007, includes an interview with Munky as he details the process of the new studio album, while also revealing several song titles. On May 28, vocalist Jonathan Davis joined Dutch radio station 3FM immediately after his performance at the Pinkpop Festival. He commented on the band's upcoming album, stating it "will not be titled." He elaborated, "We had the world's greatest drummer Terry Bozzio in and Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion in and I played drums on some songs too. I'm so proud of it, we just can't wait to show people what we've done." Davis went on to say "We didn't want to label this album. It has no boundaries. It has no limits and why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"

Musically, the album was described as more experimental and atmospheric than previous releases by the band.^[5]

Terry Bozzio's contributions

After successfully recording six tracks with Bozzio, Zac Baird announced that Bozzio would not be touring with the band on the Family Values Tour 2007. Jonathan Davis claims "things just got weird [with Bozzio]." Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion was brought in to record some tracks, and even Jonathan Davis himself contributed, something not done since 1999's Issues. Munky stated in an interview that Bozzio had imposed himself on the band. He mentioned that among other things, Bozzio had demanded to be a full member of the band while receiving 25% interest; the band felt that this was "offensive", therefore, Korn decided not to tour with Bozzio.^[6] Joey Jordison of Slipknot would tour with Korn on the Family Values Tour, along with the Bitch We Have a Problem Tour.

This album features drummer Terry Bozzio, formerly of Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.

The Matrix's departure

When premiering the single "Evolution" on KROQ on May 16, 2007, guitarist Munky noted that the band re-recorded much of the Matrix's tracks with Atticus Ross because of the band being dissatisfied with how the material had turned out. This was later confirmed in a Reuters/Billboard article:

This time around, amid some changes—founding drummer David Silveria is on hiatus to become a restaurateur, and The Matrix left the project early in the recording process—the band has crafted perhaps its most musically serious work since 2002's Untouchables. On the album's 13 tracks, Korn balances every chorus with murky keyboard atmospheres and toying arrangements, with songs that deeply explore a mood before exploding into a frenzy.

Release

The album was released through EMI/Virgin in various territories, starting on July 27, 2007. The band ventured on the trio's Family Values Tour 2007 several days prior to the release and toured in support of the new record. The deluxe edition contains the bonus track "Sing Sorrow" (which follows the thirteenth track, "I Will Protect You"), a bonus DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage, hundreds of never-before seen photos of the band. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest since Untouchables. The untitled album sold 123,000 copies in its first week.^[7] It also fell off the charts within twelve weeks, accumulating twenty weeks altogether. In the United States, this is the most recent Korn album to receive any sort of certification from the RIAA.

• July 27, 2007 – Germany
• July 30, 2007 – United Kingdom, Mexico
• July 31, 2007 – United States, Canada
• August 8, 2007 – Japan
• October 14, 2007 – Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore
• December 18, 2007 – United Arab Emirates

Singles

The single "Kiss" was the third single released to promote the album on April 7, 2008. It features Terry Bozzio on drums, who had provided for eight of the album's songs. Jonathan Davis also provided additional percussion for the song, along with "Hushabye". The song makes use of keyboards by Zac Baird,^[8] heavy drum patterns and violins. AllMusic described "Kiss" as "like [a] vaguely Beatlesque Mellotron," implying its difference from the rest of the album.^[8]

The fourth single taken from the album, "Haze", was written and recorded for the first-person shooter video game Haze.^[9] It was released as a digital single on April 22, 2008.^[10] The game itself was released in May 2008 for the PlayStation 3.^[11] Korn posted a blog entry on April 23, 2008, stating that those who purchased their untitled album would be able to download "Haze" as a free VBR-quality MP3 by visiting a certain website. "Haze" was featured as a bonus track on the Enhanced Edition and the Australian re-release of their untitled album.^{[citation needed]}

Ubisoft and Korn created a video mashup contest on April 28, 2008. The fans of Haze and the fans of Korn were given the opportunity to design the official video for "Haze". The winners were chosen on June 13, 2008, and the user "bootsrfun" on gametrailers.com was the first-place winner, which meant his entry was the official "Haze" video. There were also second-place, third-place, fourth-place and fifth-place winners.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	51/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Blender	[14]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)[15]
IGN	8/10[16]
New York Daily News	(mixed)[17]
The New York Times	7/10[18]
NME	5/10[19]
Q	[20]
PopMatters	4/10[21]
Rolling Stone	[22]

Reception was mostly met with a mixed response from critics. Metacritic registered an aggregate score of 51 out of 100.^[12] The most positive reviews coming from IGN, The Gauntlet, and Billboard. IGN noted that, "There's an overall cohesion from start to finish, and repeated listens continue to reveal new and intriguing elements at every turn, which bodes well for the future",^[16] while The Gauntlet wrote, " 'Untitled' is the most articulate recording the band has delivered to date."^[23] Entertainment Weekly also praised the album as being the band's best release "since 1999's 'Issues'".^[15]

