After releasing their album “Korn III: Remember Who You Are” in March of 2010, the band Korn has decided to stray right into the danger zone, unleashing “The Path of Totality” upon unsuspecting fans on December 2, 2011. While Korn has undoubtedly changed and evolved over the years since their debut album self-titled “Korn” in 1994, this new album is a bold step for the band; and it has brought a turn for the worst for the band. In a desperate attempt to stay prominent on the metal scene, the band has collaborated with dub-step artists to create a monstrosity of dub-step and metal that is, no doubt, making everyone cringe.

“The Path of Totality” was meant to be about the band “Reinventing [themselves],” James Munky Shaffer, the guitarist for the band explained in an interview with Premier Guitar magazine, “With each record you have to push yourself to try something new.” And so they have, however in this push to create a different sound, the band has lost everything that made them Korn. The single, “Narcissistic Cannibal,” which was released preceding the album is not terrible in the technical sense. However, it displays none of Korn’s actual talent and originality, and shows only the lead singer Jonathan Davis’s vocal skills, letting the rest of the band fall to the background.

And the rest of the album, sad to say, doesn’t get any better. Considering their supposed efforts to update their sound and come up with something original, the result of their work is actually laughable. Apparently Korn wasn’t paying attention when Linkin Park and Pendulum did the exact same thing not even a year ago with “A Thousand Suns” and “Immersion”. To make matters worse, Davis’s grungy metal screams and wails are not at all suited for the electric techno sound that the album has, making it extremely hard to listen to with a straight face.

Needless to say, this mess of metal and dub-step not only lacks originality and talent, but also leaves loyal fans of Korn feeling hurt, violated, and betrayed by this desperate album. Sadly, it would seem that Korn’s 20-year-long streak of genius has been brought to an end with this record. It’s certainly safe to say that Korn’s “Path of Totality” has been nothing but a path leading straight off the respected metal scene.