History Music / Korn

[[folder:Misc tropes]]

** The radio edit of "Y'All Want a Single" replaces every use of "fuck" with "suck," as well as changing "Fuck! That! Shit!" to "Suck! On! This!", ironically turning a profane song that just curses out the listener into an outright ''vulgar'' song where Jonathan repeatedly tells the listener to give him oral sex.

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: From "Y'all Want A Single," "FUCK! THAT! SHIT!" (or, in the radio edit, "SUCK! ON! THIS!").

* PutOnABus: Head, followed by David.

* {{Scatting}}: Davis' demented mixture of beatboxing, grunting and babbling.

* TheUnpronounceable
* WellDoneSonGuy: "Dead Bodies Everywhere."

* CoverVersion: [[Music/{{Metallica}} "One"]], [[Music/{{War}} "Low Rider"]], [[Music/IceCube "Wicked"]], [[Creator/CheechAndChong "Earache My Eye"]], [[Music/PinkFloyd "Another Brick]] [[Music/TheWall in the Wall]]", [[Music/{{Radiohead}} "Creep"]], [[Music/{{Cameo}} "Word Up!"]], [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"]], "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," and [[Music/PublicEnemy "Fight the Power"]].

* BandToon: The HalloweenEpisode of WesternAnimation/SouthPark ''Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery'', a WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo {{Homage}}, SmallAnnoyingCreature and [[ScoobyDooHoax Hoax]] in all. They at one point pull a [[ThePowerOfRock Power of Rock]]-esque OneWingedAngel moment. The band also debuted its single "Falling Away from Me" after solving the hoax. The song's content and heaviness rather surprises the townspeople gathered, as it heavily contrasts the band's sunny disposition throughout the episode.

** "Right Now" recycles some DerangedAnimation taken from the ''Larry's Lunchbox'' shorts, which played at the Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival.

* FunWithAcronyms: "A.D.I.D.A.S.": A[[spoiler: ll]] D[[spoiler: ay]] I D[[spoiler: ream]] A[[spoiler: bout]] S[[spoiler: ex]].

* CoverVersion: [[Music/{{Metallica}} "One"]], [[Music/{{War}} "Low Rider"]], [[Music/IceCube "Wicked"]], [[Creator/CheechAndChong "Earache My Eye"]], [[Music/PinkFloyd "Another Brick]] [[Music/TheWall in the Wall]]", [[Music/{{Radiohead}} "Creep"]], [[Music/{{Cameo}} "Word Up!"]], [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"]] and [[Music/PublicEnemy "Fight the Power"]].

Along with Music/RageAgainstTheMachine and Music/FaithNoMore, they were instrumental in brining [[FunkMetal funk]]- and [[RapMetal hip-hop-inspired metal]] to the mainstream in the mid-to-late nineties. More than their contemporaries, however, Korn's particular musical style was the TropeMaker for the genre that would later be dubbed NuMetal, which would blow up in popularity in [[TurnOfTheMillennium the later half of the decade and early years of the new millennium]] thanks to bands like Music/LimpBizkit and Music/LinkinPark borrowing heavily from Korn's style and achieving widespread commercial success (Korn themselves would {{lampshade|Hanging}} this by titling their third album ''Music/FollowTheLeader'').

Korn (sometimes rendered as [=KoRn=] or KoЯn) are a HeavyMetal band who formed in 1993 from Bakersfield, UsefulNotes/{{California}}. They're known for their distinct form of AlternativeMetal which blends funk-influenced bass playing, downtuned guitars with little to no soloing and angsty lyrics.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In the radio edit of "Y'All Want a Single", the word "fuck" became "''suck''" (as in, "Say 'Suck that, suck that, suck that!'").
** The radio edit of "A.D.I.D.A.S" replaces "fucking" with "humpin'", as in "all day I dream about humpin'"

* StudioChatter: The album version of "Clown" starts with about a minute of the band goofing around in studio. Notably, David Silveria says he'd rather play "Twist" instead - "Twist" wouldn't be recorded until the next album.

Korn (sometimes rendered as [=KoRn=] or KoЯn) is a NuMetal band formed in 1993 from Bakersfield, UsefulNotes/{{California}}. Well, we say ''a'' nu metal band. What we actually mean is ''{{t|ropeMakers}}he'' nu metal band. Korn are notable for being the first nu metal band - though others had fused [[RapMetal rap and metal]] before (Music/RageAgainstTheMachine, Music/FaithNoMore), Korn were the first to play the famous style of nu metal, adding angsty lyrics, downtuned guitars and funk-influenced bass playing and removing guitar solos. Korn's surprise success in the mid-nineties spawned a legion of similar bands that were more geared for the mainstream, resulting in nu metal becoming a separate genre from AlternativeMetal.

