In an interview Revolver, Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis spoke to fans reacting to the band’s music and making comments about them going back to their “classic sound.” The Korn frontman also spoke to when he first started noticing other bands pulling inspiration from Korn, as well as shared his thoughts on younger bands today finding inspiration in ’90s nu metal. You can find the excerpts from the full interview below.
[Revolver]: “I’VE NOTICED IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS THAT WHENEVER KORN RELEASES AN ALBUM, A LOT OF THE REACTION IS, ‘KORN’S FINALLY GONE BACK TO THEIR CLASSIC SOUND.’”
[Jonathan Davis]: “Their ‘roots.’ I don’t get it. We’ve always tried to trailblaze and experiment and do different things. For fuck’s sake, our band name is Korn. We do things our way. Don’t tell us what to do. When we did the first record, it was, “You can’t fucking do a song called ‘Faget.'” Watch us.
“Even when we’re trying to take it somewhere else and do something different, you always get sucked back to that one thing. The one album that just didn’t work was Korn III — because we were trying to go back to our roots. I’m not 24 years old and a raging speed-freaked alcoholic [anymore]. It’s not going to work. [Laughs]
“But then we learned our lesson … Next, we did The Path of Totality, and that was amazing. The really cool thing about the way we make records is you win some, you lose some. We can make another one. If you don’t like this one, listen to the first one.”
[Revolver]: “DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED TO SEE KORN’S INFLUENCE ON OTHER BANDS?”
[Jonathan Davis]: “You could hear it way back in the day. At first, I was overwhelmed and flattered, and then you start going through different emotions, pissed off, like, ‘Why can’t you come up with something? Are people lazy?’ Getting older, I’ve come to see it as fucking cool. It’s all music. Everyone stole from Black Sabbath, man. That’s just how music evolves and it’s a cool thing. There’s only one Korn and it’s the players getting together and doing what we do that makes the magic. You can try and do what we do, but it’s not gonna be that.”
[Revolver]: “THERE’S NOW A NEW GENERATION OF BANDS THAT ARE DEEPLY INFLUENCED BY THE NINETIES NU-METAL SCENE.”
[Jonathan Davis]: “It’s cool to hear that someone’s influenced by your band. The best is when my kids come to me and say, ‘Hey, this band is wearing your shirt.’ Or, ‘This hip-hop artist is doing this and that.’ It makes me look cool to my kids.”
Curious to know what song the Korn vocalist recommends to newcomers of the band? Click the link and “Follow The Leader” to find out!
Jonathan Davis Suggests To “Follow The Leader,” Recommends Korn Song For Newcomers
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Words by: Michael Pementel
