Korn

An Independent article on KORN

GENRE – METAL

www.EBTM.com

Korn are the group attributed with popularising the musical genre known as Nu Metal, however the group deny any affiliation with that category themselves. They have however inspired many Nu Metal/ alternative Metal bands to follow in their footsteps throughout the 90’s and into the millennium. The band members include Jonathan Davis on Vocals (who also plays the bagpipes), James “Munky” Shaffer on Guitar, and David Silveria on drums and Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu on Bass. The group also had another member named Brian “Head” Welch who unfortunately left the group in 2005 due to religious reasons; his role in the band was on guitar and backing vocals. Since their formation the group have had a number of top 10 hits on Billboard and have sold over 16.5 million albums in the US alone; they have also been nominated for six Grammy awards and have won twice.

When Brian Welch left in 2005 the group set out to tune up their performance thus in 2006 they started the Other Side World Tour featuring a backup-band, which became a permanent feature within their live performances. Although they had featured additional musicians in their show beforehand, none of them had become a permanent fixture within the group; the backup-band members are not actually considered to be official members of Korn. Current members for the backup-band include Shane Gibson on guitar, Joey Jordison on drums, Zac Baird on Keyboards and Kalen Chase on backing vocals, percussion and guitar; there have been several other members of the band who have all left for various different reasons.

Korn originally formed in Huntigton Beach, California in 1993; since their conception they have gone onto become one of the most successful groups within the music industry today. James Shaffer and Brian Welch came across vocal artist Jonathan Davis, who was performing with a local California band, Sexart, and asked him to join the group. James and Brian had previously been in a group together called L.A.P.D. along with David Silveria and Reginald Arvizu, they convinced Davis to join the group and together they went on to create a sound that would change the face of music forever. Their self titled debut album was released in 1994, and although largely ignored by critics and the mainstream media it became an underground hit amongst punks, skaters and anyone else who could relate to the music. It is ironic to consider that when first asked, Davis didn’t want to be a part of the group at all; he later consulted a psychic who informed him that he would be stupid not to join, after which he subsequently signed up with the band. Korn discovered that they played together quite cohesively which led to the formation of the band. Shaffer took on the alias “Munky, which came about as he was able to spread his toes to the point where they looked like monkey hands, Welch took on the name “Head” which was due to the size of his cranium and Arvizu became “Fieldy”, which had been his nickname since he was a child due to the fact that he had chubby cheeks and slightly resembled the cartoon cat Garfield.

During the 1990’s the commercial rock scene was strongly orientated towads grunge, making it difficult for Korn to get signed. After many unsuccessful attempts at a record deal they where noticed by Paul Pontius from Immortal/ Epic Records who had heard them perform in a nightclub which subsequently led to their signing with the label. After their first album was released they received no support from any TV or radio stations and had to rely solely on their live shows. After touring non stop they managed to create a following for themselves of cult proportions which helped them get onto Billboard’s Top 200, peaking at #72. Korn where gaining popularity and began performing alongside big names such as Marilyn Manson, Megadeth and Fear Factory.

On October 15th 1996 Korn released their second album entitled “Life Is Peachy”, to help promote the album they opened for Metallica which helped them sell over 100,000 copies within the first week of its release; the album reached #3 on Billboard and received a Grammy nomination for best Metal performance; in 1997 Korn formed their own record label Elementree Records. A year later in 1994 the group produced their own weekly TV series entitled “KornTV” which documented the making of their third album and also featured special guests including 311, Limp Bizkit and Ron Jeremy. On August 18th 1998 Korn released their third album entitled “Follow The Leader” which featured a number of famous artists including Tre Hardson from The Pharcyde, Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit and Ice Cube; also featured on the album was a cover of “Earache My Eye”, a track originally written by Cheech Marin for the iconic 70’s film “Up In Smoke”. The album did very well debuting at number 1 on Billboard and their track “Freak on a Leash” won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video and was also nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Rock Video, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Breakthrough Video, Best Cinematography, and a Viewer's Choice Award; it won two, Best Rock Video and Best Editing. “Follow The Leader” was the band’s most commercially successful album selling almost 10 million copies worldwide.
On November 16th 1999 the band released their fourth album “Issues” which featured cover art created by Alfredo Carlos, who won an MTV contest. It debuted at number 1 on Billboard with over half a million copies sold, outselling albums such as Dr. Dre’s long awaited 2001 album, or Chronic 2001, and Celine Dion’s Greatest Hits (no surprise there); the album eventually went 3X platinum. Earlier in the year Korn had appeared on the hit animated TV series “South Park” as part of a Halloween special.

In 2002 Korn released their fifth album, which took a year and a half to create, entitled “Untouchables”. It went to number 2 in Billboard’s Top 200 and reached platinum status, however was nowhere near as successful as previous albums. Three months before the album was released an un-mastered version was leaked onto the internet, thus the band attributed this as the reason for such disappointing sales. Two of the videos from the album where directed by the Hughes Brothers, creators of hit films such as “Menace II Society” and “From Hell”, including the video “Here to Stay”, the song of which won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. On July 22, 2003 Korn released their single “Did My Time” which featured Angelina Jolie in the video; the song was used to promote the film “Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life” and the song itself earned Korn another Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.

Their sixth album “Take a Look in the Mirror” was released in 2003 followed by their “Greatest Hits Volume 1” which was released in 2004. Brian Welch announced to the world that he had chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior and was leaving the band to dedicate his musical pursuits to his spirituality. There where speculations that this might be a practical joke or a publicity hoax however Welch did indeed leave for spiritual reasons and was actually baptized in the Jordan River. Welch announced plans to release a solo album however as of July 7th 2007 it has still not been released, however according to a recent interview is still in production.

In 2005 Korn left Sony Records and partnered with EMI, signing with Virgin Records. EMI paid Korn $25 million dollars in exchange for a share of the profits from their next two albums and 30% of the band’s revenue sources. Their next album, released under Virgin, was “See You on the Other Side” and went onto sell over 2 million copies worldwide. Their next album was a live recording for MTV’s Unplugged series in which Korn performed 14 songs, only 11 of which made it to the album, and featured guest appearances from The Cure and Amy Lee from Evanescence. On July 31st 2007 Korn released their highly anticipated Untitled Eighth Album which reached number 2 in the charts and sold over 120,000 copies in its first week. The release of this album concluded Korn’s deal with Virgin Records,

It has been over a decade since Korn first appeared on the music scene and they are still going strong, they have managed to outlive many of their predecessors including Limp Bizkit and have a huge following in many different countries all over the world. Whilst they are not as popular as they once where, they still retain a huge fan base and are still producing records. Their name has become an industry in itself with a huge variety of products ranging from T-shirts, bandanas, stickers, posters, back packs, beanie toys and lighters to skateboard decks, lanyards, jerseys, badges, wallets and jewelry. The name Korn has become a fashion statement in itself and is instantly recognizable all over the planet, the logo for the group has become a popular piece of pop culture, rave and skater culture. You will be hard pressed to go to a rave these days and not see the name Korn somewhere, just as you would be hard pressed to go to a college or university and not see someone wearing a T-shirt. When they first began they had to promote themselves and build up a cult following, which is part of the reason why they became so successful in the first place; they have come a long way since those days and are now a worldwide phenomenon.