Well, Untouchables has been out a week now and many reviews have been written about it already.  So as I sat down and thought about what to say things kept coming into my mind that I had already read in other reviews.  "A new direction for Korn"  "An obvious progression for Korn"  "The heaviest but most melodic album yet".  Those quotes may not be exact but they are close as many of you can probably agree if you too have read reviews.  So yes Untouchables is all these things but at its core it is simpoly a damn fine heavy rock album.  Call it nu-metal, rap core, rap rock, or whatever you want to call it but at its heart all of this new music is a branch of rock n' roll.  For me listening to Untouchables I found the best of the old albums from "Here To Stay" reminding me of old school, "Hating" and "I'm Hiding" reminding me of Follow the Leader, and tracks like "Thoughtless" and "Embrace" reminding me of Issues.  Maybe these tracks reminded you of something different but if so thats ok, music is supposed to make you feel different things.  The album also trys new things out most noticably Jon singing, really singing on "Blame", "Alone I Break", and another track that doesn't come to mind at the moment (I'm still remembering all the track titles and don't want to cheat at it for the review)  Jon's lyrics continue to improove, I noticed not quite as much cussing on this album, it's still there, but I think as any band gets mature they realize not everything is "fuck this" or "fuck that".  What is still present all over the record is Jon's continued loneliness and depression of life.  He's sobered up and his band is still on top of the world and you think this would be enough but his demons still trouble him.  The great thing about music though is he has a place to channel them.  Overall though Untouchables is a more mature Korn. A  better Korn musically for sure.  This album has been described as their "Black" album, referring to Metallica's success in the early 90's with the black cover self titled album.  I disagree with that because unlike that album, Untouchables is not so different from other Korn records as that was from other Metallica records, but instead it is a fantastic progression of a band that has simply gotten better and better.  Plus I don't see Korn making some crap like Load to follow this one up in a couple of years.  I'm gonna keep this review short and end it here because there is not much more to say.  Untouchables is the probably the best thing Korn has ever done and I hope old school fans like myeself realize this.  This could be debated but thats my opinion.  I like all of Korn's albums if I didn't I wouldn't part of this website but this new one won't be leaving my cd playter for a while.

1998 is when rock 'n' roll kicked up its heels and decided to have fun. Angst got left gasping in the dust of swing and nouveau ska. Even heavy artists, like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, rely more on entertainment than ire. And then there's Korn...

Follow The Leader, the L.A.-based group's third album, is as intensely tortured and savage as ever. But the pain in Korn's furious riffs, eerie noises, and ferocious vocals comes from a place far darker than your everyday neurosis. "Pretty" is a not-so-pretty tune inspired by a battered and abused baby seen by singer Jonathan Davis when he worked in a coroner's office.

Davis also delves into his own personal demons, both past ("Dead Bodies Everywhere") and present ("Freak On A Leash"). In addition to the group's now-classic neo-metal attack--best illustrated by the LP's first single, "Got The Life"--rapping is added by Ice Cube on "Children Of The Korn" and the Pharcyde's Tre on "Cameltosis." And in spite of all this distress and suffering, Korn does loosen up. The album's best track may very well be "All In The Family," in which Davis and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst trade hilariously outlandish insults, proving that even fury has its lighter side.