Album: The Paradigm Shift

Band: KoRn

Genre: Nu Metal

Release Date: October 4, 2013

Listening to KoRn’s new album, The Paradigm Shift, was an enlightening experience. A nu metal band founded in 1993, KoRn’s The Paradigm Shift marks a momentous occasion for the band: the return of founding guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, who took an 8-year hiatus following a pivotal religious epiphany in his life.

Though the theory seems far-fetched, when the lyrics are carefully analyzed, each song aligns in tone or theme with one of the 5 stages of grief as defined by the Kubler-Ross Model. In the spirit of demonstrating the structure of the Kubler-Ross Model, I will begin with the parallels between the song “What We Do” and the first stage of grief: denial. Denial is  defined as the stage where a victim refuses to acknowledge his/her own victimization or a traumatic event in general. Now, sound wise, the song seems boring and not very likable. The reason for this is that, while the drums and guitar churn out very basic and highly repetitive patterns, the lead singer mumbles and slurs his way through his part creating one of the most infuriating unintelligible strings of gibberish known to music. However, when you actually read the lyrics, you’ll notice that through all the blubbering and mumbling the singer is talking about life going on like normal following an unspecified event. At this point in the revelation, one can also see the sheer genius in the performance itself.

The second stage, anger, can best be characterized by the song “Lullaby for a Sadist.” Anger is defined as the stage when a victim realizes that denial is futile and attempts to find fault in those around them to vent their aggressive emotional outbursts. “Lullaby for a Sadist” is one of the heavier songs on the album, made complete with aggressive guitar riffs and barely controlled screams. Lyrical analysis reveals that the entire song is about an assumed sadist that fantasizes about taking revenge. The sheer anger reverberating off of the lyrics and the actual music itself make this song the perfect candidate to represent anger itself on the Kubler-Ross Model.

The third stage, bargaining, is best represented by the song “Paranoid & Aroused.” Defined as the stage where a victim tries to compromise or beg for something to salvage a traumatic situation, this song embodies bargaining by featuring extremely pronounced percussion combined with a deep, almost growling guitar riff topped off with harmonious and actually understandable singing. What ties “Paranoid & Aroused” into the stage of bargaining is, once again, the lyrics. The very first two words of the first verse are “Help me.” Upon closer inspection, you can see that the whole song is about begging to be saved from an unpleasant fate.

The fourth stage, depression, is defined as the stage where a grieving individual tends to become secluded and resigned, retreating into their pain or sadness. The song “Never Never” is sort of peculiar because, though it has undertones of heavy metal, it’s actually quite a soft-spoken song. The guitar part mainly consists of  several repeating long, deep chords while the drums keep a beat and add some rhythm to the overall sound. The singing is light; it’s letting go of the screaming in favor of more melodic vocals. Close lyrical analysis reveals that the entire song is essentially about giving up on love, and resigning on never loving again. The tie in to the depression stage is fairly obvious.

The fifth and final stage, acceptance, finds its musical counterpart in the song “It’s All Wrong.” By definition, acceptance is the stage where the afflicted party finally lets go of most of the emotions caused by their traumatic event. It’s more of a fleeting emotion rather than that of a driving force. In this same exact mindset, “It’s All Wrong” is a song dedicated to letting go. To be exact, the very last words of the chorus are “I’m done”.

It takes an inquisitive ear to find all of the delicate intricacies within The Paradigm Shift. One thing that’s for certain, though, is that taking the album at face value will positively leave you dissatisfied. KoRn’s The Paradigm Shift is available on iTunes Download for $9.99 ,and also available on Amazon for $17.41 as a CD and $9.49 as an MP3 download.

Track List:

1. Prey for Me

2. Love & Meth

3. What We Do

4. Spike in My Veins

5. Mass Hysteria

6. Paranoid & Aroused

7. Never Never

8. Punishment Time

9. Lullaby for a Sadist

10. Victimized

11. It’s All Wrong