Sometimes there is no middle ground. There is no finding the good in a piece of shit and there is no finding fault in a masterpiece. Korn’s latest effort See You On The Other Side is bound to split listeners into two categories: lovers and haters. There is no argument from anyone aside from Jonathan Davis that the last few Korn releases have been little more than underwhelming. Despite his denial, the band has chosen to shake things up for their newest release, the first album since the departure of Head. What had previously defined Korn’s sound was the vocal stylings of Davis teamed with the stringed assault of Head and Munky. The now Head-less Korn have called upon the talents of polar opposite producers, The Matrix and Atticus Ross to fill in the gaps.

For those unfamiliar, The Matrix is the production team responsible for smash pop stars Avril Lavigne, Hillary Duff and Jason Mraz. Atticus Ross is a drummer/programmer best known for his collaborations with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. The result? A very polished, hook-laden industrial record. Garnering co-writing credits on all 14 tracks, The Matrix have lent their skills to Korn, pulling out of Jonathan Davis the most diverse vocals of his career by holding him to the same standard they hold conventional singers, while allowing him to display the popular growling acrobatics that originally made Korn what they are. Atticus also gets co-writing nods on six of the tracks, all of those 6 sounding like Nine Inch Nails songs with Davis singing, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

This is certainly a new direction for Korn and I think we can all agree that a change was definitely needed. Following a few disappointing releases (including Greatest Hits…is that even possible?), it was critical for Korn to show that they have learned from past mistakes and are finally ready to try something new. Adding levity to the daunting task of reinventing ones self, the band opted for comedy in the video for their first single Twisted Transistor, calling upon rapper pals Lil Jon and Xhibit as well as Snoop and David Banner. While the single isn’t really indicative of what else is on the album, the remixes have made their way to clubs around the world turning into a very popular dance hit.

See You On The Other Side comes across as a study in commercial studio production as the work of The Matrix and Atticus Ross are certainly notable, and perhaps solely responsible for redefining the genre Korn started 10 years ago. With Korn soon hitting the road in support of the new release, it will quickly become evident whether or not Korn can pull it off live without Head. On the album you barely notice he is gone as the production team have done an exceptional job of giving the foursome the fullest sounding record of their careers.