Korn, “Requiem.”

The road to Requiem was long for Korn frontman Jonathan Davis and his bandmates. Davis dealt with loss and strife within his own family, while much of the band had to adapt to the realities of the pandemic, and bassist Fieldy had his own battles with addiction. And yet, somehow, Korn channeled it all and bounced back to create one of the more positive records in the band’s catalog—at least by nu-metal standards.

Don’t get it confused, though: the riffs are still there and the album is still as musically dark and heavy as Korn fans have come to expect. What’s different this time around is brevity. The band enters and makes a statement quickly over the record’s nine tracks.

The album opens with the deeply down-tuned intro riff of “Forgotten.” The track is dynamic, shifting between heavy hard rock and moody melodic choruses. “Bow down,” Jonathan Davis screams on the ferocious chorus. One of the most noticeable differences is in the low end, with Fieldy’s slinky down-tuned slap bass dirge.

The pace keeps up for “Let The Dark Do The Rest,” another heavy but melodic track that features Davis introspectively looking back on the difficult path he’s followed in recent years. “I just want to go/ I just want to see what the future holds,” Davis sings in the bridge.

The reimagining of Davis continues on “Start the Healing,” a track that actually looks back on some of the anger and aggression in a negative light. Davis was clearly in a different frame of mind while making Requiem. Lyrically, some of the songs focus on how a situation could have been handled better. Davis focuses on overcoming and arriving on a more positive solution.

The opening riffs of “Lost in the Grandeur” are static and herky-jerky, but in a dynamic fashion. The track once again features Davis looking at himself and not entirely liking the results. There’s a clear thread of looking to better his headspace throughout the record. “I’m so fed up with who I portray,” he sings.

The riffs return in a big way on “Disconnect,” another hard/soft track that bounces between the two with a strong sense of melody. Structurally, the tracks sound like classic Korn, but the production feels simpler than prior records.”Hopeless and Beaten” faithfully carries that baton. Same with “Penance to Sorrow.” The track also includes some of Davis’ most guttural streams on the record.

The penultimate track, “My Confession,” features some expert dram patterns by Petaluma’s Ray Luizer. Lyrically, the song again focuses on Davis’ psyche and the better position he says he’s in now. The album closes out on another heavy note with “Worst is on the Way,” which features the vocalist looking at the repercussions of his own actions.

Requiem is an effective return to form for Korn. It’s not an earth-shattering work, but it proves the band can grow in its mindset without overthinking the music and production.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.