Korn
(often stylized as KoЯn)
is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield,
California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four
members: Jonathan Davis,
James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. Korn was originally formed by
three of the members of the now-defunct band L.A.P.D., with the addition of two other
people.
The band released their first demo album, Neidermeyer's Mind,
in 1993. Their debut album, Korn was released in October 1994,
where they featured the same musicians that had performed on Neidermeyer's Mind. The band began
recording Life Is Peachy in April 1996, and
released it in October 1996. Follow
the Leader is recognized as Korn's mainstream breakthrough,
peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 in August 1998, along with the
following album, Issues,
in November 1999. The band released Untouchables
in June 2002, and later released Take a
Look in the Mirror in November 2003. Their first compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1, was released in October 2004,
concluding Korn's contract with Epic and Immortal Records. They eventually signed
to Virgin Records, releasing See You on the Other Side in December 2005, and an untitled album
in July 2007. Korn's latest albums, Korn
III: Remember Who You Are and The Path of
Totality, were released via Roadrunner Records
in July 2010 and December 2011, respectively.
Korn has sold 19 million albums
in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan,
and 35 million worldwide. Eleven of the band's official releases have peaked in
the top ten of the Billboard
200, eight of which have peaked in the top five. Eight official releases are
certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, and one is certified Gold. Korn have released six video
albums and 39 music videos. They currently have 41 singles, 28 of which have charted. Korn
have earned two Grammy Awards
out of seven nominations, for "Freak on a Leash" and "Here
to Stay".
History
L.A.P.D. and formation (1989–93)
Before Korn was formed, three of
the original members of the band were associated with the heavy metal band L.A.P.D.: James Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, and David Silveria. Originally consisting of
Richard Morrill, James Shaffer, and Reginald Arvizu, David Silveria joined when
he was 15. When the band moved from Bakersfield,
California to Los Angeles,
California, Silveria dropped out of high
school and Shaffer stayed in Bakersfield. When Shaffer reunited with the band,
they found a manager and released an EP entitled Love and Peace Dude in 1989 through Triple X Records. L.A.P.D. released their
first full-length studio album
on May 3, 1991 which consisted of eleven tracks. The album was entitled Who's Laughing Now.
After releasing two albums, L.A.P.D. broke up. Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria
enlisted Brian Welch and Jonathan Davis to form the band that went
on to become "Korn."
The band name is derived from a
fan suggestion, "Corn", which the group initially rejected, but later
settled on for a lack of better ideas. Later, Shaffer had the idea to spell the
name with both a "K" instead of a "C", and a backwards
"R", so the band's name would appear as "KoЯn".
The logo was designed by lead vocalist Jonathan Davis. Silveria explained,
"the music makes the name, because Korn's a dumb name. But once we get established,
it makes the name cool.
Korn rented a studio from Jeff
Creath, called "Underground Chicken Sound," in Huntington
Beach, California. While they were recording at Underground Chicken
Sound, a crowd had been loitering
outside the studio. The band began playing a prelude to a later song, "Clown", resulting in a larger crowd
gathering. Arvizu said the crowd gathered because it sounded so
"different." Korn started performing at gigs in the summer of 1993,
with members saying that touring was a "pain-in-the-ass." While in
Huntington Beach, the band was spotted by Epic/Immortal Records A&R
employee Paul Pontius. Pontius would describe Korn's sound as "the new
genre of rock." In 1993, Korn released their first demo album, Neidermeyer's Mind.
Their album had very limited printing, and was never well received by critics
or the public It was released to record companies and to people who filled
out a flyer given out at gigs they played for free with Biohazard
and House of Pain. With this demo, Korn
pioneered the nu metal sound.
Debut album (1994–95)
By May 1994, Korn began
recording their debut album
with Ross Robinson. On October 11, 1994, Korn
released a self–titled album through Immortal/Epic, which eventually peaked at number 72
on the Billboard 200 in
1995, as well as peaking at number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The album
received positive reviews by critics, and it is said to have established the new wave of metal. As well as sparking the
nu metal genre, the album also started record producer Ross Robinson's music
career. It also influenced other bands, like Slipknot, Coal Chamber, and Limp Bizkit.
