Whereas bandmate James “Munky” Shaffer thinks it’s all fine and dandy that metal isn’t in the mainstream, Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis wants to play “Follow The Leader” and help newcomers get into the band. With Korn’s 14th studio album Requiem having just released last week, it is never too late to be a “Freak On A Leash.” Who doesn’t love fun metal puns?
But really, in a recent conversation with Revolver for their “Point Of Entry” series, Davis shared that he feels “Freak On A Leash” – off of 1998’s 5x multi-platinum record Follow The Leader – is a great place to start for new listeners of the band. Per Davis’ words, he specifically said:
“There’s so many different eras. I don’t know. Definitely I would tell them to listen to the first record. You got the first Korn record, and then you got maybe Follow the Leader — that’s when we were starting to do some different [things]. There’s so many different variations of this band. [Laughs] And then See You on the Other Side, when we were going proggy and weird, working with the Matrix and shit. And then we got The Path of Totality, which is working with the DJs, and then The Nothing and then this new shit now. It’s hard. One song? Probably “Freak on a Leash.” That’s the one everyone wants to hear anyway. [Laughs].”
It’s always fascinating to hear what particular records or songs an artist may pick from among their own catalog when it comes to recommendations. Given Korn’s history and how much they’ve done, we wonder what it is about “Freak On A Leash” that sticks out to Davis. As Davis’ puts it himself in the quote above – Korn have gone through a series of styles throughout their years.
If you are a long time Korn fan, what single would you personally recommend to a newbie?
Since their formation in 1993, Korn have gone on to become one of the giants in metal pop culture. Accredited as one of the pioneers of nu metal, the band took the world by storm with their 1994 self-titled debut. Follow The Leader is Korn’s third studio album and has been certified five-times platinum.
Korn Guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer Thinks It’s Okay If Heavy Music Isn’t Mainstream
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Words by: Michael Pementel
