The return of guitarist Brian “Head” Welch in 2013 clearly made a huge difference to Korn’s collective state of mind. What the Bakersfield veterans have needed more than anything in recent years, however, is an album that reignites the untamed energy of their early records. The Paradigm Shift came close in 2013, but The Serenity of Suffering fits the bill in every respect. Monstrously heavy from the opening riff onwards, this is classic Korn: the grooves are lumbering hulks of viscous sludge, frontman Jonathan Davies’s red-eyed angst fizzes with worldly rage and nearly every song boasts a chorus that will wreak havoc when played to diehard crowds. There is room for bursts of wonky electronics, the occasional whiff of synth-driven new-wave worship and a guest appearance from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on the glowering A Different World, but the best moments come when Korn sound exactly like Korn – albeit darker, nastier and more commanding than they have in a long time.
