KORN Singer 'Didn't Really Love' All The Songs On 'The Serenity Of Suffering'

KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and singer Jonathan Davis spoke to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" about the making of the band's forthcoming album, "The Nothing". Due on September 13 via Roadrunner/Elektra, the follow-up to 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering" was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.

Asked to describe the songwriting process for "The Nothing", Welch said: "I think it's just getting together and jamming for me, Ray [Luzier, drums] and Munky [James Shaffer, guitar] and the producer. Fieldy [Reginald Arvizu], the bass player, would come in when he could; he's got five kids.

"The last record I was really proud of and we all loved it, but I think there were some songs that [Jonathan] didn't really love," he continued. "And we really wanted him to like what we did. And he feels bad over there, 'cause he wants to like it, but he just can't love everything. And so we were sending him songs, and he was, like, 'yay' or 'nay,' or giving us notes: 'Why don't you do this?' 'Try this.' And we'd hit him a text, 'What should we do today?' And he was, like, 'PANTERA. Just think heavy. PANTERA. Do something like that.' And so we'd send him a song, and he'd be, like, 'Awesome.'"

Added Davis: "I love what we do. I love that. And they would send me stuff, and if I'm feeling it and I catch something and I hear a melody right away, then I go for it… The last one, I was just, like, 'Okay…' I felt bad, because they put so much time and heart into it, I'm not gonna be that guy and say, 'No. I'm not gonna sing on this.' I'm just gonna do whatever I come up with the best I could do. But this one, every song was just amazing."

Davis, whose estranged wife Deven died in August 2018, told Kerrang! magazine that "The Nothing" reflected events in his life, explaining: "It's basically me dealing with all the stuff that happened to me last year. Very emotional for me, but it is what it is. I can't wait for people to hear it. I really spent a long time on doing what I wanted to do this time."

While he shied away from calling "The Nothing" a concept album, Davis did say making the album was both difficult and therapeutic. He remarked: "It sucked. I'm not gonna say it didn't. It was just really hard. But that's how I've always dealt with all my problems — just throwing my heart and soul into my art."

KORN has teamed up with ALICE IN CHAINS for a co-headlining amphitheater tour across North America. The trek kicked off on July 18 in Del Valle, Texas and is hitting nearly 30 cities before wrapping on September 4 in Mountain View, California.