After Korn finished recording
the album, they began touring with House of Pain and Biohazard.
Their record company gave them enough money for their own tour bus. Korn's
first gig was in Atlanta, Georgia.
About half way through the tour, the tour bus that their record company gave
them stopped working, and Korn had to find a new one. Their first tour was not
very successful in promoting the album. Korn started the Sick of It All Tour in January 1995. Aside
from touring, Korn released four singles. "Blind"
was released on August 1, 1994, and "Shoots
and Ladders" was released on October 31, 1995. The latter
received a Grammy
nomination in 1997 for Best Metal Performance. "Need To" was also released in 1995,
on April 8. The fourth and final single, "Clown", was released on
February 2, 1996. "Blind" was the only single to chart, peaking at
number fifteen on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30.
Life
Is Peachy (1996–97)
After the success of their
debut, Korn decided to enter the studio again for a second album. By then, the
band had created a large fan base,
and the expectations for their follow-up album were high. They went back into
the studio in early April 1996 at Indigo Ranch Studios, Malibu, California.
The album was released October
15, 1996, and despite minimal radio airplay and television attention, Life Is Peachy debuted at number
three on the Billboard 200, and
peaked at number one on the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand sales chart. The
album sold 106,000 copies in its first week. Jon Pareles from The New York Times
said that the band was "Mad at everybody, including themselves." The
album was certified 2× Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Australia and
Gold in Canada.
The first single, "No Place to Hide",
spawned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. "A.D.I.D.A.S." was the second single
and only music video from the album, which also did well, and earned the band
the most airplay until their next album's singles. The third single, "Good God",
was released on July 14, 1997. The band gained more popularity after co-headlining
the Lollapalooza music festival in 1997 with Tool. However, Korn was forced to stop
touring after Shaffer was diagnosed with viral meningitis.
A promotional disc was released in 1997 to promote both the band and the Life Is Peachy Tour featuring Incubus and The Urge, and included three live tracks.
Follow
the Leader, mainstream success (1998–99)
Prior to the release of the
band's third album, Korn produced a weekly online TV show, KornTV, which
documented the making of the record and featured special guests such as porn star
Ron Jeremy, Limp Bizkit, and 311. The project also gave fans the chance
to call in and ask the band questions, an approach that represented one of the
first times a band utilized the Internet in such a way. Korn released their
third album, Follow
the Leader, on August 18, 1998, which featured a number of
guest vocalists such as Ice Cube,
Tre Hardson from the Pharcyde, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and actor Cheech Marin on the hidden track "Earache My Eye" (written by Marin
himself).
Korn launched a political
campaign-style tour to promote the release of Follow the Leader. The tour took the group, on a chartered jet,
all over North America to help promote Follow
the Leader. They talked to fans and answered questions during special
"fan conferences", which were organized at every stop along the tour
route, and signed autographs. Jim Rose hosted the entire "Kampaign"
tour.
The album was considered by band
members a complete success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 268,000 copies
sold, and, among other singles, spawning two of their biggest singles: "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash". They both exposed
Korn to a wider, mainstream audience, with the music videos being mainstays on
MTV's Total Request Live.
"Got the Life" was the show's very first "retired" video,
with "Freak on a Leash" also reaching retirement several months
later.
"Freak on a Leash" won
a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, and received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.[58] The video also earned nine MTV Video Music
Awards nominations for Video of the Year, Best Rock Video, Breakthrough
Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best
Cinematography, Best Editing, and Viewer's Choice. It eventually won two
awards, one being for Best Rock Video and the other for Best Editing.
"Freak on a Leash" remains one of Korn's biggest singles on Billboard, having reached number six
on Alternative Songs
and number ten on Mainstream
Rock Songs Follow the
Leader is considered by members of Korn to be the band's most
commercially–successful album, being certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA, and having sold almost ten million copies worldwide.
