Korn History

Korn is an American rock band from Bakersfield, California, which formed in 1993. The band’s catalogue consist of nine consecutive debuts in the top ten of the Billboard 200. Korn has sold over 30 million albums worldwide while earning six Grammy nominations two of which they have won.

Korn formed after the group L.A.P.D. deform, due to singer Richard Morrill’s drug addiction. Members Reginald Arvizu, James Shaffer, and David Silveria wanted to continue, and recruited Brian Welch there guitar and started a new band called Creep.

The band took notice of vocalist Jonathan Davis after seeing his band performing in early 1993 and attempted to get him to join Creep. Davis initially did not join the band, but after consulting a psychic he decided to audition and then joined the band, as mentioned by Jonathan Davis himself in interview in a show Who Then Now? After Jonathan was recruited, they decided to get a new name. Soon, they changed their name to Korn. Jonathan suggested Korn as just a brainstorm, but everyone else enjoyed it. So Jonathan wrote their logo in a child’s handwriting, with a K instead of C and a backwards upper-case R.

On that year in April, the band began a working relationship with producer Ross Robinson, which led to their first demo tape entitled neidermeyer’s mind. The band had problems getting signed during its first year, due to the 1990s rock scene, which was primarily grunge. After many attempts at a record deal, Paul Pontius from Immortal/epic Records heard the band in a nightclub and was so impress, he signed them on the spot. With a producer and a label, Korn started work on their self-titled debut album.

Musically, the album was mix of alternative metal, grunge, hip hop, and funk the latter elements encompassed in the rhythmic approach to the band’s compositions. Blind was the first single from the album, which got a decent amount of airplay and attention. Once Korn saw a release on October 11, 1994, the band toured incessantly with no support from the radio or video stations. The band solely on their intense live shows which created a large cultlike following of dedicated fans. It was through the effort on this fanbase that helped push Korn onto the Billboard 200, eventually peaking at #72 in 1996 with Shoots and Ladders being their first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. On their first large tour, Korn opened for Danzig alongside Marilyn Manson. Other bands for which Korn opened in 1995 included Megadeth, 311, Fear Factory, Flotsam and Jetsam, and KMFDM. However, the first tour that widely exposed the band was opening for Ozzy Osbourne alongside the Deftones. After opening for leser-known bands such as Sugar Ray, Dimestore Hoods, at the time, and life of Agony, Korn returned to the studio to record a second album.