Outraged, morbid -- in a good way

BAD dreams don’t fade easily. And Jonathan Davis still hasn’t gotten over the traumas of adolescence, or the visions of death and abuse that have always fueled the confrontational music of Korn. The band’s storm of rage and strangely tuneful hard rock has inspired a whole generation of listeners for whom Metallica is just too soft and cuddly.

“Don’t want to talk about politics,” Davis shouts early during Korn’s new album (in stores today). “Refuse to talk about politics!” He has his own agenda of sickness and anger, but there is also a bit of reinvention here. And not just from the absence of guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, who quit after a religious conversion. There is a new clarity to the sound, a return to the direct, subversive melodies behind Korn’s best early work.

While some recent Korn records sometimes got lost in the sludge, “Twisted Transistor” and other new tracks reach back to find harsh, and intimate, hard-rock hooks. The alarming presence of pop production team the Matrix on several tracks may have something to do with this, but the renewed focus on songwriting doesn’t rob Korn of any fire or angst.

Guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer has no trouble filling the gap left by his former partner Welch. And the remaining players sound newly inspired, still obsessing over their creep-show effects, the bagpipe loops and heavy breathing and other weird interludes.

Korn remains comfortably outraged, morbid and confused -- and that’s without the politics.

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Steve Appleford