Issues (1999–2001)
The band's fourth album, Issues,
produced by Brendan
O'Brien, was released on November 16, 1999, featuring cover art
designed by Alfredo Carlos, who won a contest held for the fans by MTV. Issues was released during a week of
many highly-anticipated records. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with more than 573,000
copies sold,keeping Dr. Dre's
album 2001
and Céline Dion's greatest
hits album from hitting number one.
To celebrate the album's
release, the band performed the record in its entirety in front of a live
audience at New York's historic Apollo Theater and broadcast the concert
simultaneously across many radio stations. This performance marked the first
performance by a rock band since Buddy Holly in the late 1950s. This
special event featured the New
York Police Department marching drum
and bagpipe band conducted by Richard Gibbs as well as a group of
back-up singers to enhance the more melodic choruses Davis used on the album. A
snippet of "Falling Away from
Me" was featured on RealVideo with a brief interpretive dance
by bassist Reginald Arvizu,
and also featured on their official website as an MP3 file, although its release was against the advice of its
attorneys and corporate establishment. The album was also promoted by the
band's highly successful Sick and Twisted
Tour.
Earlier that year, Korn had
appeared on an episode of South Park,
titled "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery", in which the first
single from Issues,
"Falling Away from Me", was premiered. Korn released two more singles
from Issues, "Make Me Bad" and "Somebody Someone", both of which
fared well on Billboard. Music
videos were filmed for all three singles, with long time friend Fred Durst
directing "Falling Away from Me", and Martin Weisz directing a
concept video for "Make Me Bad", as well as a performance video for
"Somebody Someone", which featured the use of CGI
effects. Every video was a staple on Total
Request Live, two of which made it to retirement. Issues is considered by some critics
to be less hip hop-influenced and closer to alternative metal than nu metal. It
was certified three-times Platinum, following up the success of Follow the Leader.
Untouchables (2002–03)
On June 10, 2002, Korn
re-emerged into the media with their fifth album, Untouchables.
It debuted at number two on the Billboard
200 with 434,000 in sales. The band has blamed Internet piracy for the drop in sales, as an unmastered
version of the album had leaked three months prior to its official release
date. On April 2, 2002, the Shock Jocks,
an American radio program,
began airing songs from Untouchables.
After playing a few songs, the broadcasters retrieved a cease-and-desist letter
from Sony
Music Entertainment. One broadcaster said "The reason for the
premature premiere was to infuriate a rival New York station, which disallows
their in-studio guests to appear on 'The Opie and Anthony Show.'"[ The release of this album was preceded by a show at
the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, a day prior to the album's release,
broadcast digitally throughout movie theatres in the United States.
The album contained experiments
and styles never previously attempted by Korn. Allmusic related: "The band is far more experimental this
time out, delivering Helmet-like
ringing guitars that melt and morph into each other, a mix of Metallica-esque blastbeats and tight funk
drumming from the constantly improving David Silveria, and memorable riffs that
take the shape of dark sound structures and offer more than just a collection
of chords." The first two videos from Untouchables, "Here to Stay" and "Thoughtless", were directed by the Hughes Brothers. "Here to Stay"
earned Korn a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.[ "Here to Stay" peaked at number four
on both the Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Songs charts.
