Pass Me the Korn!!!

by Scott Rich
Staff Writer

Korn Live! Picture appears courtesy of Scott J. Rich

The year was 1992. The makeup-wearing, spandex-clad metal gods had spent a decade as rock's leading force, but their time had come and sadly to some, had gone as well. The hairband era had all but become a faded memory of a time now only destined to be referred to as the past. Many magazines at the time declared the eminent death of rock music. Hip-Hop and rap started to become the main attraction to the record labels, as it appeared nobody would be able to step up to the challenge of reviving the death of an entire genre of music. There was a true void in the music world, as apathy was spreading its icy hands over the minds and souls of rock fans everywhere. Was rock truly dead? Who could possibly step up to the plate and bring something that hadn't already been done before? Who would rekindle the very passion lost by all? I'll tell you who: Five guys from a hillbilly town called Bakersfield: KORN.

Fieldy, who took out his childhood frustrations on bass rather than people's faces, joined forces with David Silveria on drums, Brian "Head" Welch, and James "Munky" Shaffer on guitars. It was but a short time later that they incorporated the key element and probably the darkest piece of the intricate equation they had begun to form by enlisting the services of the local assistant coroner Jonathan Davis on vocals. From here on in, the rock world would never be the same.

They packed up their personals and took off down Highway 99 to L.A. In a Huntington beach rehearsal hall, the seven-string guitars, tuned lowered than a standard bass, of Head and Munky became the start of a sound no one had ever heard or done before. The growls and ferocity of these strangely designed guitars mixed with the hip-hop-influenced bass rumblings of Fieldy only further complimented the bizarre, soul splitting vocals of Jon. Nothing had ever come close to sounding like this combination. They put the so called heavy metal bands of the day into a state of odd bewilderment.

After a couple of long years touring, they were picked up and signed by Epic/Immortal to do their first album, "Korn". The album was released on October 11, 1994, and went on to reach double platinum status; but that was just the beginning.

Korn Live! Picture appears courtesy of Scott J. Rich

Korn was becoming established as they now gave the metal genre something new to hear. Radio and MTV were not ready for their untamed onslaught. It didn't matter to the band as they were establishing an ever-growing fan base who would remain loyal to them, and the band, in turn, never sold out on them. They were going to do it their way or no way at all.

They didn't even like being classified as metal. Their music was truly different says Jonathan, "Heavy metal to me is like Iron Maiden, Helloween, those heavy metal bands. Not the glam bands. But they've always called us heavy metal, and it fuckin' pisses me off because that's just fucked up. They put us in that category, but I don't know what to call it. No one has come up with a really good fuckin' name to call this. Nirvana had grunge, and I guess that was cool. But there's been emo-core, heavy-hop, post metal, new metal. None of those really ring a bell.”

Their next album, "Life Is Peachy," reached platinum status and later went on to achieve double platinum status, but, at the time, was being bashed by the critics as they called the album and the band vulgar and indecent. It was at this time when a Zeeland, Mich., high school administrator who referred to the band as indecent, vulgar, and obscene, actually suspended a student for wearing a shirt with only the word KORN on it. The band found out and filed a cease and desist order against the school, and the student was reinstated. They actually took limosines out to the front of the school and handed out Korn shirts to students on their way into school. This band maintains and has continually proven by their actions that their fans are the most important thing to them.

Korn Live! Picture appears courtesy of Scott J. Rich

1998 brought them to their next release, "Follow The Leader." This debuted at No. 1 on the billboard charts and eventually reached quintuple platinum status. Songs like, "Got The Life," and "Freak On A Leash," brought on more popularity and an ever-increasing fan base as well. The famed artist and "Spawn" creator Todd McFarlane did the cover art, and special guests included Ice Cube and Fred Durst. Jon used a new voice bender synthesizer to add even more strangeness to his already established eerie vocal stylings.

