“Alone I Break” and “Hollow Life” briefly ponder eternity and the existence of God, yet find no comfort or answers.
Three dozen uses of the f-word should be all parents need to know about this stickered disc. But Korn doesn’t stop at obscenities. Pain, hate and hopelessness run rampant (“Make Believe,” “I’m Hiding,” “Blame,” “Bottled Up Inside,” “No One’s There,” “Hating,” “One More Time”). On “Wake Up Hate,” lead singer Jonathan Davis deems himself “disgusting” as he screams, “I wanna break everything . . . I’m still hating ‘til I can’t hate no more.” Insecurity and self-destructiveness rule “Embrace” and “Here to Stay,” which says “I take my face and bash it into a mirror.” Things turn sexually violent with the tribute to sadomasochism “Beat It Upright.” The vengeful “Thoughtless” cries out, “Drown, drown drown/I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me.”
Describing the creative inspiration behind Untouchables, the band’s bassist told Kerrang!, “Every day I came in to write hungover [and] I’d throw up. Sometimes you’re at your most creative when you’re wrecked and hurting.” That explains a lot.