The make-up of your average Korn fan might have changed a little with the passing of time, but those still stoking their fire in 2016 will be delighted that the base mantra for a Korn record has returned with The Serenity Of Suffering, their 12th LP. If you’ve been going through a few tissues and issues of late, if life hasn’t been the kindest to you, 14 unrelenting tracks of bruising, break-up, break-down nu-metal from the dreadlocked five-piece might be the tried and tested remedy for die-hard fans. For others, I’d approach with caution.

Following the drama of line-up shuffles, religious awakenings and unlistenable EDM collaborations, essentially The Serenity Of Suffering is a throwback to Korn’s early nu-metal template, which is either good news or bad news, depending on whether you feel the genre is something which resembles the fun period of adolescence before you musically graduated, or an extremely upsetting fad.

In the lead up to the album, lead singer Jonathan Davis was quoted as saying: “I’ve got to the point I don’t relate with anyone that’s normal anymore. I can only relate to people who are going through insanity, or there’s something wrong with them.” Solid basis for musical inspiration there, and Korn have always claimed to represent the social outcasts rather than the jocks of nu-metal, but try and get to the end of this album without feeling slightly like the topic of alienation is replicated for pretty much every lyrical theme. And according to the internet Jonathon Davis is worth $45 million, is married to an adult actress, and plays in one of the world’s most successful rrrawwwkk bands. Based on that information alone, I personally don’t think things are actually that bad for him.

Thomas Frost