BiographyKorn's cathartic alternative metal sound positioned
the group among the most popular and provocative to emerge during the post-grunge era.
Korn began its existence as the Bakersfield, CA-based metal band LAPD, which included guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and
Brian "Head" Welch, bassist Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu, and drummer David Silveria. After issuing an LP, the members of
LAPD in 1993 crossed paths with Jonathan Davis, a mortuary science student moonlighting as the lead vocalist for the local
group Sexart; they soon asked Davis to join the band, and upon his arrival, the quintet rechristened itself Korn. After
signing to Epic's Immortal imprint, they issued their debut album in late 1994; thanks to a relentless tour schedule that
included stints opening for Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Marilyn Manson, and 311, the record slowly but steadily rose the
charts, eventually going gold.
Its 1996 follow-up, Life Is Peachy, was a more immediate smash, reaching the number three
spot on the pop album charts. The following summer, they headlined Lollapalooza, but were forced to drop off the tour
when Shaffer was diagnosed with viral meningitis. While recording their best-selling 1998 LP Follow the Leader, Korn made
national headlines when a student in Zeeland, MI, was suspended for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the group's logo;
the school's principal later declared their music "indecent, vulgar and obscene," prompting the band to issue a
cease-and-desist order. Their annual Family Values tour also started in 1998, featuring a lineup that consisted of Korn
collaborators such as Limp Bizkit and Ice Cube and likeminded artists such as Rammstein. The tour was an enormous success,
so much so that it continued on with Korn overseeing the lineup for years after. Issues followed in 1999, and in typical
Korn fashion they debuted their new single in an episode of South Park. The band toured behind the album into the next
year, but their efforts were cut short by an injury that took out drummer David Silveria. They hired former Faith No More
drummer Mike Bordin to help them finish the remaining shows, and took a short rest before joining a summer tour with
Metallica, Kid Rock, Powerman 5000, and System of a Down. Silveria also returned amid rumors of leaving the band for a
fashion career, but these were merely stemming from some modeling work he had done before his injury. A short headlining
tour followed before the band stepped off the road for a much-deserved rest. Fieldy released a gangsta rap album and
Davis scored the film Queen of the Damned in the meantime, but the band resurfaced as a unit toward the end of 2001 and
entered the studio for their next album. A few shows with Static-X helped iron the wrinkles out of the new material, and
by the next summer they had Untouchables ready for release. Korn did a run of Ozzfest dates in support, and the album was
another smash hit. The self-produced Take a Look in the Mirror arrived in 2003. Billed by the band as a reconsideration of
their sound, the album was accompanied by a tour of smaller venues called "Back to Basics." More touring followed, with
dates in Japan and Asia; 2004 also included Korn's first greatest-hits collection. Welch left the band in 2005, evidently
due to his newfound Christian faith. But Korn continued, playing shows that summer as a quartet and signing an expansive
recording and development deal with Virgin. See You on the Other Side was released the following December. It featured a
batch of songs co-written with hitmaking production team the Matrix.
The Best Korn Video
Korn - Coming Undone
