Description:
Korn is an American metal band formed in Bakersfield, California, in 1993.The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier.
The band was formed after L.A.P.D.,a band consisting of 3 members that have been with Korn, broke up. L.A.P.D. folded, due to singer Richard Morrill's drug addiction. Musicians Reginald Arvizu, James Shaffer, and David Silveria wanted to continue, and recruited guitarist Brian Welch and started a new band called Creep.
In early 1993, the band took notice of vocalist Jonathan Davis after seeing his band Sex
Korn is an American metal band formed in Bakersfield, California, in 1993.The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier.
The band was formed after L.A.P.D.,a band consisting of 3 members that have been with Korn, broke up. L.A.P.D. folded, due to singer Richard Morrill's drug addiction. Musicians Reginald Arvizu, James Shaffer, and David Silveria wanted to continue, and recruited guitarist Brian Welch and started a new band called Creep.
In early 1993, the band took notice of vocalist Jonathan Davis after seeing his band Sexart and attempted to get him to join Creep. Davis initially did not want to join the band, but after consulting a psychic he decided to audition and then joined the band, as mentioned by Jonathan Davis himself in an interview in the DVD Who Then Now?. After Jonathan was recruited, they decided they needed a new name. After coming up with a few different names, the band decided on "Corn." Jonathan suggested the name during a jam session, and everyone else liked it.
In April that year, 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 impressed, then signed them on the spot. With a producer and a label, Korn started work on their self-titled debut album.
Musically, the album was a mix of heavy 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.
On their first large tour, Korn opened for Danzig alongside Marilyn Manson. Other bands Korn opened for 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 Deftones. After opening for lesser-known bands such as Dimestore Hoods, Sugar Ray (at the time), and Life of Agony, Korn returned to the studio to record a second album.
Korn teamed up with Ross Robinson once again for their second album, Life Is Peachy, released on October 15, 1996. Musically, it was similar to the first album, but also showed more of a funk influence on tracks like "Porno Creep" and "Swallow".
The album included two covers, War's "Low Rider", with Davis' bagpipes and Welch on vocals, and Ice Cube's "Wicked", with guest vocalist Chino Moreno of Deftones. To help promote their new album, Korn opened for Metallica, and utilized the Internet. Life Is Peachy sold more than 106,000 copies in its first week and reached #3 on the Billboard 200. The first single, "No Place to Hide", spawned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance "A.D.I.D.A.S."
Also that year, Korn augmented their growing crossover appeal by collaborating with Los Angeles-based production and remix duo the Dust Brothers on the track "Kick the P.A.". This track appeared on the motion picture soundtrack of the film Spawn.
In late 1997, Korn formed their own record label, Elementree Records. The first band signed was Videodrone, whose singer, Ty Elam, is credited with giving Jonathan Davis singing lessons. Orgy, however, released their debut album prior to Videodrone's, giving Elementree its first Platinum certification. Orgy's guitarist, Ryan Shuck, is known for playing alongside Davis and Elam in the band Sexart. Over the next few years, Korn signed other acts like rapper Marz and Deadsy.
Prior to the release of the band's third album, Korn produced a weekly online TV show, KornTV, which documented the making of the record and featured special guests such as porn star Ron Jeremy, Limp Bizkit, and 311. The project also gave fans the chance to call in and ask the band questions, an approach that represented one of the first times a band utilized the Internet in such a way. Korn released their third album, Follow the Leader.
The album was a complete success, debuting at #1 on Billboard with 268,000 copies sold, and spawning the singles "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash". They both exposed Korn to a wider, mainstream audience, with the music videos being mainstays on MTV's Total Request Live. "Got the Life" was the show's very first "retired" video, with "Freak on a Leash" reaching that same success months later. The singles also fared well on Billboard, with "Freak on a Leash" peaking in the top 10 of both Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock, the latter of which it spent 27 weeks on more than any other Korn single to date. "Freak on a Leash" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, and received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.
