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My cousin and I are obsessed with Korn. I've tried listening to Christian bands with a similar style, but I can't find one that really sounds like them. Could you help me?

—Adam

I appreciate both your honesty and your desire to find an alternative to Korn. And I must tell you, it does concern me that you and your cousin are, as you put it, "obsessed with Korn." As I imagine you already know, Korn is very bad news.

The songs on the band's latest CD, Follow the Leader, are blatantly vulgar ("Earache My Eye"), morbidly perverse ("My Gift to You"), pornographic ("All in the Family"), and full of rage ("Dead Bodies Everywhere" and "Children of the Korn"). And on the song "B.B.K." lyricist Jonathan Davis comes across as majorly depressed and suicidal.

Even music magazines like Spin pick up Korn's disturbing messages. "For all their ugly lashing out at targets that have regularly included women and [homosexuals]," Spin says, "they radiate more pain than hate, the kind of pain they never got over."

Although I personally think there is a lot of hate in Korn's lyrics, Spin makes a good point: The songs do come with tons of unresolved pain—and absolutely no constructive ways of dealing with the pain. All in all, the band's music is loaded with hopelessness and despair.

I sincerely believe that listening to Korn won't do anybody any good. As a matter of fact, Korn can only bring you down emotionally and spiritually. So, please, carefully consider some Christian alternatives.

The first CD I'd like to recommend is Project 86's self-titled release (BEC). With a style similar to Korn's, this band combines hardcore metal with rap. Another hardcore band worth checking is Zao. On its latest CD, Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (Tooth & Nail), Zao offers intense vocals with hardcore metal guitars. Two other Christian hardcore albums worth giving a listen to are Embodyment's Embrace the Eternal (Solid State) and Selfmindead's self-titled release (Solid State).

I'll admit, the choices I've offered still may not suit your musical tastes. But even if you don't find any Christian alternatives, please remove Korn from your musical diet. Trust me, it's the right and healthy thing to do.

—Chris Lutes

Send your questions; we'll do our best to track down an answer: "Tell Me about It," Campus Life, 465 Gundersen Dr., Carol Stream, IL 60188. You can also reach us via fax (630-260-0114) or e-mail (clmag@CampusLife.net).

1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Campus Life magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail clmag@CampusLife.net

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