Korn - Born in Bakersfield, California

Born in Bakersfield, California, Korn has become one of the most popular new bands of the nineties. They have revolutionized heavy-metal music as we know it (or used to know it), by injecting several different musical influences into traditional rock, from hip-hop and rap, to 70's funk music. This strange blend gives Korn a sound of its own. It is because of them that we coined the phrase: "hardcore metal". Korn's first single "Blind" opened up the doors for hardcore music in 1994. The song introduced lightning fast drum arrangements, frightening guitar riffs, hammer style bass lines, and scratchy, screaming vocals. "Blind" also introduced a new wave of instrument playing by the use of a seven string guitar that is tuned down from the standard EBGDAE to a strange DAFCGDA. The form of low tuning has become a model to hardcore music. Some of the most common bands such as Limp Bizkit and Staind have adapted to using low tunings in their guitar playing. "Blind" is a typical drug song that simply explains the singer's experience with drug use, and how it provided an escape from the pain he had endured as a young adult. He wants to leave the world and start all over again, but doesn't know how, so he uses drugs to distort his reality. The chorus is typical of the hardcore sound because he is filled with so much rage and anger that makes it hard to understand what he is saying. The song is played by a five piece band which is typical of a hard core rock band of today. It pushes away from the conventional four piece band that flourished within all rock bands. It has the elements of the rock sound because it includes a singer backed up by two guitarists, a drummer, and bass player. The most memorable part of the song takes place in the introduction. Slowly, every instrument is played and introduced until the singer's voice gives the signal to unleash the fury of each instrument. With the experimentation of new guitar tuning, and the crunch screaming of intense vocals, Korn has invented a new wave of rock/metal music: hardcore music.