BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A founding member of Korn is leaving the band to focus on his religious beliefs. “Korn has parted ways with guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch, who has chosen Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end,” said a statement posted Tuesday on Korn’s Web site.
Welch told The Bakersfield Californian that his decision might be surprising to some. “A lot of people think I’m crazy. I don’t care.”
Welch said he’d become increasingly disenchanted with producing heavy metal music that invokes dark and morbid images.
“Those guys in the band, they’re not bad guys. They’re just a bunch of kids getting marketed how these guys in the big corporate firms want to do,” Welch said. “It makes us look like bad people, but we’re really just a bunch of kids who never had a chance to grow up.”
Korn is working on its eighth album, set for release later this year. The band’s self-titled 1994 debut album sold more than 2 million copies.
