Korn (album) - Recording and Production

Recording and Production

"Once we started playing, there was a complete sense of concentration among all of us. It was truly the only time we were all focused. I think that the synchronicity comes through in the sound. Once we were ready to record, we'd go into the studio where and would come up with a heavy guitar riff while I'd lay down a bass line over it, and before we knew it, a song would start. "

While Korn was looking for a place to record their debut album, they asked producer Ross Robinson to produce their album. After accepting the offer, Robinson suggested they record at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California. The band would record the majority of the album there, while additional recording took place at Bakersfield's Fat Tracks. Korn recorded most of the album with all members playing simultaneously, as opposed to recording instruments separately. The "distinctive" sound and quality of music was given off by their instruments, rather than the production. The recording of the introduction to "Shoots and Ladders" took place on a mountain–top, where Davis is heard playing the bagpipes. This resulted in acoustics that sounded more "natural" as described by Arvizu. Korn finished recording their self-titled album by the end of June 1994.

Since Robinson produced the album, his career was launched by its success, as it "taught Robinson how to produce. " In an interview with the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer, Davis touted Robinson's behavior, saying: "Ross is a very pure and clean-spirited person, and you feel it when you're with him. He's the kind of person that can draw that out of you. I felt very safe with Ross. " The album was released on October 11, 1994 through Immortal and Epic Records. During the recording of Korn, there were five outtakes: "Christmas Song", "Sean Olsen", "Layla", "This Broken Soul" and "Twist". "Sean Olsen" was put in the single "Shoots and Ladders". "Twist" was later put on their second studio album Life is Peachy.