BRIAN 'HEAD' WELCH Says His Reunion With KORN 'Was Meant To Be'

April 19, 2013

Donna Vickroy of SouthtownStar recently conducted an interview with former KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. Asked how his reunion with KORN came about, Welch said: "I had walked away from all that and started a new band. It was complete, but I when I went to a KORN show last year, they asked me to jam with them. We got such a positive reaction. A few months later, they asked me about a reunion. At first I said no, then I thought about it. Finally I asked them what about my other band and they said, bring it with [you]. Everything went so peacefully, so positive I knew it was meant to be."

Regarding how his recovery has affected his music, Welch said: "Some say the music is still dark and heavy metal, but I think it has a way deeper meaning. It has more melody in it. I also feel like I've gotten to a higher level of writing. That was something I'd lost when I was partying like crazy. It seems like in the past few years, my writing has more passion and creativity."

On the topic of whether it is possible to hit the big time in rock and roll without getting mixed up in drigs, Welch said: "Drugs became big on the music scene in the '60s and just kept going through the '70s and '80s. But I'm meeting a lot of younger bands on the road who are not into that scene. This generation is so creative, it blows my mind. A great number of bands are not ruining their life with drugs. I think it's very possible to make music without drugs. It's really cool to see. The thing about doing drugs, it ruins your relationships. Every relationship I had was ruined to some degree. Most got repaired, but they were greatly harmed."

Welch also spoke about hitting rock bottom during his drug addiction, saying, "My meth addiction was so bad I had two dealers. I was piling up all kinds of mess on trips. I'd have a dealer ship me meth overseas. Having drugs delivered to a foreign country, I could have gone to jail. It was the biggest loser life. Here I had this perfect little 5-year-old girl, and I was a complete mess. I tried to quit a couple of times but couldn't. I was so afraid of confronting my issues, so I just kept doing drugs, avoiding it. I believe a lot of addicts have a hole in their heart or their soul. It's something only God can fill. So I tried church. I thought I'll just try it. I started reading the Bible, praying, talking to God. And I just felt this strength come into me. Christ filled that emptiness, and that was it for me."

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