Korn – Issues (Vinyl LP)

Dark, unsettling and brutally honest - nu metal at its most personal.

Released in 1999, Issues marked a new chapter for Korn. After helping define the sound of nu metal with their earlier albums, the Bakersfield band took a more atmospheric and introspective approach here, blending downtuned guitars, hip-hop-inspired grooves and industrial textures with Jonathan Davis's deeply personal lyrics.

The album opens with Dead, before plunging into the unsettling atmosphere of Falling Away from Me, one of Korn's signature tracks. Its heavy, lurching riff and explosive chorus are matched by lyrics addressing domestic abuse, giving the song an emotional weight that goes far beyond its crushing sound. Somebody Someone explores isolation and the need for connection, while Make Me Bad pairs an infectious groove with Davis's characteristic mix of vulnerability and unease.

One of the album's most memorable details is its artwork. Rather than choosing a single cover, Korn ran a fan competition and selected four winning designs, each featuring the band's distinctive puppet-like character, Uncle Grumpy. The result was an album sleeve that felt as strange and unsettling as the music inside.

Issues debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, confirming Korn's place at the forefront of late-'90s heavy music. Yet beneath the commercial success, this is a record concerned with loneliness, trauma and the struggle to make sense of difficult emotions.

More than just a collection of heavy riffs, Issues is a dark, immersive listen that helped show how emotionally direct nu metal could be.

Essential for fans of nu metal, alternative metal and the darker side of late-'90s heavy music.