Metal Review: Korn Slays With "Rotting in Vain"

In the grand scheme of things, nu metal was a short-lived phase of mainstream heavy metal, lasting only a handful of years before money-hungry bands exhausted the genre with over-simplification and truly terrible lyrics. Despite all of that, several artists stood out, and Korn was among them. I myself preferred artists like FLAW and Motograter (the band Ivan Moody was in before he started screaming incoherently for Five Finger Death Punch), but Korn never seemed to fall short of making truly interesting, good music, and 26 years after the release of their wonderful debut album, they're set to return with their twelfth studio album The Serenity of Suffering on October 21st. "Rotting in Vain" has been released as a first single, and to say it's good would be an understatement.

The song kicks off with an interesting guitar line. I wouldn't call it dissonant in this case, but it sets the somber mood. Eerie, unsettling leads are a staple of Korn's sound, particularly on albums featuring both Head and Munky on guitar. As a band that has never shied away from dark subject matter, leading into a song in such a way is undoubtedly effective. At about 25 seconds the song bursts into Korn's signature down tuned 7 string guitars before breaking into the first verse.

The vocals and lyrics in "Rotting in Vain" are classic tormented Jon Davis as he describes the horrible feeling of being stuck in a painful state of mind. The chorus is extremely catchy, but perhaps what has fans most excited is the return of Davis' "scat" vocals after the second verse, where Davis launches himself into unintelligible utterances scattered among audible lines like "I can't fake this." I found that this section of the song sounded like a racing mind put to music, if that makes any sense, and it helped the song have as much impact as possible. One listen to "Rotting in Vain" and it's clear that Jon Davis is in top form vocally and lyrically. 

Overall, "Rotting in Vain" is a very good single from Korn and it has me looking forward to the new album in October. 7/10

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