Korn

Name	Korn
Landscape	Yes
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Bakersfield, California, USA
Genre	Nu metal, heavy metal, alternative metal, industrial metal
Years active	1993–present
Label	Roadrunner,
Associated acts	Jonathan Davis and the SFA, Brian "Head" Welch, Fieldy's Dreams, StillWell, Fear and the Nervous System, Sexart, L.A.P.D., Creep
Url	www.korn.com
Current members	Jonathan DavisJames "Munky" Shaffer Reginald "Fieldy" ArvizuRay Luzier
Past members	Brian "Head" WelchDavid Silveria

Korn (styled as KoЯn) is an American heavy metal band formed in Bakersfield, California, in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D. They have collaborated with musicians such as Chino Moreno from Deftones, Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Tre Hardson from The Pharcyde and Nas among others.

Korn formed in 1993, the same year they released their first demo album, Neidermeyer's Mind. Their debut album, Korn was released in 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 on October 15, 1996. Follow the Leader is recognized as Korn's mainstream breakthrough, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1998, along with the following album, Issues in 1999. The band released Untouchables on June 11, 2002, and later released Take a Look in the Mirror on November 21, 2003, both peaking in the top ten of the Billboard 200. Their first compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1, peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. See You on the Other Side was released on December 6, 2005, and Korn's untitled album was released nearly two years later on July 31, 2007. , the band's ninth studio album, was released July 13, 2010 via Roadrunner Records. Korn currently has 35 singles and 19 of which have charted. The band has six video albums and 32 music videos.

To date, Korn has sold 20 million albums in the US alone, and a combined total of 41 million albums worldwide as of 2009. Ten of the band's official releases have peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200, and eight of which have peaked in the top five of the Billboard 200, as well as eight of those releases are certified Platinum by the RIAA, and one Gold certification.

History

L.A.P.D. and formation (1989–1993)

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 Shaffer reunited with the band, the band 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 their two albums,L.A.P.D. broke up and Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria, along with Brian Welch and Jonathan Davis formed a band later to be known as "Korn".

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. 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.

The album was considered by band members a complete success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 268,000 copies sold, and 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" reaching that same success months later.

"Freak on a Leash" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, and received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. 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. being certified 5x 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 Celine 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 made Korn the first rock band to ever perform at The Apollo, after Buddy Holly in the late 1950s. 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.

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. It was certified 4x Platinum, following up the success of Follow the Leader.}}

On June 10, 2002, after a year and a half of touring, 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. 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 due to unspecified legal issues. "Did My Time" gave Korn another Grammy nomination in the Best Metal Performance category. 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.

Brian Welch, in front of a crowd of 10,000, 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 (2005–2006)

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 Billboards 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 26. 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 the nu metal band Slipknot and hard rock band Stone Sour, 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 (2006–2008)

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 broadcasted 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 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, confirming David's departure. "Evolution" and "Hold On" were released as singles to promote the untitled album. They each charted on Billboards Mainstream Rock Songs chart at number four and number nine, respectively. Korn covered the song "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" in 2007, which was originally written by Paul Reubens, Catherine O'Hara, and Danny Elfman. It was released on Nightmare Revisited.

Korn III: Remember Who You Are, recent events (2008–present)

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, , 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. 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 Billboards Mainstream Rock Songs and number twenty-nine on Alternative Songs. 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 announced on November 22, 2010 that they will be co-headlining the Music as a Weapon V tour with Disturbed. The tour will also feature supporting acts Sevendust and In This Moment. Additionally, Korn has recorded three new songs for a possible future release.

Style

The band has stated that their primary influences include Sepultura, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Slayer, Pink Floyd, Primus, Tool, Ministry, Mr. Bungle, Biohazard, Metallica, 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 rap metal, thrash rap, and pimp rock. Their debut album mixed metal, rock, hip-hop, groove, and dissonance. Alongside nu metal, the band is often labeled as heavy metal, alternative metal, post grunge, and rap metal. 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.

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 in spite of 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. Korn also created a fan-basis described by both Doug Small and Eaton Entertainment as extremely loyal.

Criticism and 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 the music is "indecent, vulgar, obscene and intends to be insulting" after giving a student 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. The student who was suspended, Eric VanHoven, was interviewed by MTV, and said that he had worn the shirt for more than a year without incident. Korn filed a cease and desist order against Plewes and the school district for their comments. They also threatened with a multi-million lawsuit, but both files were dropped due to the band member's 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 pulseoftheradio 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.

|- | || "Shoots and Ladders" || Best Metal Performance || |- | || "No Place to Hide" || Best Metal Performance || |- |rowspan="2"| ||rowspan="2"| "Freak on a Leash" || Best Hard Rock Performance || |- | Best Short Form Music Video || |- | || "Here to Stay" || Best Metal Performance || |- | || "Did My Time" || Best Metal Performance || |- | || "Let the Guilt Go"

|- | 2006 || "Twisted Transistor" || Favorite Video ||

;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.

|- | 2006 || Korn || Best Alternative Act ||

;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 ten nominations.

|- |rowspan="8"| ||rowspan="8"| "Freak on a Leash" || Best Rock Video || |- | Breakthrough Video || |- | Best Direction || |- | Best Special Effects || |- | Best Art Direction || |- | Best Editing || |- | Best Cinematography || |- | Viewer's Choice || |- | || "Falling Away from Me" || Best Rock Video || |- | || "Here to Stay" || Best Rock Video ||

;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. James "Munky" Shaffer  – guitars (1993–2007)

;Former Brian "Head" Welch – guitars, backing vocals (1993–2005) David Silveria – drums, percussion (1993–2006)

;Touring Wes Geer  – guitar (2010–present) Zac Baird  – keyboard, piano, backing vocals (2006–present)

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)

(2010)

;Video albums

Who Then Now? (1997)

Deuce (2002)

Korn Live (2002)

Live on the Other Side (2006)

Chopped, Screwed, Live and Unglued (2006)

(2008)

Notes and references

Further reading

External links

Category:Korn Category:Rock music groups from California Category:American nu metal musical groups Category:American alternative metal musical groups Category:Industrial metal musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:Musical quintets