Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has described the band’s 2010 album Korn III: Remember Who You Are as the biggest mistake they ever made.
It was a deliberate attempt to recapture the dark character and attitude of their first two albums, after they’d moved in different musical directions with 2003’s Take A Look In The Mirror, 2005’s See You On The Other Side and 2007’s untitled record.
But Korn III, which saw the band reuniting with earlier producer Ross Robinson, turned out to be a misguided attempt to recapture a feeling they’d moved far beyond, says Davis.
He tells the Independent: “I think going backwards rather than forwards might have been the biggest mistake we made as a band.
“I think it would have been a much better album if Ross hasn’t been so fucking hard, and let us have a bit of fun.
“There was a song I wrote about my wife, when she was having problems with a pill addiction. Ross called her without me knowing and asked her to show up to the studio, and I had to sing that part to her.
- Avenged Sevenfold: We’ve proved we’re the real deal
- Watch the new Prophets Of Rage video, directed by Michael Moore
- Meet the man who got James Hetfield involved in Addicted To Porn
- Megadeth ex Jeff Young would rejoin any time
“He pushes your buttons on purpose to get those kind of performances. He wants you to get so fucking mad, the emotions just come pouring out. I get it – but I don’t necessarily want to be a part of it now I’ve been there and done that.”
Despite his love and respect for Robinson, Davis adds: “That record sounds forced to me, and it took me to a very dark place that I didn’t want to go back to.”
His feelings surfaced again when Korn revisited their self-titled debut album on tour last year. “I hated playing it,” the singer says. “It just made me realise what a dark-ass record it is. These days Korn is about bringing a positive party energy. That first record’s just fucking depressing.
“That was me at the time, but that was 20-odd years ago. I’m a totally different person now. It was like pouring salt on old wounds.”
Korn released latest album The Serenity Of Suffering last year. They postponed a run of tour dates last month but appear set to continue as planned from June 12 including an appearance at the Reading/Leeds festival – details below.
Korn on Tye Trujillo: It’s crazy how much you see his dad in him
Korn 2017 tour dates
Jun 12: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 16: Salt Lake City USANA Amphitheatre, UT
Jun 18: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Jun 20: Chula Vista Sleep Train Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 21: Inglewood The Forum, CA
Jun 22: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 25: Boise Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, ID
Jun 26: Pocatello Portneuf Wellness Complex Amphitheatre, ID
Jul 19: Syracuse Lakeview Amphitheater, NY
Jul 20: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Jul 23: Hartford Xfiniity Theatre, CT
Jul 25: Toronto The Molson Amphitheatre, ON
Jul 26: Camden BB&T Pavilion, NJ
Jul 27: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Jul 29: Noblesville Klipsch Music Center, IN
Jul 30: Clarkston DTE Energy Music Theatre, MI
Aug 01: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
Aug 02: Cleveland Blossom Music Center, OH
Aug 17: Stockholm Grona Lund, Sweden
Aug 19: Dinkelsbuhl Summerbreeze Festival, Germany
Aug 20: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Aug 21: Saarbrucken Saarlandhalle, Germany
Aug 23: Brixton O2 Academy, London, UK
Aug 26: Reading Festival, UK
Aug 27: Leeds Festival, UK
Oct 07: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
The Jonathan Davis Quiz: how well do you know Korn's frontman?
