Metal-heads, brace yourselves: The first shockwave of the new year is quite a doozy. By now, Korn fans have heard about the band's MTV "Unplugged" special and resulting LP. Pre-empting that session is "Freak on a Leash," one of the band's most popular singles. Besides listeners wrapping their heads around the idea of Korn following an acoustic path, the pensive, seething "Freak" has been converted into a dark lounge number. Piano, cellos, Latin undertones and Evanescence lead Amy Lee crooning in the background are all a neck-snapper. Her writhing voice supplants the alterna-scatting that singer Jonathan Davis originally recorded, with a rearrangement that is mesmerizing. Still, seeing Korn go the candles-and-mood-lighting route is as startling as former guitarist Head suddenly ditching the band for Jesus. As inconceivable as it appears, "Freak" is narcotic. —Christa L. Titus