| "Black Is the Soul" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byKorn | ||||
| from the albumThe Serenity of Suffering | ||||
| Released | June 7, 2017 (2017-06-07) | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:01 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Nick Raskulinecz | |||
| Korn singles chronology | ||||
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"Black Is the Soul" is a song by Americannu metal bandKorn. It was their third single off of their twelfth studio albumThe Serenity of Suffering. It peaked at number 10 on theBillboard USMainstream Rock Songs chart in November 2017.
On June 4, 2017, the band released a crypticteaser video tosocial media about an upcoming single andmusic video by the band, with journalists noting that viewers were speculating it was in reference to the track "Black Is the Soul".[3][4] The clip featured footage of the band, alongside a faceless woman.[5] This was confirmed three days later, when the music video was released and was announced as the third single from the band's twelfth album,The Serenity of Suffering.[6][7] The video features alternating footage of the band performing and the faceless woman, wading through water and searching around numerous lifeless mannequins.[8] The woman searches through mannequin body parts in the water, and video culminates with body parts flying around and coming together to reform the woman's face.[9]
Lyrically,frontmanJonathan Davis stated that the band is "being pulled away from the right path...and trying to navigate those conflicting emotions", something he said the music video was also trying to metaphorically illustrate.[10] The song was one of the first written forThe Serenity of Suffering album, initially conceived under the working title of "Mary Ellen Thrash", after guitarist'sBrian Welch's mother Mary Ellen due to it being written on her birthday.[10] The name was changed to "Black Is the Soul" later on, something Welch conceded was "creepy" to name a song that was about his own mother, but was kept due his strong feelings towards the song's line of "Black is the soul that's led astray".[10][11]
The song was described as having the heavy,de-tuned guitar sound commonly found innu metal.[1]
Loudwire named the song the 13th besthard rock song of 2017.[2]
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USRock & Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[12] | 34 |
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