KORN's JONATHAN DAVIS Is 'Finally Happy In Life,' Says HEAD: 'He Just Got Into A Place Of Peace'

In a new interview with THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube channel, KORN guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch were asked how they keep themselves "angry" enough to be able to come up with consistently aggressive music. Munky responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We don't have to be. You don't have to be. We can draw inspiration from, whether it's the news, friends, whether it's family. We all, at different points, go through challenging moments."

Added Head: "How about frustration at home, and you get in a studio and take it all out."

Munky concurred, saying: "It's true. Every day there's something to draw inspiration on, whether it's your own personal stuff or something from the past. Or just create a vibe and an atmosphere and let Jonathan's [Davis, vocals] lyrics kind of… set the stage for him."

Head said: "We did a thing in London the other night, and Jonathan was, like, 'I'm finally happy in life,' 'cause he just got into a place of peace. And I go, 'So does that mean KORN records are gonnna suck now?' But that's not how it is.

"We're drawn to the dark things in life — all of us," he continued. "Movies, TV shows… So it's always gonna come out. Even if we're happy, it's gonna come out."

Added Munky: "And you know what? Now that we're older, we can learn how to balance the light and the dark in our lives. Before, it was just, like, there's this whole darkness, and we didn't know how to control it. But now we have clarity. And with age and having children and kids and having different things in our life balances the light and the dark. And we like to jump in the dark with the art we create. But we don't live there. We know how to go there, to play music and whatever, and then we know how to put that aside and then joke and be happy in the afternoon. No walking around gloomy all day. Most of the time we're joking around and clowning around all day on tour."

KORN's latest album, "Requiem", was released on February 4 via Loma Vista Recordings. The band celebrated the LP's arrival with a special record-release event on February 3 at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California. "Requiem Mass" saw the Southern California heavy music pioneers perform an intimate set in front of a 300 attendees.

"Requiem", which was produced by Chris Collier and KORN, entered Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart at No. 1. The band sold 23,000 equivalent album units in the February 4-10 tracking week, according to Billboard. Of that sum, 20,000 units were from album sales. "Requiem" also landed at No. 2 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts. On the all-format Billboard 200, it arrived at No. 14.

KORN recently announced a summer tour with fellow rock culture icons EVANESCENCE, produced by Live Nation. Accompanied by special guests varying across select dates, the 18-city tour kicks off on August 16 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, making stops across the U.S. in Boston, Chicago, Houston and more before wrapping up in Ridgefield, Washington on September 16.

KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu announced in June 2021 that he would sit out the band's touring activities in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."

Despite the fact that he hasn't performed with his KORN bandmates for more than a year, Fieldy did play on "Requiem".