Korn themselves are one of the few nu metal bands to try and reject the commercialism of other bands of the movement (not that they're ''un''commercial, mind you. After all, ''The Path of Totality'' threw in {{Dubstep}}, a genre which they had no familiarity with beforehand). They even commented on this trend-hopping tendency with the title of their third album, ''Music/FollowTheLeader''. They also try and reject all genre classification, including rejecting the term "metal" to describe their music, though this had more to do with a dislike of being classified, period.

* CallingTheOldManOut: "Daddy", from the first album, despite being about a woman who molested Jonathan and [[CassandraTruth his parents brushing off the abuse]].

* RapeAsDrama: "Daddy" goes without saying.

* TropeMakers and UrExample - Of nu metal, though they deny it.

** "Right Now" recycles some DerangedAnimation taken from shorts played at the Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival.

* OutOfGenreExperience: Sorta. Their album ''The Path of Totality'' was a {{Dubstep}} album, a genre they have never done before. Their next album ''The Paradigm Shift'', however, reverted back to their usual NuMetal style. They did keep some of the more subtle dubstep stylings from the previous album, however.

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe something that was taken from these guys here.]]

** PrecisionFStrike: Most of their songs.
** AtomicFBomb: In "Y'All Want a Single", which is ''loooooong.''

* MetalScream[=/=]CarefulWithThatAxe: Often a Type 2 metal scream with occasional type 1s.

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Munky
** TheLancer: Jonathan
** TheSmartGuy: Fieldy
** TheBigGuy: Ray
** [[SixthRanger Fifth Ranger]]: Head

** TheBusCameBack: As of 2013, Head is a full-time member again. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by an album titled ''The Paradigm Shift'' released that very year.

* TheRival: Music/BenFolds. Korn mocked him as an opening act as a lame ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' performer. Folds responded with the savage mocking song "Rockin' the Suburbs" (aka "Korn Sucks"), with such lyrics as "I'm rocking the suburbs / I take the checks and face the facts / That some producer with computers / Fixes all my shitty tracks".
** Also Music/{{Eels}}. The two bands didn't get along ''at all'' during Lollapalooza 1997.

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe something taken from these guys here.]]

Something's raped and taken from me from me.''

* LastNoteNightmare

* EvilLaugh: There's a huge one in "Never Never". And what sounds like one also appears in "Insane", but it's hard to tell.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Korn's 2009 tour was called the "Escape from the Studio" tour as a break from recording Korn III. The tour name was ripped off from a previous Music/{{Metallica}} tour.

* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: {{Averted|Trope}}; the title of their ninth album, ''"Korn III: Remember Who You Are."''

* ChartDisplacement: Korn's only Top 40 hit, "Did My Time", isn't even close to being their signature. That would be "Freak on a Leash" (whose acoustic version peaked at #89).

* DeadpanSnarker: Jonathan, of all people, gets his moments on "All in the Family." Where [[Music/LimpBizkit Fred Durst]] mostly responds to Jon's insults with "Say what, say what" or "Oh yeah?" or other phrases that really just exist so Fred can keep time, Jon comments on many of Fred's lines. For instance...

* FirstInstallmentWins: "Blind", the first track of their debut album, lays in the number of Korn's signature songs.

* EvilLaugh: There's a huge one in "Never Never". And what sounds like one also appears in "Insane", but it's hard to tell.

** "Trapped Underneath The Stairs", a bonus track for ''Korn III: Remember Who You Are'', does this in the chorus (without the Korn III).

* AudienceParticipationSong: "Y'All Want A Single". Before singing it, Jonathan calls out the name of the city they're in, thanks the audience for being fans and coming out to see them, and asks them to hold their middle fingers in the air and shout "Fuck that!" before singing.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In the radio edit of "Y'all Want a Single", the word "fuck" became "''suck''" (as in, "Say 'Suck that, suck that, suck that!'").

* CallingTheOldManOut: "Daddy", from the first album, despite being about a woman who molested Jonathan and [[CassandraTruth his parents not believing the abuse]].
* CountryMatters: In the chorus of "Cameltosis, and the aptly titled K@#Ø%!(Kunts!)"
* CoverVersion: [[Music/{{Metallica}} "One"]], [[Music/{{War}} "Low Rider"]], [[Music/IceCube "Wicked"]], [[Creator/CheechAndChong "Earache My Eye"]], [[Music/PinkFloyd "Another Brick]] [[Music/TheWall in the Wall]]", [[Music/{{Radiohead}} "Creep"]], [[Music/{{Cameo}} "Word Up!"]], [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas "Kidnap The Sandy Claws"]] and [[Music/PublicEnemy "Fight the Power"]].

