yeah, you got me. i admit, i am a korn fan. but let me explain to you. as a kid, i was introduced to heavy music by my uncle. i told that story many times before, so i won't bore you with another repetition. that must have been around '95 and '96. for two years i was content with the hardcore stuff i had on self-made tapes. i mean, i was at the age of nine or ten. i had more things to do than just listening to music. playing football, annoying neighbors and stuff. in 1998 things really begin to change. a good friend of mine and i were on winter vacation with our families. in the evening we were watching mtv and wittnessed something that became our first own musical discovery.
we watched a music video and by the title of this post you might already guess which one that was. yepp, 'freak on a leash' by korn. we were totally blown away. we looked at each other and were like, dude, you've seen that? boy, that was so cool. the whole bullet thing in the video. these cool dudes in baggy pants and with dread locks. and then this crazy song with its heavy guitars at the end. that was the shit, we decided. back home my buddy got the cd single (jeez, cd singles were real crap!) and we listened to this song without end. then, i decided to get the album.
in my small home town there wasn't any fancy music store, we just had a book store with a small music shelf. of course, they did not have it in stock. they had to purchase it at wholesale and then they informed my mom that the album was ready for pick up. i don't know what i paid anymore but it was a good chunk of my monthly pocket money, if not all of it. i took it home with great anticipation. and man, they were fully met. at one point i transfered the music to casette and took the album with me everywhere i went on my walkman. i remember listening to 'follow the leader' exclusively all the time through the summer family vacation in croatia. i loved this album to the death.
as time moved on and i was a youth, new possibilities arose with the internet and mtv became more and more uncool, just like nu metal in general. somehow korn, limp bizkit or coal chamber were not enough anymore. i craved for music with deeper meaning for my own life and so hardcore came back into my life with all might. i sold all my old cd's to fund future purchases of more important stuff like heaven shall burn, cataract or bleeding through. nu metal and korn with it was dead to me. dead until an announcement of music on vinyl made me pretty curious. the newsletter said that they would re-press all korn records up to 'take a look in the mirror' on coloured vinyl. well, that didn't get me hooked immediately. in hamburg, i came across a golden copy and suddenly i felt like i wanted it but the price put me off. back home i downloaded the album, just to see if i still liked it.
what can i say, i still do. i know these songs so well and everything came back - good memories and the album simply feels like home. so of course i wanted it. i ordered it together with the conan - monnos lp from hhv.de. the record looks lovely on gold vinyl and i really like the glue pocket sleeve. only downer is the missing of the bonus song 'earache my eye'. apart of that the presentation is top notch. they even put the white promo sticker on the pvc sleeve. had the same on my cd copy back then. the question, if i should get the other re-presses as well, will be answered in due time. 2000 made. music on vinyl. 2014.
