Starting sometime in the early 90s (no specific date given), the band was originally made up of members of LAPD (short for Love and Peace, Dude), bassist Fieldy (b. Reginald Arvizu, 1969), and guitarists Munky (b. James Shaffer, 1970), with guitarist Head (b. Brian Welch, 1970-also providing backing vocals), who hung out with them, joining the fold. After recruiting drummer David Silveria (b. 1972), all they needed was a vocalist to finalise what they were after, since LAPD vocalist Richard Morales walked out on them, and the name was changed to Creep. Their luck was in when in 1993 Fieldy and Head were in a local bar and a band going by the name of SexArt were playing. They had their vocalist-Jonathan Davis (b. 1971-also providing bagpipes-seriously).
The sound they created was completely different to the rock scene at the time, dominated by Metallica, as well as the glut of second rate grunge rolling into town on the tails of Nirvana and Pearl Jam at dime-a-dozen rate. They incorporated rap, hip-hop, and even jazz, into their sound, led by Fieldy's bass, as showcase by their demo, Niedermeyer's Mind, featuring 4 tracks: Blind, Predictable, Dady and Alive.
Their self-titled debut was released in 1994 (although taking a year for the British release), and promptly ripped open the whole scene. Rather than more self pittying dirges a la the umpteen grunge acts, their sound was dark, yet also made people leap into the pit with reckless abandon, led on by their calling card, Blind. The opening roar of 'Are you ready?' was never more profound, as they promptly tore up gig venues and dancefloors worldwide, and still has the same effect now.
Other hooks included the surprise inclusion of bagpipes on the track Shoots & Ladders, the anthem for everyone that was ever bullied at school (Clown), Need To (a reworking of Alive-all of the demo was included), as well as the horrific insight into child abuse, Daddy, a song that Davis still won't perform or talk about to this day.
In 1996 came their follow-up, Life is Peachy, which was not anywhere near the standards set by the original. A few tracks stood out, and the track A.D.I.D.A.S. brought them firmly to the attentions of MTV (although Blind also received heavy rotation), but it suffered since it was recorded in about 5 minutes. They also revelled in a slightly lighter side for a few tracks, including a cover of War's Lowrider (with Head on vocals, Jon on bagpipes), and the notorious K@#*!, originally set up as a prank for radio stations that kept cutting the lyrics.
At this time, the nu-metal movement started up, with everyone wanting to be the next Korn, or at least their record labels wanted them to. This led to bands such as Coal Chamber jumping onto the bandwagon with all they could muster, while others looked to take their own slant on the sound, such as Snot and Limp Bizkit, whilst Deftones, who admittedly had started the movement before Korn, also got caught up in the storm. It also led to producer of both albums, Ross Robinson, becoming hot property, enlisted by th influential Sepultura for their Roots opus, among other jobs.
However, for the band that started it all, doubts were raised, especially concerning the fans. A series of disappointing live shows also raised doubts further.
For their follow-up, they had to pull off something big to get back into the limelight and reclaim their throne from the revolt. In 1998, they did just that, with Follow the Leader, with more of a hip-hop balance than previous efforts, with the subject matter switching to coping with the status they had achieved, all the fame and fortune, what went with it, and life in general. Several guest spots were also handed out. Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst on All In The Family, Ice Cube on Children of the Korn, Tre Hardson of Pharside for Cameltosis, and even Cheech Marin for their hidden cover of Cheech and Chong's Earache My Eye, as well as artwork by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. This said, they still knew how to get the adrenaline flowing with tracks such as It's On! and Dead Bodies Everywhere, as well as keep on speaking terms with darkness, for tracks such as My Gift to You-bagpipes once more playing their part.
This put Korn back on top, further helped by their Family Values tour (alongside Incubus, Limp Bizkit, Orgy, Ice Cube and Rammstein), and their video for Freak on a Leash getting the heaviest rotation yet, also winning MTV Awards and even Grammies, and they set up the Elementree label, home of Rammstein, Orgy and Videodrone (the latter 2 both feature Jon providing guest vocals on their albums), on top of all that.
But now along came the '$ell out' jibes. Since they were headlining their own touring festival, appearing on MTV and so forth, also getting a slot on Woodstock '99, they were in it for money only, and were getting soft.
But only a few short months after their Woodstock set, they had a new album out that no-one expected to see so quickly, Issues. This time they had returned to the dark side, also experimenting with drum loops to further their sound, and with Jon's voice bing used for more than just whining or roaring. Tracks such as Beg For Me, Trash and Falling Away From Me (which they also aired on their gust spot on South Park) all showing this side to the band that everyone thought had mellowed. The bagpipes were used fleetingly on opening snippet Dead, for those wondering.
Whatever they do next (well, after touring over here for the first time in 3 years) will surely be met with anticipation, rather than apathy. After an appearance by Davis on the Snot tribute album, Stait Up, he began work on the soundtrack to Queen of the Damned, although ended up not being able to perform vocals due to some odd contractual obligation. At the same time, Fieldy worked on his Fieldy's Dreams project. 2002 saw the release of Fieldy's Dreams, the debut rap album of, obviously, Fieldy, to universal castigation. However, this memory was soon wiped away with Here To Stay, and the Hughes Brothers (of Menace II Society fame) directed promo clip, and the ensuing World Tour in the late summer. Meanwhile, the second video, again directed by the Hughes Brothers, Thoughtless, appeared on MTV, as well as a contest for a fan to write and direct the following one, Alone I Break, at the same time.
Official Site/ KornTV/ KornWeb/ It's On!/ Korn Playground/ Korn 4 the Soul/ Korn is Peachy/ gIvE iN tO tHe InSaNiTy/ Children of the Korn/ Sick & Twizted.