* ClusterFBomb: In "Y'all Want a Single", the F word appears ''89 times!''

** AtomicFBomb: In "Y'all Want A Single", which is ''loooooong.''
* DeadpanSnarker: Jonathan, of all people, gets his moments on "All In the Family." Where [[Music/LimpBizkit Fred Durst]] mostly responds to Jon's insults with "Say what, say what" or "Oh yeah?" or other phrases that really just exist so Fred can keep time, Jon comments on many of Fred's lines. For instance...

* DrowningMySorrows: Chi

* IntercourseWithYou: "Getting Off", "Inside Out", "10 or a 2 way", "It's Me Again", "Beat It Upright", "[[FunWithAcronyms A.D.I.D.A.S.]]".

** [[NoNameGiven The untitled album]] ends with "I will protect you" (5:29).

** A special mention to how much the band screws with this trope must be mentioned: several albums feature long songs at the end, but there are {{hidden track}}s containing even more songs embedded within the finishing track, which don't qualify for the trope[[note]]"Daddy" from ''Korn'' lasts 9:32, but there's 4:32 minutes of silence before the hidden track, "Michael and Geri" (3:26); "My Gift To You" from ''Follow The Leader'' lasts 9:12, but the hidden track [[Music/CheechAndChong "Earache my Eye"]] lasts 6:28[[/note]].

* RapeAsDrama: Daddy
* EvilLaugh: There's a huge one in NEVER AROUND. And it sounds like one in the new song INSANE, but it's hard to tell..

* RearrangeTheSong: The band's first demo tape 'Neidermeyer's Mind' had the song "Alive" on it. The band reused the music as "Need To" on their first album, and "Alive" remained exclusive to the demo tape for 10 years, inspiring great interest from fans. "Alive" was eventually rerecorded for "Take A Look In The Mirror" to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the tape. The rerecording is in a different key and the music has been changed somewhat from the "Need To" arrangement, though the lyrics and chorus remain the same.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Counting on Me

* TakeThat: Despite the lyrics being very ambiguous, "[[ClusterFBomb Y'all Want a Single]]" (especially, it's videoclip) is a song against the music business.

** "Freak On A Leash", directed by Todd [=McFarlane=].

* BrickJoke: "Falling Away From Me" starts where "Freak On A Leash" left off (with a security guard holding a bullet while several animated kids run past him) before the scene changes to live-action.

* BulletDodgesYou: Neo can evade bullets by hacking into the Matrix with his mind. According to the video to "Freak on a Leash", Jonathan Davis can stop, alter the trajectory and ''repel'' a bullet. Mostly by screaming '''GO!!''' at it.

* BandToon: The HalloweenEpisode of WesternAnimation/SouthPark ''Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery'', a WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo {{Homage}}, SmallAnnoyingCreature and [[ScoobyDooHoax Hoax]] in all. They at one point pull a [[ThePowerOfRock Power of Rock]]-esque OneWingedAngel moment. The band also debuted its single "Falling Away From Me" after solving the hoax. The song's content and heaviness rather surprises the townspeople gathered, as it heavily contrasts the band's sunny disposition throughout the episode.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Korn's 2009 tour was called the "Escape From The Studio" tour as a break from recording Korn III. The tour name was ripped off from a previous Music/{{Metallica}} tour.

* GenreShift: To {{Dubstep}} on The Path of Totality.
** Then back to NuMetal on The Paradigm Shift, although a few electro-ish elements stuck around from Totality.

* LongRunnerLineUp: The band was the same for 12 years before Head got religious and left. David Silveria left several years later and was replaced by Ray Luzier. Head returned to the band in 2013, and their lineup has been constant since.

* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: {{Averted|Trope}}; the title of their nineth album, ''"Korn III: Remember Who You Are."''
* OutOfGenreExperience: Sorta. Their album The Path of Totality was a {{Dubstep}} album, a genre they have never done before. Their next album The Paradigm Shift, however, reverted back to their usual NuMetal style. They did keep some of the more subtle dubstep stylings from the previous album, however.

* TheRival: Music/BenFolds. Korn mocked him as an opening act as a lame ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' performer. Folds responded with the savage mocking song ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' (aka ''Korn Sucks''), with such lyrics as "I'm rocking the suburbs / I take the checks and face the facts / That some producer with computers / Fixes all my shitty tracks".

Korn themselves are one of the few nu metal bands to try and reject the commercialism of other bands of the movement (not that they're ''un''commercial, mind you. After all, their latest album throws in {{Dubstep}}, a genre which they had no familiarity with). They even commented on this trend-hopping tendency with the title of their third album, ''Music/FollowTheLeader''. They also try and reject all genre classification, including rejecting the term "metal" to describe their music, though this had more to do with a dislike of being classified, period.