KoRn hit the studio on Wesnesday ot begin work on their next album, the follow-up to their multi-platinum Follow The Leader, which is being produced by Brendan (Pearl Jam) O'Brien and should be released by the time you read this. The previous day, frontman Jonathan Davis wrote on the band's official website (www.korn.com), "Today marks the big day! We started moving our stuff into the recording studio that will be home for the next couple of months. We start recording on Wednesday, July 28th and are really excited because the new stuff is off the hook."
The band will keep fans apprised of their progress with the launch of a studio cam that should be up and running by the time you read this. Writes Davis, "We're working with Brendan O'Brien as producer this time. He's done Rage, Pearl Jam, STP, and a whole mess of other 'phat' bands.
"Things are going well. It's been about two weeks since we started and we've aready written eight songs! They are so heavy! It reminds me of the first album, but more groove oriented." Davis says fans should check out there website often since they'll be posting progress reprts daily.
Doesn't KoRn need rest? It doesn't appear so. The band's entrance into the studio comes just days after their triumphant set at Woodstock '99 at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y. on July 24th.
Although Bush headlined the event, it was obvious that KoRn was the main event. Clad in his trademark black leather kilt outfit Jonathan Davis stepped out on stage, stared out at the frenzied crowd and waited for the band to launch into Blind. Mixing tracks from all three of their album, the band played their ferocious blend of hip-hop, groove and metal for over an hour. at one point, Davis attempted to play the bagpipes, which although poorly executed, still managed to please the crowd. At the end of the awe-inspiring set, Davis stood quietly on stage holding a lit cigarette lighter overhead, waiting until tens of thousands joined him in what was simply a breath-taking spectacle.
In a recent posting on their website, Davis wrote that he thought "it was the best KoRn show we've ever done."
"It's the most amazing thing to play for 300,000 people, and I want to thank you for being a part of it if you were there," he said. KoRn's feverishly loyal fan-base continues to grow as its unique blend of metal, hardcore and hip-hop is given the exposure it won't otherwise recieve through the conservative MTV and commercial radio outlets.
"The fact that we tour non-stop is definitely the thing that has done it for us," admits stated vocalist Jonathan Davis recently when asked about the band's unusually quick rise. "The fact that the fans have had the opportunity to see us live, plus having a record company that was behind us all the wat, in addition to the kids just relating to what we had to say lyrically. In the beginning, the people we played in front were not really our crowd, and every tour we went out, we stole more fans, more fans got it, and now it has just gotten so big, it's a trip."
While the touring is certainly the main factor in KoRn's awesome ascent to their current status, it would not have neem possible had it not been for the commitment of their record company, Immortal/Epic Records.
"Before Immortal, we had a lot of different offers from different labels, but the label just made us feel like home," Davis explained. "The guy that signed us came to something like eight of our shows before he introduced himself to us. He was really cool, and he was saying that they would put 100% behind this band. That wwas what got us really interested in the company because we knew that it would take a lot of work and dedication from the label's end to break the band, and they were able guarantee us that kind of backing. Plus, we'd heard loads of rumors about some independent labels such as Roadrunner in the past, so we decided to go with a young, hungry label/ In hindsight, I know that we made the right decision."
While the band will not be part of this year's Family Values tour, they will probably be part of the next. Family Values, which is meant as a kick in the shins for all of the ultrs-conservative who have criticized new metal and its appeal to the nation's youth, will be headlined by Limp Bizkit this year and will feature, among others, the Insane Clown Posse. It should be a blast. The bands were part of the inagural edition got along so famously, that on Halloween there was a party and all the members of KoRn dressed up as aging rockers and performed covers by Twisted Sister and Judas Priest.
From New Metal, December '99.
Back to Main
Back to