Take
a Look in the Mirror, Greatest
Hits Vol. 1, Head's departure (2003–05)
Due to the album leaking onto
the Internet, Take a
Look in the Mirror was released on a Friday, November 21,
2003; four days earlier than its original release date. The album therefore
received a weekend's worth of sales, along with a shortage in shipments, both
of which resulted in a poor showing on the Billboard 200. During its first full week, Take a Look in the Mirror soared ten
places from number 19 to number nine, bringing the album's total sales to
179,000. It is the first album where Korn produced the album themselves. The
band explained that they want fans to hear the music as it should be. The album
presented different styles and themes compared to previous albums. Lead
vocalist Jonathan Davis related: "The whole album is about love, hate and
my hate of people and just losing my mind. The previous albums I did, I think
the last three, I was coming from a place of hurt. And I just finally got to
the point where I'm done hurting and I'm just pissed off about it now. It's
turned back to just sheer hate and anger. And it definitely comes across on the
album." MTV said that Davis convinced his fans
that they "will be shocked, particularly with the album's second track,
'Break Some Off,' which he called 'brutal' Korn released the single "Did My Time" on July 22, 2003, which
was used to promote the film but did not appear on the soundtrack to Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life due to
unspecified legal issues. "Did My Time" gave Korn another Grammy
nomination in the Best Metal Performance category.
Korn released their greatest
hits album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1, on October 5, 2004. The album
debuted at number four on Billboard,
selling more than 129,000 copies. This album assembles choice tracks from six
Korn studio albums between 1994 and 2003. The first single was a cover of the
song "Word Up!",
which was originally composed by the group Cameo. Special editions of the album
included a DVD titled Korn: Live at CBGB featuring seven select songs from their November
24, 2003 show at CBGB. Korn participated in the Projekt Revolution
tour with Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg, The Used, and Less Than Jake prior to the release of Greatest Hits Vol. 1.
In early 2005, Brian Welch
announced that he would be quitting the band. In front of a crowd of 10,000, in
three services at Valley Bible Fellowship in Bakersfield, California, said “I
was addicted to methamphetamines and tried everything ... rehab, stuff on the
Internet, but nothing helped me kick it. I was trying on my own to quit and
couldn’t do it. I wanted to die. No one knew what I was going through. I could
not quit. Church was my last shot. I would sit in church high [on drugs]. I
would wonder why people would go up to the front after the service. But one day
it was for me. I said [to God], ‘Show me how to quit.Since, Welch has released
two autobiographies, and released one solo
album.
See
You on the Other Side (2005–06)
Upon completing their record
deal with Sony, Korn partnered with EMI and signed to Virgin Records. As part of this innovative
arrangement, Virgin paid Korn $25 million upfront in exchange for a share in
the profits of their next two studio albums, including tours and merchandising.
Virgin also received a 30 percent stake in the band's licensing, ticket sales
and other revenue sources.
The band's first album for
Virgin, See You on the Other Side, was released on December 6,
2005, and debuted at number three on the Billboard
200, scanning close to 221,000 copies. The album managed to stay in the top
half of the Billboard 200 for
thirty-four consecutive weeks. The first single from the album, "Twisted Transistor",
was accompanied by a music video directed by Dave Meyers in which hip hop
artists Xzibit, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, and David Banner portray Korn. The single
itself peaked at number three on Billboard's
Mainstream Rock Songs, Korn's highest entry thus far, and number nine on
Alternative Songs. The second single, "Coming Undone", had its
performance-based video directed by Little X, who previously helmed hip hop
and R&B
videos. See You on the Other Side
was certified Platinum, and by mid-2007 had sold over 1.2 million copies
worldwide.
Korn held a press conference at
the Hollywood
Forever Cemetery on January 13, 2006, announcing the See You on the Other Side Tour. 10 Years and Mudvayne were selected to open all dates
of the trek, which kicked off in their hometown of Bakersfield, on what Mayor
Harvey Hall officially declared as "Korn Day", February 24. The
resurrection of their Family Values Tour was announced on April 18, 2006, which
featured co-headliners Deftones,
Stone Sour, Flyleaf, and the Japanese metal group, Dir En Grey on the main stage. Korn and Evanescence co-headlined the 2007 edition,
with Atreyu,
2006 alumni Flyleaf, Hellyeah,
and Trivium
rounding out the main stage.
While promoting See You on the Other Side in Europe,
Jonathan Davis was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a blood platelet disorder
that hospitalized him for the weekend and prevented him from performing at the
renowned Download Festival.