The band's fourth album, Issues, produced by Brendan O'Brien, was released on November 16, 1999. Earlier that year, Korn had appeared on an episode of South Park, titled Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery, in which the first single from Issues, "Falling Away from Me", was premiered. Korn released two more singles from Issues, "Make Me Bad" and "Somebody Someone", both of which fared well on Billboard. Videos were shot for all three singles, with long time friend Fred Durst directing "Falling Away from Me", and Martin Weisz directing a concept video for "Make Me Bad", as well as a performance video for "Somebody Someone", which featured the use of CGI effects. Every video was a staple on Total Request Live, two of which made it to retirement. Issues is considered by some critics to be less hip hop-influenced and closer to alternative metal than nu metal. It was certified 3x Platinum, following up the success of Follow the Leader.
On June 11, 2002, after a year and a half of hard work and a long creative process, Korn re-emerged into the media spotlight with their fifth album, Untouchables. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with 434,000 in sales.
The release of this album was preceded by a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, a day prior to the album's release, broadcast digitally throughout U.S. movie theatres. Untouchables featured electronic beats, strings and various guitar effects the band had never used in an album before. The overall feel was drastically different from previous efforts, particularly tracks like "Alone I Break," "Hating," and "Hollow Life," which singer Jonathan Davis claims is one of his favorite Korn songs to this day.
Prior to their next album, Korn released a new single, "Did My Time" on July 22, 2003, which was used to promote the film but did not appear on the soundtrack to Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Angelina Jolie appeared in the Dave Meyers-directed video.
Korn released their greatest hits album, Greatest Hits Vol.1, on October 5, 2004. The album debuted at #4 on Billboard, selling more than 129,000 copies. It featured two cover songs as singles, and a compilation of the band's hits from the past 10 years.
Upon completing their record deal with Sony, Korn partnered with EMI and signed to Virgin Records.
The band's first album for Virgin, See You on the Other Side, was released on December 6, 2005, and debuted on #3 on the Billboard 200, scanning close to 221,000 copies. The album managed to stay in the top 100 of the Billboard 200 for 34 consecutive weeks. The first single from the album, "Twisted Transistor", was accompanied by a comedic video directed by Dave Meyers in which rap stars Xzibit, Lil' Jon, Snoop Dogg, and David Banner portray Korn. The single itself peaked at #3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, Korn's highest entry thus far, and #9 on Modern Rock. The second single, "Coming Undone", had its performance-based video directed by Little X, who previously helmed only hip hop and R&B videos. See You on the Other Side is certified Platinum, and has sold over two million copies worldwide.
Korn's untitled eighth album was released on July 31, 2007, debuting at #2 with 123,000 copies in its first week.
"Evolution" and "Hold On" were released as singles to promote the album, charting on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks at #4 and #9, respectively. A third single, "Kiss", had a limited release in April 2008.
Ubisoft reported in October that "Korn has written and recorded an original song inspired by Ubisoft's "Haze" video game, simply entitled "Haze", which was released on April 22, 2008. As a first in the video game industry, "Haze" will be released and promoted as a full-fledged single and music video, not just as an exclusive download with the video game.
Korn III – Remember Who You Are is the upcoming ninth studio album by American nu metal band Korn, which is set for release on July 12 and 13, 2010 in the UK and in the US, respectively. The band hired Ross Robinson, who produced their first two albums to again act as producer, and drummer Ray Luzier to act as permanent drummer, instead of a live fill-in as he had been previously.
"Oildale (Leave Me Alone)" is the first single from Korn's ninth studio album, Korn III – Remember Who You Are. It is the first single with new drummer Ray Luzier. The video portrays a young boy living in the poverty stricken town of Oildale, California. Throughout the video it shows the boy collecting money, and riding his bike through Oildale, California, and shows glimpses of the other residences, while Korn is seen preforming in an oilfield, and in a backyard. Also, there is a reference to the first album Korn art, where two men are fighting by a swingset while a little girl watches, and is abducted by the victor, similar to the cover of Korn.
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Tags: Metal (5), American (3), Alternative (2), Industrial (1), David Silvera (1), Johnatan Davis (1), Mallcore (1), Legendary (1), Underrated (1), Legends (1), Mainstream (1), Rock (1), Alternative Metal (1), Heavy Metal (1), Hard Rock (1), Hardcore (1), Pop Rock (1), Music (1)
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