On the contrary, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the band is going through a "middle-age slump" and that the album "doesn't break them out of it."^[13] Rolling Stone asserted that Korn sounds "wounded and diminished",^[22] while PopMatters agreed, calling it "tired, bland and dated... merely going through the motions rather than creating honest music."^[21]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Korn	1:57
2.	"Starting Over"	Korn, Atticus Ross, Zac Baird	4:02
3.	"Bitch We Got a Problem"	Korn, The Matrix, A. Ross, Baird	3:22
4.	"Evolution"	Korn, The Matrix, Baird	3:37
5.	"Hold On"	Korn, The Matrix, Baird	3:06
6.	"Kiss"	Korn, A. Ross, Leo Ross, Baird	4:10
7.	"Do What They Say"	Korn, The Matrix, A. Ross, L. Ross, Baird	4:17
8.	"Ever Be"	Korn, The Matrix, Terry Bozzio, Baird	4:48
9.	"Love and Luxury"	Korn, The Matrix, Baird	3:00
10.	"Innocent Bystander"	Korn, The Matrix, Baird	3:28
11.	"Killing"	Korn, The Matrix, Bozzio, Baird	3:36
12.	"Hushabye"	Korn, The Matrix, Baird	3:52
13.	"I Will Protect You"	Korn, The Matrix, Bozzio, Baird	5:29
Total length:			48:47

Deluxe limited edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Sing Sorrow"	4:35
Total length:		53:22

Digital and vinyl deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Sing Sorrow"	4:35
15.	"Overture or Obituary"	3:02
Total length:		56:20

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Evolution (Dave Garcia + Morgan Page Remix)"	6:36
Total length:		55:23

Japanese limited edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Sing Sorrow"	4:33
15.	"Evolution (Dave Aude Remix)"	7:38
Total length:		60:58

Russian edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Appears"	3:01
Total length:		51:48

Enhanced edition

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Haze"	2:47
15.	"Hold On" (Video)	3:33
16.	"Hold On" (Video Trailer #1 The People of Ballsville Love Ballsville Beef Party)	1:01
17.	"Hold On" (Video Trailer #2 T.V. Commercial for Ballsville Beef Party)	0:30
18.	"Hold On" (Video Trailer #3 Dark Stranger's Personal Message to Ballsville Beef Party)	0:30
19.	"Hold On" (Video Trailer #4 Ballsville Channel 3 News, Last Interview with JC Kornato)	1:12
20.	"Hold On" (Video Game Trailer)	0:30
Total length:		58:50

MP3 download from official Korn fan club

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Once Upon a Time" ("Sing Sorrow" with alternate lyrics)	4:35

Deluxe edition bonus DVD

• Making-of documentary
• Korn photo slideshow

Personnel

Korn Jonathan Davis – vocals, bagpipes, drums on "Bitch We Got a Problem" and "Love and Luxury", additional drums on "Kiss" and "Hushabye" James "Munky" Shaffer – guitar, lap steel guitar Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – bass Additional musicians Terry Bozzio – drums on "Intro", "Starting Over", "Kiss", "Do What They Say", "Ever Be", "Killing", "I Will Protect You", and "Sing Sorrow" Brooks Wackerman – drums on "Evolution", "Hold On", "Innocent Bystander", and "Hushabye" Zac Baird – keyboards, organ, synthesizer Mixing Terry Date – mixing on "Evolution", "Do What They Say", "Innocent Bystander", and "I Will Protect You" Alan Moulder – mixing on "Starting Over", "Hold On", "Kiss", "Ever Be", and "Love and Luxury" A&R Peter Katsis – A&R James Bryant – A&R, A&R coordination, art consultation Technical personnel Atticus Ross – producer, mixing on "Intro" and "Bitch We Got a Problem" Korn and The Matrix (Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, Scott Spock) – production Jim "Bud" Monti and Frank Filipetti – recording, engineering Doug Trantow – additional engineering, mixing on "Intro" and "Bitch We Got a Problem" Stephen Marcussen – mastering for Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA Stewart Whitmore – digital editing Leopold Ross – production assistant Jeff Kwatinetz – executive producer, exclusive management for The Firm Jeff Katsis – exclusive management for The Firm John Branca, Gary Stiffelman and David Byrnes – legal representation for Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie, Stiffelman and Cook, LLP Larry Einbund and Bill Vuylsteke – business management for Provident Financial Management Darryl Eaton and Rick Roskin – booking agents for Creative Artists Agency Nikki Hirsch – product management Sean Mosher-Smith – art direction and design Richard Kirk – artwork Chapman Baehler – photography

Charts and certifications

Album Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[24] 11 Austrian Albums Chart[25] 3 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[26] 28 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[27] 17 Canadian Albums Chart[28] 5 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[29] 5 Danish Albums Chart[30] 20 Dutch Albums Chart[31] 32 European Albums (Billboard)[32] 3 Finnish Albums Chart[33] 2 French Albums Chart[34] 8 German Albums Chart[35] 3 Greek Albums (IFPI)[36] 1 Irish Albums Chart[37] 31 Italian Albums Chart[38] 19 Mexican Albums Chart[39] 11 New Zealand Albums Chart[40] 3 Norwegian Albums Chart[41] 24 Polish Albums Chart[42] 23 Scottish Albums Chart[43] 18 Spanish Albums Chart[44] 55 Swedish Albums Chart[45] 17 Swiss Albums Chart[46] 9 UK Albums Chart[47] 15 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[48] 1 US Billboard 200[28] 2 US Billboard Top Rock Albums[28] 1 US Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums[28] 1 US Billboard Top Alternative Albums[28] 1 US Billboard Tastemaker Albums[28] 2 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Russia (NFPF)[49] Gold 10,000* United States (RIAA)[2] Gold 500,000^ * Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles Year Song US Alt. [50] US Main. US Dance [51] CZE Rock [52] LAT [53] UK [47] US Active Rock (Billboard)[54] 2007 "Evolution" 20 4 18 12 29 114 — "Hold On" 35 9 — 9 39 — — 2008 "Kiss" — — — — — — 39 "Haze" — — — — — — —