One of the most signifigant things they did to me personally on this album was to write a song about one of their fans who is no longer with us entitled, "Justin." Justin was a child who had terminal intestinal cancer. Through the Make a Wish Foundation, he wanted to meet the band for just a few minutes as his last wish on earth. The few minutes turned into a whole day and then three days as the band really hit it off well with him. Jonathan said, "Justin is a kid who is terminally ill and dying of intestinal cancer. His last dying wish was to meet us, and it really freaked me out. That threw a whole bunch of new kind of pressure in my head. That's really intense.

“Someone's gonna die and his last thing he wants to do is come hang out with us. So I truly freaked out. It's like, 'Why would you want to come meet me? What makes me so special?' And in turn I talk about how I admire his strength and his life. I couldn't stare at him, because he was so content that he was gonna die. No one could look him in the eyes. I totally admire his strength. I wish I had it." This year was also the year of the famed Korn Kampaign tour mockingly referred to as the Family values tour.

Their next project was the forming and creation of Elementree records, which came into fruition as well as the creation of one of the most important albums in the band's eyes in their career. "Issues," debuted at No. 1 and went on to achieve triple platinum status.

Songs like, "Falling Away From Me," and "Make Me Bad," became instant radio hits to the dismay of the naysayers everywhere. They continued to test and push the limits while still remaining true to original form. Korn felt this album was their best musical accomplishment since the release of "Korn" in 1994. Korn, again being interactive with the fans, chose one of their designs for the main cover and runners up had limited editions of their artwork on the album covers as well.

"Untouchables," was their next release, which also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's charts and has achieved the platinum status. "Here To Stay," took the mainstream by storm and is, itself, a statement of the band's continuation of longevity in a very tough and ever-increasing competitive business.

Next the band's first self-produced record, "Take A Look In The Mirror," was released with "Right Now," "Did My Time," and the controversial, "Y'alL Want A Single," all hitting the radio waves with much success. The band was still making a mark on the mainstream as well as their fanbase without sacrificing integrity to either. As a matter of fact they aggravated more than a few record executives with the video to, "Y'all Want A Single," which showed the band destroying a record store and gave a few blatant messages to everyone watching, to the dismay of the industry, about what the band sees as unacceptable practices within the business of music. Fans who got to see it were enlightened briefly as the video seemed to disappear from the internet as fast as it appeared. And the song lost airplay almost instantly thereafter. Still true to their craft and their fans, the band continued to push on.

Korn Live! Picture appears courtesy of Scott J. Rich

"Greatest Hits Vol.1," celebrates 10 years of great music with a couple of covers, which is uncharacteristic of Korn; or are they? When you think of the varied tastes Jonathan has in music like, "New Wave Hits Of The 80s," Hank Williams' greatest hits, Limp Bizkit's "Three Dollar Bill, Y'ALL$," Deftones' "Around The Fur" and Duran Duran's Rio," (these are the five albums he would want to have if he was stranded on a dessert Island), maybe "Word Up," or "Another Brick In The Wall," isn't so strange after all. Both, in my opinion, are incredible versions. And Korn seems to have a lot of fun with them. The rest of the album is jam packed with 17 other tracks just in case you don't feel like going through all the discs in one sit down. The bonus DVD is worth the cost of the disc alone.

Besides the fact Jonathan scored the track to, "Queen Of The Damned," and the band was animated and featured on, "South Park," as well as guest appearances on many other shows and albums, all the accolades they have collectively received and Grammys and nominations would be too long to list. In summation, I would have to reiterate that this is a band who has always taken care of their fans, has never sold out, has redefined rock as a genre, and is standing the test of time. They are heading into the studio now to bring you yet more of their honest, uninhibited music. I am anxiously awaiting their next offering.

*special thanks for the excellent press-related materials used in this article to: Kristine Ashton, The Mitch Schneider Organization, Korn, and especially their tour manager for hooking me up with the photopass to shoot all the pics included. (all photos were shot live at the Palladium in Worchester, MA 2003).

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