Korn III: Remember Who You Are - Release and Critical Reception

Release and Critical Reception

In an interview in October 2009 Shaffer revealed that the band had discussed options for releasing the album, with or without a record label. Shaffer mentioned releasing the songs three at a time on the internet, on a USB key or on CD, or possibly all three options. While no official release date had been set Shaffer hinted at February 2010. In December 2009 Davis revealed that the recording of the album was complete and that the album was targeted for a June 2010 release. In January 2010 a video of the band recording the song "Are You Ready to Live?" (under the demo title "My Time") was leaked, uploaded copies of the song and video, which were described as "old school Korn".

On March 15, in the announcement of the Ballroom Blitz Tour, the album title was also revealed to be "Korn III: Remember Who You Are". In March 2010 Shaffer revealed via an online chat with fans that Korn had chosen to sign with Roadrunner Records, this was later confirmed by Davis who called the label "a good home " and added that "they're one of the last real, respected labels left... We looked at all the other options and didn't want to go down that road again." Davis also explained that the band ultimately decided to abandon the idea of releasing the album independently, "We could do it on our own, but it's so complicated with all the business aspects and marketing and all that other stuff that I'm never really into..."

The album was released on July 6, 2010 in Japan, and Australia and Germany three days later. The album was to be released on July 13 in the United Kingdom, the same day where it was shipped in North America and New Zealand, but this date was pushed back to July 12. The album was released on July 20 in Mexico.

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave a very poor review of 2007's untitled album, noted that "They’ve gone back to the coiled, furious sputter of their debut but there’s no disguising that Korn is an older band, substituting precision for frenzy without diluting their power" and gave the album a 4 out of 5 rating. Rick Florino of ARTISTdirect gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating and described "Are You Ready to Live?" as "some of the darkest places Korn has ever ventured". Giles Moorhouse of Rock Sound gave the album a 8 out of 10 rating and noted that "Let the Guilt Go" is an absolute monster and will easily go toe-to-toe against mosh anthems like Slipknot’s 'Duality' and Drowning Pool’s 'Bodies' without breaking a sweat". The BBC's Louis Pattison had a different take on the band's back-to-basics approach, though, writing: "Remember Who You Are is the sound of a band not so much rediscovering their past as recycling it."