Korn’s New Album ‘Requiem’ Opens at No. 14 on the Billboard 200

Korn released their 14th album Reqiuem around 14 days ago on Feb. 4, and the effort's first-week chart numbers have just come in.

The album debuted at No. 14 on the all-genre Billboard 200 that ranks that most popular albums and EPs in the United States.

Requiem reportedly racked up sales of 20,000 album-equivalent units in its first week out, with 14,000 of those attributed to physical sales, according to ThePRP on Tuesday (Feb. 15).

It's the first time a Korn album failed to hit in the Top 10 since the nu-metal bastions' 1994 debut (No. 72). Korn's last LP, 2019's The Nothing, opened at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 33,000 equivalent units.

On the same chart, 1996's Life is Peachy reached No. 3, 1998's Follow the Leader No. 1, 1999's Issues No. 1, 2002's Untouchables No. 2, 2003's Take a Look in the Mirror No. 9, 2005's See You on the Other Side No. 3, 2007's untitled album No. 2, 2010's Korn III No. 2, 2011's The Path of Totality No. 10, 2013's The Paradigm Shift No. 8, and 2016's The Serenity of Suffering No. 4.

But does Korn's new album capture a nostalgic nu-metal sound? Speaking about Requiem with Loudwire Nights recently, Korn guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer remarked, "Remember [our] album Untouchables? It has a vibe to it that's like early 2000s to me. I dunno why, maybe it's just because we took more time on guitars."

He added, "I feel like it's gonna take fans a minute to kind of digest. And also, you have to put yourself where we were in the middle of COVID. The whole world shut down. At one point, L.A. had these big fires and there was this orange sky, the virus was out there — it just felt so dystopian."

Last month, Munky revealed he'd recovered from the coronavirus a second time. Last year, Korn singer Jonathan Davis (pictured above) and drummer Ray Luzier tested positive for COVID-19. Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch recently said the pandemic was "a serious issue. But you've gotta live, man."

Korn tour the U.S. next month with Chevelle and Code Orange. Get tickets here. Stream and buy Requiem here.