In a recent interview with Black Sheep Recovery, Brian Head Welch recalled his exit from Korn, describing it as a bitter moment shaped by substance abuse.
“I left in such a horrible way. It wasn’t horrible, it was bitter,” he admitted. “We were all on drugs except Jonathan, which is funny. We are all on drugs or alcohol we were all on both. So, when I left it was really ugly. So I felt it was closure to do that one show with them and I’m like, ‘Okay cool, I’m going to go rough and tough it on the side and barely make it, and that’s cool and I’m good with that.'”
Welch thought he had closed that chapter of his life, but things changed when he reconnected with the band. “I called them we agreed on all kinds of different things. There were a few things we discussed and there it was. Next thing you know where I’m in the studio writing with them and we’re looking at each other and I was like, ‘This is really going to happen huh?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah this is it, it’s on. This is crazy.’ So I realized that a whole new door opened and my whole life was going to change.”
Adjusting to his return took time. “So going back into it the last thing I’ll say, I was so drunk and messed up when I left for years. I had to relearn what it was like to be on stage in that big capacity, tour and do a record, do press, start doing more TV, all that stuff. It was like I forgot the past I had. It was cloudy, it was very cloudy because I was so messed up. So I was given a second chance to be a rock star in a healthy way, very grateful.”
Faith and Internal Struggles
Welch left Korn in 2005 after turning to religion to overcome addiction. He was baptized after his departure and remained away from the band for nearly a decade.
He has been open about feeling conflicted over his return. “They asked me to come back two or three weeks later, that’s when I got confused, ’cause my story was left the fame, left the money, followed Christ to a more humble place, I didn’t care about that stuff,” he previously admitted. “I had to break this religious mindset. That was my whole story. I wrote a book about it. I’m like, ‘Lord, I can’t do that.’ That’s not my story. I didn’t know [it was a part of my story] because of the religious mindset.”
He also feared public perception. “I knew if I went back everyone was gonna say, ‘He wasn’t real the whole time, he just wanted Jesus to help him get clean, now he’s going back to the fame and money.’ Dog returns to its vomit, all that stuff. Then I started feeling like it was meant to be; God was leading me to it.”
Now over ten years since his return, Welch continues touring with Korn. The band is set to headline multiple festivals this summer, including Sweden Rock Festival, Rockville, Sonic Temple, Download, and Hellfest.
