"Evolution" is a song by American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu m ...

band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 b ...

. The song was the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to be released from the band's untitled album on June 12, 2007. It is one of the four tracks in which

Brooks Wackerman Brooks Wackerman (born February 15, 1977) is an American musician. He is the current drummer of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which he joined in 2015. His first album with Avenged Sevenfold was ''The Stage'' (2016). He is most known as t ...

of Bad Religion performed drumming duties.

Promotion

Music video

"Evolution", directed by Dave Meyers, was filmed on June 15, 2007 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. The music video features Slipknot drummer

Joey Jordison Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, as well as the guitarist for the horror punk ...

, although the actual drum tracks were recorded by

. According to the casting call sheet, "Evolution" is "filled with political satire and humor." The production team sought mostly male actors to fill roles such as "hero scientists", religious politicians, doctors, green peace guys, anthropologists, military men, and "government types". Casting interviews were held June 12 and 13, 2007.

Viral marketing

The domai
www.evolutiondevolution.com
was set up in promotion of the song. The website is a spoof to promote the "Evolution" music video. It is themed as a documentary publication website and features

acting as "experts" who studied evolution in support of a fake documentary titled ''Devolution: Nature's U-Turn''. Vocalist

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the nu ...

explained that the band wanted to try a different kind of promotion, and so created the website and several viral promotion trailers.

Theme controversy

In response to the fake trailer for ''Devolution: Nature's U-Turn'',

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

member

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...

wrote o
www.clubdevo.com
"We denounce this as imposters '' ic' playing with fire." According to Casale, fans of

thereafter sent him

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...

. Casale then explained that he would have appreciated if Korn had recognized Devo as pioneers of the concept. Korn vocalist

responded, "Korn never claimed to be the first to expose De-Evolution, our hats are off to Devo for that."

Song debut

"Evolution" debuted on May 16, 2007 via Los Angeles radio station KROQ and the

Myspace page. During the song's debut, bassist

Reginald Arvizu Reginald Quincy Arvizu (born November 2, 1969), also known as "Fieldy", is an American musician, best known as the bassist for nu metal band Korn. He is also the guitarist/bassist for rock band StillWell. Musical career Prior to Arvizu's tim ...

and guitarist

James Shaffer James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He has cited Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads as some of hi ...

were present in the radio station's studio. The song premiered live on May 20, 2007 at the KROQ-FM Weenie Roast y Fiesta in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

Track listing

;UK CD single # "Evolution" – 3:39 # "Evolution (

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American DJ, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. He has done produ ...

Remix)" – 3:41 ;Digital download # "Evolution (Explicit/Clean)" – 3:38 ;UK 7" vinyl # "Evolution" – 3:37 # "I Will Protect You" – 5:29 ;US promo maxi-single #"Evolution (Harry Choo Choo's Evolution Remix)" – 8:53 #"Evolution (Dave Aude Remix)" – 7:42 #"Evolution (Dave Aude Club Dub)" – 7:25 #"Evolution (Dave Aude Radio)" – 3:42 #"Evolution (David Garcia + Margan Page Remix)" – 6:39 #"Evolution (David Garcia + Margan Page Dub)" – 6:36 ;EU CD radio promo # "Evolution (Reverse Clean)" – 3:37 # "Evolution (Super Clean)" – 3:38 # "Evolution" – 3:39 ;UK promo CD #"Evolution" (Radio Edit)

Chart performance

"Evolution" became Korn's fourth single to reach the top five on ''Billboard'''s

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. It also peaked in the top twenty on

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evolution (Korn Song) 2007 singles Korn songs Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Song recordings produced by Atticus Ross Song recordings produced by the Matrix (production team) 2007 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Reginald Arvizu Songs written by Lauren Christy Songs written by Jonathan Davis Songs written by Graham Edwards (musician) Songs written by James Shaffer Songs written by Scott Spock