See You on the Other Side (Korn album)


See You on the Other Side is the seventh studio album by American nu metal band Korn. It was released on December 6, 2005, by Virgin Records. It is their first album as a quartet after the departure of long-time guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and the last album with original drummer David Silveria before he had departed from the band in December 2006. The album was first certified gold in the United States on January 12, 2006; a subsequent platinum record certification was awarded on March 16, 2006. The album is best known for the involvement of renowned production team 'The Matrix', best known for coproduction on works by Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, and Shakira, who managed to give Korn's music a different sound.
The album features layout design and an original painting by the American surrealist/ gothic painter David Stoupakis on the cover. Eleven more paintings by the artist appear as additional artwork on the deluxe special edition.

Production

After completing their record deal with Sony BMG in 2004, Korn partnered with EMI Records and signed to Virgin Records. As part of this innovative arrangement, Virgin paid Korn $25 million in exchange for a share in the profits of See You on the Other Side and the band's next album, including tours and merchandising. Virgin also received a 30 percent stake in the band's licensing, ticket sales and other revenue sources. The album was recorded in Jonathan Davis' home studio which was used for the previous album, Take a Look in the Mirror, as well as the Queen of the Damned soundtrack and score. Davis stated "We went through a lot of drama with Head leaving and getting off our label and making the album by ourselves." Regarding Brian "Head" Welch's departure, James "Munky" Shaffer recalled "There was kind of a moment where we didn't know what we were going to do and how we were going to continue. We kind of decided, 'OK, we can just sit back and we can put out a greatest hits album and end this or we can use this opportunity and instead of looking at it as a loss, reinvent what we do.'"

Promotion

The lead single, "Twisted Transistor", premiered on KDGE 102.1 FM The Edge in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and was officially released to radio on September 27, 2005. Brent Decker e-mailed the disc jockey of the night, Ayo, with a request to play the rumored single. The band also did a See You on the Other Side world tour to heavily promote the album, which included a special performance of "Here to Stay" on a plane from London to New York City.

Music

The album shows Korn retaining their nu metal/rap metal style, but also combining elements of genres such as industrial, gothic rock, new wave, electronic/electronica, and funk.
With regards to the album's musical direction, Jonathan Davis commented,

Critical reception

On average, See You on the Other Side generally received much warmer critical reception than the previous studio album, Take a Look in the Mirror, scoring a Metacritic average of 64. Reviewers appreciated the band's desire to experiment and noted that the album combined well their signature sound with the freshness that producers The Matrix and Atticus Ross added to the band's sound.

Commercial performance

See You on the Other Side sold more than 220,000 copies in its first week, debuting and peaking at number three on the Billboard 200. The album managed to stay in the top half of the chart for thirty-four consecutive weeks. It has accumulated 1,2 million copies sold in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album was ranked second in Ultimate Guitar Archive's Top 10 albums of 2005 poll.

Track listing

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
;Korn
;Additional musicians
;Production
;Album
Chart Peak
position
Australia 19
Austria 7
Belgium 49
Belgium 61
Finland 18
France 24
Germany 12
Netherlands 37
New Zealand 8
Norway 37
Polish Albums Chart46
Spain 82
Sweden 35
Switzerland 11
UK Albums 71
US Billboard 2003

;Singles
YearSongUS
US
Alt.
US
Main.
US
Pop
US
Dance
AUS
AUT
FIN
GER
IRL
ITA
NLD
NZL
SWI
UK
2005"Twisted Transistor"64936324
2437663241427—6027
2006"Coming Undone"791447329
54——864936—16—63
2006"Politics"——18—20——————————

Notes