In 1995 I cut my musical teeth when my older sister gave me a cassette tape that she no longer wanted. On side A was Metallica “Load” and on side B was a new band called Korn. Since then my tastes have evolved but Metallica and Korn have remained at the top of my list.
In 2004 lead guitarist of Korn, Brian “Head” Welch lost his wife to a drug overdose. In 2005 while tripping off meth he saw his 5 year old daughter singing one of Korn’s more explicit songs while playing in the house. He described the experience as terribly colorful and too vivid. It was a crashing point in his life as he realized that his lifestyle was detrimental to his daughter. That week his friend and neighbor came to his door and, while obviously uncomfortable, explained to Head that he felt lead to share his faith. The neighbor told him that he loved him and that god loved him and left the opportunity open for Head to approach him further. The next day he did and they started attending church together. A few weeks later Head accepted Christ and was Baptized. The following day Head approached his best friends and bandmates of 14 years and explained to him his new faith. they mutually decided Head should leave the band at least for some time.
A few months ago Head produced his first album as a Christian and on a Christian label. Head received controversial reviews for some of his work. The top of the mountain was the video for his song Flush. Due to this video his album was pulled from some retailers.
He wrote a letter explaining his position and why the song and video are what they are. I think it is a beautiful explained of what Christianity looks like in metal culture. Head has now come to see mainstream conservative American Christian culture; part of me wishes he didn’t have to meet it but I really respect his response.
If you are interested in seeing what 14 years at the top of the secular metal rock star scene does when it accepts Christ you should check out one of his videos on youtube. Here is the link to the one in question, and here is a link to his response.
