One of Korn’s more underrated albums, “Untouchables,” mastered Korn’s sound with a massive production budget and writing chops that proved they weren’t out of ideas yet. But the larger zeitgeist had begun moving beyond nu-metal as a whole in favor of hip-hop, EDM and post-hardcore. Although approaching the end of their run, “Untouchables” was still a successful album taking number 2 on the Billboard 200s list.
The definitive nu-metal band, Korn not only popularized the genre but also dominated it for most of the ‘90s, competing with greats Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and Limp Bizkit. They captured a uniquely angsty generation of teens before rock’s gradual fall from grace but in a pre-internet era, allowing them to be some of the last true rockstars. Although they weren’t the most influential band of the 90s (that title fell on Nirvana), Korn were close runners-up, inspiring several subgenres of music, popularizing a crusty Adidas aesthetic and making metal cool again.
