Reconsidering Korn

Right, first things first.
For a long time, I have dismissed the work of Korn as floppy bass stringed, whiny 'Oh woe is me', silly named twaddle. When they released their first, self titled album 'KoЯn', in 1994, the metal scene was in a state of disarray. Grunge was scouring the land, trying to fire the last spear into the dinosaur of hair metal and the rest of us were left to figure out where to go next.
Korn did bring a freshness to an otherwise sour musical landscape, but I guess I was a little closed minded. I was 21, at the time. I had passed through my 'angry young man teens' and was just starting my 'fuck you 20's'. I deemed anything that wasn't what I was used to as a waste of time, very much like the 'datz not metulz' crew of today. Yes, I am admitting my failures as a music fan. You have to own up to your mistakes, now and again!

Anyway, there I was, firmly in the grip of bands like Machine Head and Pantera, two bands who had released two great albums in '94. I was definitely a post thrash/groove metal devotee!
So, when this floppy bass stringed noise came out, I was less than impressed. I think it had a lot to do with the scene kids that jumped on to the Korn bandwagon like it was the best thing since sliced bread. This made me slightly annoyed, being the 21 year old gumby that I was (still am, except I am currently 37!).
I was also not the most tolerant person to ever walk the face of the earth, so when I heard songs like 'daddy' and 'Faget', my immediate response was to say, 'Oh just stop whinging and cowboy the fuck up!'. See? Not the nicest guy, was I? So I ignored Korn and resolutely kept my ass off the dance floor whenever their tunes got spun.

Then, in '96, they released 'Life Is Peachy'. Needless to say, I wasn't at all bothered!
Korn were never gonna be any more to me than an annoyance. I'd never get to see them live and, if I did, it would only be at a festival. I could cope with that, I thought. Turns out that I didn't need to worry!

Years go by and they release yet more albums. Some do well, others don't. Shows get cancelled, festivals performances missed, fans pissed off.
I remember going to the Black Sabbath extravaganza at Milton Keynes Bowl in '98. Korn were slated to appear but pulled out at the last minute due to the fact that, as far as I remember, David Sliverias wife was giving birth. Fair enough. Therapy? were given their slot. I took great delight in this as I am a huge Therapy? fan! I also took great delight in walking around the festival grounds, telling every kid in a Korn shirt that I saw, that their heroes would not be performing! Childish, I know, but damn good fun! The sight of dumb ass kids crying because their favourite band were not there, made me happy. I was, and still am, a sadist!
Still, they had Black Sabbath to look forward too. Why cry about the loss of one band when the mighty Sabbath are there? Stupid.

Then we get to 2006 and Download. Korn were scheduled to appear and Jonathan Davis ended up getting sick and had to go to hospital. Cue happy Darren! Another festival I wouldn't see them at! I did have a lovely time watching a few people actually cry when they heard the news. Cry! What the fuck?

And that short little synopsis of a couple of gigs brings me up to date. Korn dropped off my radar and I didn't much care about their output.
Then, a week or so ago, I am channel surfing through the music on Sky and who do I see but Korn. 'Oildale (Leave Me Alone)' was the song being played. I was impressed! They had seemingly lost a lot of the, what I used to term, dunga dunga squee, bollocks. Also the bass sounded like a bass. And there wasn't a single, 'Oh my daddy abused me' lyric in sight. Awesome.

This single has led me to question if I should have given them more time back in the 90's. It's also made me think that I am now a grown up and am more open to new things. Me, a grown up? Sheesh, scary.
Now, I am on a quest to reconsider the musical output of Korn, and also lots of other bands that I may have cruelly overlooked.
I can't say that I will be the most open mined person on the planet in the future. All I can hope for is the wisdom to change my opinions. I am, after all, only human and will continue to make mistakes. Let's just hope that I can learn from them! It seems that I will as I am now listening to Korn's first album on Spotify.
Wish me luck!