KORN Drummer RAY LUZIER: 'I Am So Sick Of Those Perfect-Sounding Records'

Sonic Excess recently conducted an interview with KORN drummer Ray Luzier. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sonic Excess: [Ross Robinson] produced the first two KORN albums, and he also produced the latest album. Is there a reason you guys got him back for this one?

Ray: To the three original guys, it was like a family reunion. Ross had a lot to do with the way they sounded on the first two records. We went back, old school. Ross said no click tracks. Usually, for a drummer that is a nightmare, because we always want a machine that is keeping time for us. He said no click tracks at all. We are going to two-inch tape, and we are going to go into a small, tiny room. We were in a 13-by-12-foot room, and he just wanted us as uncomfortable as possible, old school. He wanted us like back to the way when they started with that hungry passion, and it was brutal. We left there sweating and bleeding every day. (laughs)

Sonic Excess: I heard that Ross had it out especially for you?

Ray: He rode my ass hard. Me and Jon [Jonathan Davis, vocals] got it the worst. He wanted me to make sure I knew, well, you don't just join a band like KORN. I have been in a lot of big bands, like STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and DAVID LEE ROTH, but nothing compares to KORN.

Sonic Excess: So after it's all said and done, are you satisfied with the end result of your drumming on the album?

Ray: Totally! The first two weeks I wanted to kill that guy, to be honest with you. I wanted to strangle him. (laughs) I never wanted to strangle someone so bad in my entire life. He made me feel very small, and I felt like I was the worst drummer. But, after a while, I started seeing the method that he was going for. We would write a song, and, about 30 or 45 minutes later, we tracked it for the record. It was so fresh, and there was no time to think about transitions or the next part. If I stopped in the middle of a song, he said: "What are you stopping for? Don't ever stop!" I replied: "I don't even know what's next!" and he said "Make up something, do time." I might have gotten two takes, maybe three, and that is what you hear on the record. So for me, and I am kind of a perfectionist when I do records, those things will outlive us all. When we are dead and gone, that record lives on. So, to me it has to be perfect. But, you know what, now when I look back, we are all humans, our hearts beat at different rates. I am so sick of those perfect-sounding records. Everything is fixed. It's quantified, the vocals are perfect, and the drums are so perfect. You don't sound like that live. So why are you doing it in the studio?

Sonic Excess: So, whose idea was it then to go all analog for the new album?

Ray: It was a combination, but Ross definitely fueled the idea to bring the old analog in and the guys were all for it. The drums have a warmth. You hear that sound on the record. You can't get that from digital. Maybe the oil of the tape or something does it, I don't know. (laughs) Of course it was transferred to Pro Tools, but with minimal overdubs.

Read the entire interview from Sonic Excess.