Niki N. Phaser

2003′s Take a Look in the Mirror has a special relevance for Korn fans, since it was the final album recorded by the original line-up, including Head (Brian Welch), who left the band to follow his religious beliefs, but has since released a solo album. The album is best known for spawning the Did My Time single, which had Angelina Jolie doing a special appearance in the video. Another great track from this album is Counting on Me, a heavy song which could be a good introduction to what Korn has to offer. The bass is massive, the guitars are big and you feel them falling on you, but the track is also a perfect display of Jonathan Davis’ complex vocals, which range from his signature schizo ramblings-type in the verse to death-metal shouting in the bridge and to dramatic dense screams for the chorus. Lyrically, the song is about dependence, but the kind where the one on whom someone is depending is the victim (“You’re the one who’s always screaming at me, I’m the one that keeps your life so care free”). This is not a give/take situation, it’s a take/take one, as we hear in the chorus: “Counting on me, Always hoping I’ll be, There for all of your problems, In turn you’re never there for me”. Of course, the song is most likely about Davis bitchin’ about some succubus that is giving him a headache, but just for the sake of rock’n'roll mythology, wouldn’t it be funny to presume that the song is about parenthood ? Lines like “Why can’t you ever back down? Why can’t you just shut your face?” or “You hate everything you see” fit really nicely to the image of a spoiled brat always kicking and screaming and demanding things and never saying thank you. Think about it…

Counting on Me LIVE AT ROCK AM RING