On November 16, 1999 Korn released their fourth studio album Issues. The album would go down as one of Korn’s greatest albums. It helped usher in a new age in metal.

Nu-metal is a challenging genre to nail down. It’s all over the place. With influences from so many different styles of music nu-metal provides really unique sounds. Even individual bands that have been brought into the nu-metal family have unique styles. Bands like Korn, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, and Deftones have all been considered nu-metal at some point in their careers, but there are very few characteristics that these bands truly share.

Nu-metal certainly has its critics but the bands that created the genre had a massive impact on metal. Some even consider nu-metal to be the movement that triggered the start of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. That’s no small feat. Is is possible that iconic American bands that started in the early 2000s can thank nu-metal for their existence?

Korn is undoubtedly a forefather of nu-metal. If you’ve listened to the band before (and I hope you have) you’ll immediately recognize and appreciate their unique sound and style. Korn features influences ranging from classic metal, hip-hop, funk and electronic throughout their discography.

In this episode we go though each track on the album and discuss our favorite aspects. From lyrics, to musicianship, to context within the album itself, no track is safe!

As always, Danielle is with us to discuss Issues. She’s our resident non-metalhead and brings a unique insight to the album. Because she’s not exposed to heavy metal every day like we are, her lack of knowledge allows her to explain, appreciate, and criticize aspects about Issues that metalheads might take for granted.

Be sure to check out our other episodes of According to a Non-metalhead!

Horns high,

Michael & Ty