While every community has its warts, Korn members Brian Welch and James Shaffer think highly of the metal community. During a recent conversation with Riff X‘s Metal XS, as part of a video associated with the heavy metal festival Hellfest (located in France), both Korn members spoke to how they feel about the metal community and how the genre has continued to grow stronger.
Speaking to the metal genre and the growth of the community, James Shaffer shares the following:
“Definitely it’s gotten bigger. I think people have kind of embraced it. And I think [the stigma], the taboo of metal bands has kind of gone away for the most part; I’ve noticed here, in this country. I think people that aren’t into that music, they associate the skulls and the fire, and it’s not that. We resonate with this type of music. It makes us feel sort of like a complete person when you have this aggressive music, or whatever you wanna call it. It makes us feel like, I don’t know. It completes our soul, I guess.”
Brian Welch then goes on to add:
“It is a community though. There’s religion and there’s politics out there, and there’s so much division. And the metal community is so inclusive and united. We just played the other night with Judas Priest and Kiss, and [the fans] loved every single band in Denmark, because they have respect for the metal community and the different styles and whatnot. And that’s not always the case, but the majority [of the time] it is the case. I love that about our community.”
What do you think of Brian Welch and James Shaffer’s feelings when it comes to the metal community? Do you agree with them – that the community has gotten stronger and more united? Or are you inclined to believe there is much divide within the community? You can check out the full video interview featuring Welch and Shaffer below.
Jonathan Davis Talks Woodstock ’99: ‘Limp Bizkit Just Didn’t Give a F***, Period’
When Joey Jordison Temporarily Joined Korn for the ‘Korn II’ Album Cycle