Korn’s Jonathan Davis Says Head Was a Crazy Christian But It Saved His Life

Korn are about to release their new album 'The Paradigm Shift,' their first with guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, the prodigal son who returned to the fold after a near-decade absence. Since leaving Korn, Welch became a diehard, born again Christian. He was zealous and vocal about his spirituality, but according to frontman Jonathan Davis it saved his life.

Davis recalled how the doors of communication swung open for Head and Korn, as his religious fanaticism had quelled with the passage of time.

“Head played in my town, Bakersfield, and my wife dragged my a-- down there,” Davis explained to Metal Hammer. "We hung out all night and we was back to normal, he wasn’t into that crazy Christian s--- no more. Then he came to Carolina Rebellion and it was the first time he saw [guitarist] Munky, and that really hit Munky hard because that was his other half, musically."

While Davis did label Head as "just cuckoo with religious stuff," he did understand the value in the guitarist's transformation. "I’ve seen people go through it, and he was kicking speed so obviously he’s not gonna be right in the head for a while," Davis recalled. "Him getting all crazy Christian and stuff, what it really did was save his life, so I don’t give a f---. I’ve had too many people around me die from drugs and I wouldn’t want that to happen."

So while Davis doesn't share or subscribe to Head's strongly-held beliefs, he accepts him as he is. "Him and [bassist Fieldy] are born-again Christians, that’s fine. I don’t choose sides, I’ve got Christian friends and Satanist friends," Davis said.

Head also spoke about the period when his born again status nabbed a lot of media coverage. “The press twisted a lot of that stuff too, but I was calling it on myself," he said. "I remember I took my braids out and I had this curly hair, then I grew a beard and looked like Jesus! I was going to be baptized and they gave me this white robe. It was like, 'This is gonna be awesome, I’m gonna look like Jesus and everyone’s gonna make fun of me.' I didn’t even care anymore."