Maps of Music

The Path of Totality (2011)

Where the lyrics of The Path of Totality take you, and where it was really made.

Korn's tenth album was largely made with dubstep producers, and its title comes from a solar eclipse.

Key places

Recorded at Davis' home studio in Bakersfield (2011)

Recording site Fat Tracks — The band recorded the album with electronic producers at Davis' home studio in Bakersfield during inspired sessions. The point is shown at city-center level because the exact building is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Path of Totality is the tenth studio album by American nu metal band Korn
• Released on 2 December 2011 in Europe and 6 December 2011 in the US
• A departure from Korn's usual sound
• Produced by various electronic music producers rather than the band alone, including Skrillex, Noisia and Excision
• Producers credited on the album include Skrillex, Datsik, Feed Me, Excision, 12th Planet, Downlink, Kill the Noise and Noisia
• Skrillex produced three of the tracks, among them "Get Up!"
• The standard edition has 11 tracks

Background

• The band describes the album as a fusion of its traditional sound with dubstep
• Roadrunner Records called it an experimental record in which the band shifts gears and explores new territory
• Korn worked with some of the leading dubstep and electronic music producers in the world for the record
• Jonathan Davis described the album as "future metal" in a new biography on the label's website
• Early plans called for only an EP, which was to be released in May, but the band was convinced to make a full album of this genre

Recording

• The band recorded the album with electronic producers at Davis' home studio in Bakersfield during inspired sessions
• Davis revealed that vocals were tracked in the singer's home theater, in closets, and in hotels from Korea to Japan
• Each producer made their own individual tracks for the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.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: mixed or average reviews, with a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 from 15 critic scores
• Rock Sound: gave an 8/10, saying the album may not be perfect but offers an impressive template for a future sound
• Rock Sound: also found the album a little formulaic and at times monotonous
• Spin: gave a 7/10, saying the dubstep textures suit Davis' demented croon
• The List (Henry Northmore): gave a 4/5, warning that purists of metal and dubstep would probably hate it
• AllMusic: gave a 4/5, saying that despite all the electronics it is clearly a Korn album and one of their better ones
• BBC Music (Alistair Lawrence): criticized the album, saying the novelty fades and Korn have little to say
• Sputnikmusic: gave a 0.5/5, calling it a truly horrible album
• No Ripcord: gave a 1/10, calling it samey, ugly and spectacularly stupid
• The A.V. Club (Jason Heller): gave an 'F', while crediting it as the band's most radical reinvention to date
• NME: gave a 6/10, calling it not quite a car crash but a near miss

Records

• Revolver named it its album of the year in its 100th issue
• Won Album of the Year at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards on 11 April 2012, the band's first Golden Gods win
• Korn was inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame during the 2011 Kerrang! Awards
• Sold 55,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200
• Korn's eleventh album to peak within the top 10
• Sold 270,000 copies in the US as of 4 January 2013 according to Nielsen SoundScan

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The single "Get Up!" sold over 200,000 digital downloads in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan
• A music video for "Narcissistic Cannibal" was filmed in Hollywood by ShadowMachine, the studio behind Moral Orel and Robot Chicken
• Hot Topic offered a signed lithograph to customers who pre-ordered the album for a limited time
• Davis explained the title: a full solar eclipse only shows the sun when you are in the exact right place at the exact right time, which he said is how the album came together
• The Path of Totality Tour was the world tour promoting the album, which offered special VIP packages

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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