Despite the illness, the band still performed, with guest singers including Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour fame, Skindred's Benji Webbe and Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows. This led to Korn canceling the
rest of their European bill for 2006, including the Hellfest
Summer Open Air. It was originally unknown to the public what his
ailment was, but the singer revealed in a letter to fans that he was
"dangerously low on blood platelets and at a high risk of death from a
hemorrhage if the problem was not treated".
Untitled album, MTV Unplugged, David Silveria's
departure (2006–08)
Korn at Rock
am Ring 2007.
In early December 2006 it was
announced that founding drummer David Silveria would be taking an
indefinite “temporary hiatus” from the band. Korn then performed at the MTV
studios in Times Square
on December 9, 2006, for the MTV Unplugged series, which was broadcast
on February 23, 2007, through MTV.com and on March 2, 2007, across North
American, South American, European and Asian MTV stations. Korn played a
14-song acoustic
set complete with guest appearances by The Cure and Amy Lee of Evanescence. The performance was
eventually cut down to 11 songs for the album, two of which did not air on MTV.
Sales of nearly 51,000 brought MTV Unplugged:
Korn to number nine in its first week out.
Korn's untitled album
was released on July 31, 2007, debuting at number two on Billboard with 123,000 copies sold in
its first week. It concluded Korn's deal with Virgin Records, and features
touring keyboardist Zac Baird,
giving the tracks a deeper, atmospheric sound. Drumming duties were left up to Terry Bozzio, and Bad Religion's Brooks Wackerman, as David Silveria went
on a hiatus. Joey Jordison
from Slipknot
played drums during Korn's live shows until the permanent addition of Ray Luzier (Army of Anyone, David Lee Roth). This confirmed David's
departure.[126][127][128] "Evolution"
and "Hold On"
were released as singles to promote the untitled album. They each charted on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs
chart at number four and number nine, respectively. A third single,
"Kiss", had a limited release in April 2008. Korn covered the song
"Kidnap the Sandy Claws" in 2008, which was originally performed by Paul Reubens, Catherine O'Hara, and Danny Elfman. It was
released on Nightmare
Revisited.
Korn
III: Remember Who You Are (2008–2010)
Korn performing live at Metaltown Festival in June 2011
Ubisoft reported in October 2008 that Korn
had "written and recorded an original song inspired by Ubisoft's Haze
video game, simply entitled "Haze", which was released on April
22, 2008. Korn also released a live DVD, Live at Montreux
2004, one of their performances with former guitarist Brian
Welch on May 12, 2008. Additionally, a second greatest hits compilation titled Playlist: The Very Best of Korn was
released on April 29, 2008. Korn announced in February 2009 that they were
playing at the Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin, as well as the third
annual Rock on the Range
in Columbus, Ohio. The band was also
confirmed for the Download Festival
taking place in the UK, sub-headlining to Faith No More, as well as the simultaneous
German festivals Rock
am Ring and Rock im Park.
In a YouTube video, bassist Fieldy affirmed
that the "Chi Song" project he was putting together (released as
"A Song for Chi")
which was released recently to raise money for Deftones bassist Chi Cheng
who was in a car crash in late 2008, which resulted in him falling into a coma.
Fieldy revealed that Slipknot
guitarist Jim Root, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, drummer Dave McClain
of Machine Head
and former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, would be some of the
many musicians playing on the song.
Along with the announcement of
the Ballroom Blitz
Tour on March 15, 2010, the title for the new album was revealed as Korn
III: Remember Who You Are. Later that month, Munky announced
that Korn has officially signed to Roadrunner Records.
