Untouchables is the fifth studio album by American nu metal band Korn. The album was officially released on June 11, 2002, and featured the Grammy-winning single "Here to Stay". Untouchables debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 495,991 copies sold during its first week, second only to Eminem's The Eminem Show. The album received positive reviews from music critics. It was certified platinum on July 11, 2002, and has sold at least 1.4 million copies in the United States.
Background and recording
Korn commenced writing Untouchables in early 2001. Tension between band members grew and, in an effort to lessen their tensions and distractions, they continued writing in Scottsdale, Arizona, in hope that the new landscape would inspire them in writing songs. They finished writing the album then went back to Los Angeles, California to begin recording. Hostility between band members was still there. During the tour, band members began to consider firing bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu due to his drug abuse problem, but decided against it.
Untouchables was recorded at Conway Studios, in Hollywood, California and The Village, in Los Angeles, California. The album was produced by Michael Beinhorn and recorded by Frank Filipetti. The album featured the same member line-up as their previous four studio albums. It is the first album recorded in 96 kHz digital sound. It was mixed by Andy Wallace and mastered by Howie Weinberg. The album was re-released on November 12, 2002, as a last-ditch effort to rejuvenate album sales, which had fallen shortly after the album's first week on the Billboard 200. This limited edition features different artwork, and a bonus DVD, containing a live version of "Here to Stay", performance versions of the "Here to Stay" and "Thoughtless" music videos, and a live recording of "Got the Life".
The band has revealed that the total recording costs of Untouchables were estimated at $3,000,000 due to recording/living expenses and keeping their 15-person crew on retainer for the nearly two years it took to finish the album. As part of the total cost were included five houses rented for $10,000 apiece for four months, when they moved to Phoenix. When they came to Los Angeles, they rented five houses for $10,000 apiece for four more months; and a house rented for $8,000 a week, when they went to Canada.</blockquote>Untouchables is listed as the 9th most expensive album ever made.
Reception
Untouchables sold over 495,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted at number two on Billboard. Davis blamed Internet piracy for the drop in sales compared to previous albums, since the album had leaked onto file-sharing websites with a different track order and song titles more than two months prior to its official release date.
Untouchables received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 80/100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a 2021 retrospective review, Metal Hammer deemed Untouchables to be Korn's greatest album.
Track listing
Original release
All songs written by Korn.
Limited edition
2002 leaked version
Personnel
Korn
- Jonathan Davis – vocals
- Fieldy – bass
- Munky – guitars
- Head – guitars
- David Silveria – drums
Production
- Michael Beinhorn – producer
- Andy Wallace – mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Jeff Kwatinetz – executive production
- Roger Lian – digital editing
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Weekly chart performance for Untouchables
!Chart (2002)
!Peak<br>position
|-
|Australian Albums (ARIA)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Canadian Albums (Jam! CANOE)
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
| Estonian Albums (Eesti Tipp-40)
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Europe (European Top 100 Albums)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|French Albums (SNEP)
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
|German Albums (Media Control AG)
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|-
|-
|Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)
|align="center"|1
|-
|Irish Albums (IRMA)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Italian Albums (FIMI)
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|-
|New Zealand Albums (RIANZ)
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
| Polish Albums Chart
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
|-
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
|-
|-
|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)
|align="center"|25
|-
|Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|-
|Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|UK Albums (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|-
|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|US Internet Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
| Venezuela Albums (Record Report)
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Year-end chart performance for Untouchables
!Chart (2002)
!Position
|-
|Australian Albums (ARIA)
| style="text-align:center;"|92
|-
|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| style="text-align:center;"|38
|-
|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| style="text-align:center;"|68
|-
|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| style="text-align:center;"|59
|-
|Belgian Albums| Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| style="text-align:center;"|31
|-
|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"|85
|-
|Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|-
|Canadian Metal Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|align="center"| 11
|-
|European Albums (Music & Media)
|align="center"| 76
|-
|French Albums (SNEP)
| style="text-align:center;"|127
|-
|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| style="text-align:center;"|48
|-
|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
| style="text-align:center;"|92
|-
|UK Albums (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|150
|-
|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|53
|-
|Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
| style="text-align:center;"|38
|}