After tepid sales of 1999’s “Issues” and the overwhelmingly disappointing “Untouchables” in 2002, Korn finally returns with teeth in tact and readily spewing bile on “Take a Look in the Mirror,” the group’s best album since its seminal, eponymously titled 1994 debut. “Untouchables” was a muddled, convoluted mess of mid-tempo song structures and a bit too much actual singing from vocalist Jonathan Davis.

“Mirror” trims away the over-tracked guitars and reverb-drenched vocals in favor of pummeling guitars and rock-steady drumming.

Likewise, where “Issues” saw the band go a bit soft both lyrically and musically, “Mirror” finds Davis finely tapping into both his haunting warble of a singing voice and his ear-piercing guttural howl.

The albums openning track, “Right Now” sounds equally at home on “Korn” with its syncopated guitars and interlocking rhythm section punctuated by Davis’ stutter-step delivery and rapid-fire screams. Likewise, tracks like “Deep Inside,” “Alive” and the album’s lead off single, “Did My Time,” showcase the interplay between guitarists Brian “Head” Welch, James “Munky” Shaffer and bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu.

The band also shows a bit of the melody it learned to craft on the aforementioned “Issues” and “Untouchables” on lighter tunes like “Counting on Me” and “Break Some Off” where Davis’ off-kilter croon plays well alongside the atmospheric noise of Head and Munky.

Davis even adds a little bagpipe flair on “Let’s Do This Now,” the album’s most distinctly Korn track, complete with chanted chorus, syncopated guitar riffs and straightforward structure and lyrical themes. Even the repeated lines of “Y’all Want a Single” are passable as a good groove carries the tune.

“Take a Look in the Mirror” may not be the savior many disgruntled Korn fans have been waiting for since “Follow the Leader,” but most of the album comes in succinct blasts of guitar cacophony and Davis’ powerful voice.

Some would contend the band refuses to grow and has simply digressed to the pained, shallow group emerging from Bakersfield, CA in 1994. But regaining that brutish, simplistic power is surely part of the point.

Sonic experimentation and wobbling harmonies have their place, but that place surely isn’t in the midst of Head and Munky’s blasting guitar dirge or Davis’ wounded delivery.