Jonathan Davis related: "We're going to go to Roadrunner. [It is] real
exciting for us, too, because they're one of the last record companies to let
you do what you want to do and, um, all the great bands around are on that
label and everything seems to just work out right and it seems like a good home
for us right now." Korn announced the track listing on April 24, 2010, and
May 5, 2010, Roadrunner Records released a promotional single titled "Oildale
(Leave Me Alone)", for streaming. The single was simultaneously
released for radio airplay, peaking at number ten on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs and number twenty-nine on
Alternative Songs. Korn released the music video for "Oildale (Leave Me
Alone)" on May 31, 2010, and on July 1, 2010, Korn played "Oildale
(Leave Me Alone)" and premiered a follow-up single, "Let the Guilt Go," on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.The
band released Korn III: Remember Who
You Are in the US on July 13, 2010. It debuted at its peak of number two
on the Billboard 200 with
63,000 purchases reported. Korn performed "Let the Guilt Go" on the late-night
television talk show Lopez Tonight on August 24, 2010.
The song's music video premiered on September 2, 2010. Korn will be
co-headlining the Music as a Weapon
V tour with Disturbed
during winter 2011. The tour will also feature supporting acts Sevendust and In This Moment. "Pop a Pill" was
scheduled to be the third single from Korn
III: Remember Who You Are, but plans were scrapped by record label
Roadrunner Records due to unsatisfactory results with previous singles.
The
Path of Totality (2011–present)
According to guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer, Korn has
begun writing new material for their next album. He explains, "We have
probably three songs we wrote a couple, two, three months ago. We went into the
studio, we wrote some songs, Jon demoed the songs on his computer, and then we
took them into the studio and played them live and tweaked them a little bit.
Then we put those down and recorded them. They're cool. They kind of remind me
a little bit of the Soundgarden
style, that sort of Seattle sound… just one of them. The other songs are sort
of different, a little more in the experimental stage right now. I don't want
to give too much away. We're definitely moving forward, we'll probably start
recording in April to try and finetune this sound we're developing." It
was stated by Jonathan Davis in an interview with ARTISTdirect that one track recorded for
the album features acoustic guitar, tentatively titled "Lullaby for a
Sadist".
Jonathan Davis released a 14-second
sample on SoundCloud in late March, of a new song
entitled "Get Up!",
featuring dubstep/electro house artist Skrillex. "Get Up!" appears on The Path of
Totality. The album, which was released on December 2, 2011,
features contributions from Skrillex, 12th Planet,
Excision,
Datsik,
Downlink, Kill the Noise, Noisia, and Feed Me. Korn premiered the full version
of "Get Up!" on April 14 via Spin. Additionally, Roadrunner
Records' official website allowed fans to download the track for free on April
18. The track was also premiered on several radio stations throughout the
United States, most notably Sirius Octane, and has received generally
positive reviews amongst critics and fans alike. "Get Up!" was made
available for download on iTunes,
Amazon MP3, and other digital music
outlets in the United States and Canada, on May 10, 2011. It was released in
the UK five days later. The promotional single received enough airplay to peak
at number ten on Billboard's
Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and number twenty-six on Alternative Songs.
150,000 digital copies of "Get Up!" have been purchased in the United
States according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Narcissistic
Cannibal" was released as the second single in October.
Korn made their first Pointfest appearance on May 15, 2011, at
the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and their second Rock on the Range appearance on May 21,
2011, at Crew Stadium
in Columbus, Ohio. Korn performed at the Nova Rock Festival
2011 in Austria on June 12, 2011, alongside Volbeat, Cavalera
Conspiracy and other bands. They performed overseas at the Download Festival with Linkin Park and System of a Down, and during Japan's Summer Sonic
Festival on August 13 with Avril Lavigne, The Mars Volta, Ne-Yo, and the Strokes.
It was announced on June 8, 2011 that Korn will be composing the theme song for
Silent Hill:
Downpour. The Path
of Totality was made available for pre-order on Amazon.com and iTunes on October 21, 2011. On June 9,
2011, Korn won the "Kerrang! Hall of Fame" award at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards.
The band also promoted The Path of Totality during a
headlining tour of the same name. Korn split their show into three
sections. They kicked off by playing "rare" songs from the first two
albums, including the b-side "Proud." They followed with a different
stage set up, playing several of their new songs. The band ended by playing
some of their greatest hits. Other appearances came from Datsik,
Downlink, and Dope D.O.D.
