Korn wants to remind everyone that rock definitely isn’t dead and show everyone that real rock doesn’t sound like that Incubus-wannabe crap. In doing this, Korn has made one of its fastest and hardest records to date.

Always adding a nice balance in mainstream music, Korn’s dark, driving force remains the backdrop for “Untouchables,” the band’s fifth studio album. The record is filled with songs about frontman Jonathon Davis’ usual topics; adolescent struggles for acceptance, bottled-up emotions, questioning existence and, of course, hate.

No band can match its singer’s emotion and feeling better than Korn, making Korn’s formula one that need not be disturbed. So although Korn hasn’t evolved a whole lot musically, “Untouchables” does show some signs of maturity.

While Korn’s fourth album, “Issues,” dabbled into more dark and melodic rock, “Untouchables” stays true to what brought Korn its fame – rocking tunes.

Despite that fact that a handful of songs bear a similar intro to the first single, “Here to Stay,” each song does take on its own personality and individal feeling. But it will take more than one listen to figure that out.

The few times Korn does decide to slow it down, Davis doesn’t fail to remind those of his vocal talents. Already one of the most unique voices in rock, Davis is able to utilize his ablities to the fullest extent. Standout track “Hollow Life” begins with soft singing from Davis and moves into the trademark Korn rock-out.

“Untouchables” is a great rock record, plain and simple. Throw it in when you’re pissed or when you have a girl over (depending on how cool the girl is), and it should fit the mood.

Korn broke through in the late `90s as one of the bands that will carry rock for years to come, and “Untouchables” shows just that.

– Kyle Moss

Over the years, Rusted Root has perfected writing two different types of songs: simple, acoustic guitar-based ballads with passionately delivered vocals, and frenetic, percussion-heavy rhythm celebrations that bring delight to the hearts of whirling hippies everywhere.

“Welcome To My Party” consists of a good mix of both.

The fourth album from the sextet features the production talents of Bill Bottrell (Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow), who manages to magnificently capture the natural earthiness of the band’s sound.

Tunes like the title track and “Blue Diamonds” are inspired and powerfully executed ballads. The words to “Blue Diamonds” are, interestingly, a love song for an angelic being that vocalist Michael Glabicki met while unconscious after being hit by a car as a small child.

The album also contains a few up-tempo, percussive tracks to please the legions of drum-circle-playin’ fans who salivate for any song that can be a vehicle for a half-hour extended jam on the band’s tour. “People Of My Village” might have been concocted for precisely this purpose, combining the disparate elements of techno with tribal-esque percussion and mantra-like vocals for an effect that is nothing short of repetitive rhythmic diarrhea, and is certainly the album’s weakest track.

“Welcome To My Party” benefits from the reenlistment of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jenn Wertz, who wrote “Weave,” which features a slithery, funky groove and Macy Gray-ish vocals, not to mention retro guitar work that calls Lenny Kravitz to mind.

“Welcome To My Party” certainly doesn’t break any new ground on any level for Rusted Root, but that isn’t a bad thing.

The band has hit on a formula that works, somehow managing to avoid sounding like it is merely reproducing its previous work.

-Tony Lombardo

Much like Adam Sandler’s recent movie catalog (“Big Daddy,” “Little Nicky”), the soundtrack for his current picture, “Mr. Deeds,” is a mellow mix of mostly good ideas that is pleasing, yet quickly forgettable.

The band lineup is impressive, featuring artists including Travis, U2, Weezer and David Bowie. However, the album also features a terrible track by Trik Turner. Acoustic rap-rock? That idea is worse than R. Kelly getting into the home video business.

Dave Matthews Band contributes a musically-sound song that is far less radio-oriented than anything off “Everyday.” But the lyrics are throwaways, with lines such as, “Where are you going?/ where do you go?/ I am no Superman/ I have no answers for you/ I am no hero/ that’s for sure/ but I do know one thing/ where you are/ that’s where I belong.”

Even the tracks “Island in the Sun” and “Sing,” by Weezer and Travis, respectively, can’t save this album from blandness. It is as if the album producers decided to pick the least dynamic tracks available from otherwise exciting artists.

The two reasons to own this album are David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity” and former Radish frontman Ben Kweller’s “Falling.” The version of “Space Oddity” on the soundtrack features an amusing intro sung by Adam Sandler and company.

Kweller is a talented singer songwriter in the vein of Ben Folds who wraps heartfelt lyrics around subtle melodies.

There is nothing spectacular about the “Mr. Deeds” soundtrack; it is neither an embarrassment nor a rarity.

-Jon Dahlager