The Path of Totality

The Path of Totality is the tenth studio album by Korn, released in December 2011 on Roadrunner Records, the most commercially divisive album in the band's catalog, produced entirely in collaboration with dubstep producers including Skrillex, Excision, and 12th Planet, and representing the most extreme departure from the band's heavy metal origins. Davis wrote all lyrics; the album's 11 tracks apply dubstep bass drops, electronic synthesis, and contemporary EDM production to Davis's vocals and the band's rhythm section, removing traditional guitar almost entirely. 'Get Up!' (produced by Skrillex) and 'Narcissistic Cannibal' were the principal singles; the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 but received the worst critical and fan response of the Korn catalog. The Path of Totality is significant as a document of the 2012 dubstep mainstream moment and as the most commercially risky experiment in the band's discography, demonstrating both the willingness to abandon genre safety and the commercial cost of doing so. The Path of Totality's commercial and critical legacy is primarily as a document of the 2012 dubstep moment and of the commercial costs of genre experimentation in a rock career built on audience loyalty to a specific sonic identity, and its short-term commercial failure drove the Paradigm Shift reunion that would partially restore the band's standing with their core audience.