On April 11, 2012, The Path of Totality won "Album
of the Year" at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards. This was Korn's
first ever win at the Golden Gods Awards. This ceremony celebrates the best in
Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music.
On the 5th of May 2012, former
guitarist Brian
"Head" Welch joined the band onstage for the first time in
7 years at the Carolina Rebellion festival, with the news broken by Amy Lee of Evanescence via a tweet and photo during
the performance.
Style and influences
The band has stated that their
primary influences include Metallica,
Led Zeppelin, Sepultura, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Helmet,
Rage
Against the Machine, Slayer, Pink Floyd, Primus, Tool, Ministry, Mr. Bungle, Biohazard,
Nine Inch Nails, Pantera, Beastie Boys, Black Sabbath, and Jane's Addiction. Much of their work has
been inspired by hip hop music,
as suggested in the cover song
"Wicked",
and "All in
the Family".
They are the first band to be
labeled as nu metal, starting the New
Wave of American Heavy Metal. Alongside this genre, the band has
also been labeled as heavy metal, alternative metal, post grunge, rap metal, thrash rap, pimp rock. Their debut album
mixed metal, rock, hip-hop, groove, and dissonance.
Their lyrics focus on pain and personal alienation rather than traditional
heavy metal themes. In Nu-metal: The
Next Generation of Rock & Punk, Korn was marked as the third biggest
nu metal band in the world.
Due to controversies and
arguments over the band being heavy metal or not than just with nu metal being
heavy metal or not, lead singer Jonathan Davis commented, "I remember when
were coming out we were fighting being called a metal band because we weren't a
metal band, we were something that wasn't classifiable," Davis says.
"Then they came up with 'nu-metal' but that's still cheesy. It's
frustrating."
The band's debut album warranted
a Parental Advisory
label solely because of the album's lyrics. Many of Korn's first works are
based on early experiences. The song "Daddy"
was described by lead singer Jonathan Davis "When I was a kid, I
was being abused by somebody else and I went to my parents and told them about
it, and they thought I was lying and joking around. They never did shit about
it. They didn't believe it was happening to their son.... I don't really like
to talk about that song. This is as much as I've ever talked about it...”Kill
You" was written about Davis's experiences as a child with his step
mother. Follow the Leader
marked the first album where the majority of the lyrics did not have origins
relating to early occurrences, with songs like "Justin" and
"Pretty" written about incidents occurring during adulthood.
Many of Korn's songs do not
include a guitar solo. Bassist Reginald Arvizu plays his
instrument using both the techniques of fingerstyle
and slapping. Jonathan Davis was said by Doug
Small to be "the eye of the storm around which the music of Korn
rages." Small described the band as "a basket-case full of
contradictions." Although the band virtually had no support by television or by radio broadcasting
in its first four years, Korn would go on to influence Pleymo,[180] Adema, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Evanescence, Cold, Staind, Seether, One Minute Silence,
Kittie, Endo, Taproot, Disturbed,
Crazy Town, Otep, Hoobastank,
Suicide Silence, Emmure, Impending Doom, Five Pointe O, Lacuna Coil, Chris Volz, Videodrone, Theory of a
Deadman, Thousand Foot
Krutch, Avenged Sevenfold,
Breaking Benjamin,
Bleed the Sky,
Papa Roach, Godsmack, Shinedown, Coal Chamber, Three Days Grace, Flymore, Bring Me the
Horizon, Trapt, and other bands. Korn also created
a fan-base described by both Doug Small and Eaton Entertainment as extremely loyal.
