Korn frontman and bagpipe-loving scatman Jonathan Davis is releasing his debut solo album Black Labyrinth on May 25. It's a dark, brooding, self-exploration; the culmination of a lifetime's worth of introspection and songcraft. But Black Labyrinth isn’t the first time Jonathan Davis has struck out on his own. Here we revisit the projects he’s worked on outside of Korn.
Queen Of The Damned soundtrack, 2002
Collaborating with Richard Gibbs, Jonathan composed the orchestral score and songs for an onscreen band led by the vampire Lestat. In the film, Jonathan performs the bloodthirsty voice of Lestat, while contractual obligations meant the soundtrack album instead featured Marilyn Manson, Chester Bennington, Wayne Static and others.
1Stp Klosr / One Step Closer with Linkin Park, 2002
Linkin Park came late to the nu metal party, but Jonathan recognised these kindred rockers enough to sing on a hotwired take of the band’s One Step Closer for their Reanimation. The remix had Jonathan howling anxiously to the epic rage of new friend Chester Bennington. Last October, Jonathan sang it at the Hollywood Bowl in tribute the late LP singer.
Neil Diamond's Love On The Rocks, 2003
In 2003, Jonathan sang a snarling cover of Neil Diamond’s heartbroken Love On The Rocks for the soundtrack of Wonderland. In the context of that film’s real-life Hollywood swirl of drugs, murder and the bad vibes of a washed-up porn superstar, Jonathan’s werewolf howl feels like a ray of sunshine.
Alone I Play, 2007
Ahead of his first tour as a solo artist, Jonathan gathered friends and fans at an intimate Malibu recording studio for a live gig of rearranged Korn hits and obscurities, plus music from Queen Of The Damned. He led a five-man band of acoustic, eclectic players, including virtuosic world violinist L. Shankar. It was released on CD and DVD as Alone I Play.
JDevil
Years before Korn, Jonathan was a teenage music obsessive spinning his favourite dance and goth records as a DJ in Bakersfield. By 2009, he’d returned to that first love as JDevil, exploring spooky new dance sounds while opening for Manson and Korn. His EDM moonlighting led to Korn’s 2011 collaboration with Skrillex and Jonathan’s electronic trio, Killbot.
Jonathan Davis' new solo album Black Labyrinth is out May 25. Order it now from Amazon.
