I'm going to go out on a limb and admit the truth here - I wasn't looking forward to hearing this CD.  I've got every Korn album... I've been there since the start, but, like them, I was getting tired.  There are only so many albums you can fill with youth angst and scream therapy when you've grown up and got families of your own.  Things were getting stale and something had to change.

So everything did.  2005's "See You On The Other Side", as it turns out, is aptly titled.  Love it or hate it, Korn has changed.  Guitarist Brian Welch has moved on, Long-time label Epic has put Davis' stuff out on the lawn, and the band have apparently assessed their surroundings and decided to re-strategise.

This time around, Davis gets help with the production from unlikely candidates The Matrix and Atticus Ross - and the result is a quirkier, slicker, more self-aware album.  This immediately gives this impression that Korn have finally found their happy place where they don't have to self-loath over success.  Check out "Coming Undone" or "Liar" and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Not every track will be for everyone - particularly the early fans still wearing exclusively black.  There's enough here to be unmistakably Korn (listen closely and you'll still find a non-sensical rant by vocalist Davis and even a bagpipe segment), but it's infused with new lyrics, alternative themes, quality production and variety.  I can't say the album's flawless, however I am going to give it the time to completely grow on me - which is more than I can say for the last two efforts.