Controversy
Vulgarity in lyrics
Prior to the release of 1998's Follow
the Leader, Gretchen Plewes, a Zeeland high school assistant principal,
said in an interview for a Michigan
newspaper that Korn's music is "indecent, vulgar, obscene and intends to
be insulting" after giving a student, Eric VanHoven, a one-day suspension
for wearing a shirt with the Korn logo on it. WKLQ was filmed giving away hundreds of
free Korn T-shirts, which were donated by the band, outside the school. Ottawa
County policemen helped hand out shirts as well. Korn filed a cease and desist order against Plewes and
the school district for their comments. They also threatened with a
multi-million dollar lawsuit, but both files were dropped due to the band
members' personal lives.
Former band members
In September 2009, Korn
guitarist Munky, in an interview with Altitude TV, alleged that the band had
denied a request by Welch to rejoin the group. Welch denied the claims via his Myspace, stating that Korn had been asking
him to rejoin but he had turned down the offers after Jonathan Davis and Munky
had refused to meet him when Welch visited Fieldy socially. He also claimed
that for four years he had not been paid royalties due to him. Weeks
later, in reference to Korn's early albums, Davis stated in an interview with The Pulse of Radio that Welch had not
contributed to writing material because of his drug usage.
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Korn has received two awards from seven nominations.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
Nominated
|
|||
Best Metal
Performance
|
Nominated
|
||
Nominated
|
|||
Won
|
|||
Best Metal
Performance
|
Won
|
||
Best Metal
Performance
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Metal
Performance
|
Nominated
|
||
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music
Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year. Korn has
received two awards from eleven nominations.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
"Freak on a
Leash"
|
Best Rock Video
|
Won
|
|
Breakthrough
Video
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Direction
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Special
Effects
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Art
Direction
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Editing
|
Won
|
||
Best
Cinematography
|
Nominated
|
||
Viewer's Choice
|
Nominated
|
||
Video of the
Year
|
Nominated
|
||
Best Rock Video
|
Nominated
|
||
"Here to
Stay"
|
Best Rock Video
|
Nominated
|
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music
Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1994 by MTV Europe. Korn has received one
nomination.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
2006
|
Korn
|
Best Alternative
Act
|
Nominated
|
MTV Asia Awards
The MTV Asia Awards is an annual Asian awards
ceremony established in 2002 by the MTV television
network. Korn has received one award.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
2006
|
Favorite Video
|
Won
|
Revolver Golden Gods Awards
The Revolver Golden Gods Awards
is an annual awards ceremony established in 2009 by Revolver Magazine. This ceremony
celebrates the best in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music. Korn has received one
award from five nominations.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
2010
|
Best Vocalist
|
Nominated
|
|
2012
|
Jonathan Davis
|
Best Vocalist
|
Nominated
|
Riff Lord
|
Nominated
|
||
Paul Gray Best Bassist
|
Nominated
|
||
Album of the
Year
|
Won
|
Kerrang! Awards
The Kerrang! Awards is an annual awards
ceremony established in 1993 by Kerrang! Magazine. This ceremony
celebrates the best in hard rock and heavy metal music. Korn has received two
awards from three nominations.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
1997
|
Best Album
|
Won
|
|
2002
|
"Here to
Stay"
|
Nominated
|
|
Korn
|
Hall of Fame
|
Won
|
MuchMusic Video Awards
The MuchMusic Video
Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music
video channel MuchMusic. Korn has received one award
from two nominations.
Year
|
Nominated work
|
Award
|
Result
|
1999
|
"Freak on a
Leash"
|
Best
International Video
|
Nominated
|
2002
|
"Here to
Stay"
|
Best
International Video (Group)
|
Won
|
Band members
Main article: List
of Korn band members
Current
|
Former
Touring
|
Discography
For a more comprehensive list,
see Korn discography.
Studio albums
- Korn (1994)
- Life Is Peachy (1996)
- Follow the Leader (1998)
- Issues (1999)
- Untouchables (2002)
- Take a Look in the Mirror (2003)
- See You on the Other Side (2005)
- Untitled album (2007)
- Korn III: Remember Who You Are (2010)
- The Path of Totality (2011)
Official website www.korn.com
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