Maps of Music

The Paradigm Shift (2013)

Where the lyrics of The Paradigm Shift take you, and where it was really made.

The cover's two opposing heads echo the Rubin vase illusion, and Munky explained the title with the same idea of one image seen from different angles.

Key places

Bakersfield studio credited for the album (2013)

Recording site Fat Tracks — Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield, California is listed as a recording location for the album. The pin is set at the city center, not on the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio A in North Hollywood (2013)

Recording site NRG Recording Studios (Hollywood) — NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles is listed as a recording location for the album, specifically Studio A. The pin marks the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Paradigm Shift: eleventh studio album by American nu metal band Korn
• Produced by Don Gilmore
• Released 7 October 2013 in the UK on multiple labels; in the US the next day
• First Korn album to feature original guitarist Brian "Head" Welch since 2003's Take a Look in the Mirror

Background

• The band began proposing ideas for the next album after The Path of Totality
• Munky said the album would mix darker elements like Issues (1999) with the heaviness of Untouchables (2002)
• On 2 May 2013 Welch's return after an eight-year absence was revealed, and he had been recording for the album
• First single "Never Never" released 12 August 2013
• "Love & Meth" leaked 6 September 2013 after several previews
• "Lullaby for a Sadist" was written in 2010 but did not make the cut for Korn III: Remember Who You Are
• "Spike in My Veins" was written and recorded with Noisia for J Devil's debut album, then reworked as a Korn song

Recording

• Jonathan Davis did not enter the studio until March and then stayed there for four months, going home only on weekends
• Davis called the writing and recording process "weird"

Cover

• Cover designed by Roboto, with two opposing heads reminiscent of the Rubin vase illusion
• Munky explained the title as a term covering different perspectives and likened it to Korn in 2013

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993 by James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and David Silveria, former members of L.A.P.D.
• Name styled KoЯn; the backwards R was borrowed from the Toys R Us logo.
• Demo Neidermayer's Mind (1993) pioneered the nu metal sound.

Members

• Current: Jonathan Davis (vocals), James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), Brian "Head" Welch (guitar, returned 2013), Ray Luzier (drums, since 2008).
• Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (bass) departed in 2021; Silveria left in 2006.

Career

• Debut album Korn (1994); Life Is Peachy (1996) brought commercial breakthrough.
• Follow the Leader (1998) and Issues (1999) both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Over 40 million records sold worldwide as of 2021; two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.
• Fourteen official releases reached the Billboard 200 top ten; the band is credited as the originators of nu metal.

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: generally favorable reviews, with a weighted average of 65 out of 100 from 7 critic scores
• Max Barrett of Rock Sound called the album a completely different monster from its predecessor, and favorable in every right way
• AllMusic said the album shows the creativity and inventiveness that helped make Korn an influential force in heavy music
• PopMatters gave a mixed review, saying it may not be Korn's best album ever but is their best since Untouchables

Records

• Sold 46,000 copies in the US in its first week of release
• Debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200
• Korn's tenth studio album to peak in the top ten
• Sold 174,000 copies in the US as of September 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Spike in My Veins" was written and recorded with Noisia for J Devil's debut album before being reworked as a Korn song.
• "Lullaby for a Sadist" was written in 2010, before the dubstep-based idea, and missed the cut for Korn III: Remember Who You Are.
• Davis entered rehab during the process and returned to writing the album afterward.
• Munky described the album as a bigger, brighter and bolder Korn.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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