Korn Ends 4-Year Hiatus to Record Original Track for Diablo 4 Expansion

Blizzard has made an exciting music booking: Korn, the Bakersfield nu-metal band that had been quiet since 2021, is coming out of hiatus to write and record an original song for Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. This collaboration showcases the expansion’s marketing as a full multimedia effort, rather than just a simple content drop.

Korn’s four-year break from recording makes this commission particularly noteworthy. Blizzard didn’t just license an old track; they invited the band back into the studio to create something specifically for the Lord of Hatred campaign. This kind of commitment shows how seriously Blizzard is approaching the rollout for this expansion, especially as Diablo 4 tries to regain momentum after a shaky post-launch period on Steam, where it currently holds a rating of 67% positive from nearly 23,000 reviews.

The timing fits well with Blizzard’s active community event schedule. The studio launched the Hatred’s Downfall community challenge on April 30, 2026, alongside new guides and in-game content. This coordinated effort aims to keep players engaged as they look forward to what’s next for the title.

Nu metal has a long history with gaming. Bands like Korn, Slipknot, and Linkin Park were the soundtrack to early-2000s action game trailers. By tapping into this legacy for Diablo 4, Blizzard is making a strategic choice. The franchise’s themes of gore, darkness, and religious horror fit perfectly with nu metal’s aesthetic. Plus, the genre’s recent revival, fueled by nostalgia on social media, makes this a safer bet than it would have been five years ago.

Diablo 4 launched on June 6, 2023, received a Metacritic score of 90, and is currently priced at $49.99 on Steam, boasting over 40,000 concurrent players at the moment. The base game’s performance gives Blizzard a solid audience to target for the expansion, even though Steam sentiment has dipped due to complaints about monetization.

By The Numbers

Metacritic Score	90
Steam Review Score	67% positive
Total Steam Reviews	22,887
Current Steam Players	40,615
Steam Price	$49.99

Community reactions to the base game are mixed, reflecting a familiar divide. One Steam reviewer with significant playtime shared: “Game is fine, had a lot of fun in co-op. ‘Twas my first diabloid so I didn’t have any previous experience in this genre and found D4 satisfying. The devs however are nasty [expletive]. Imagine making a DLC.” This sentiment highlights a pattern in reviews: players enjoy the game but feel frustrated by Blizzard’s monetization and expansion pricing choices.

What To Watch

• Whether Blizzard will release the Korn track as a standalone single or keep it exclusive to expansion marketing materials — this could affect its reach and streaming numbers.
• How the Hatred’s Downfall community challenge performs; Blizzard will likely analyze participation data to gauge excitement for the expansion ahead of any release window announcement.
• The trajectory of Steam reviews once the expansion launches — the current 67% score gives Blizzard room for improvement, but only if the DLC pricing aligns with what the playerbase finds acceptable.