Korn's Jonathan Davis has discussed his battle with COVID-19, describing how it left him "totally wiped out".
Appearing in an interview with HardDrive Radio, Davis said he was "excited; I'm in a good place, [we've] got new music out... life's good". Before going on to say "[We] just did that tour, got through that. I recovered from COVID alright, so thank God for that, that was hard on me."
Davis tested positive for COVID in August, forcing Korn to postpone (and ultimately cancel two) shows of the band's US tour. Though the frontman returned to the band on August 27th, he relied on an oxygen mask throughout the show and guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch later admitted in an Instagram post he was still suffering from the after-effects of the disease.
It seems those effects have now largely passed however, as Davis told HardDrive about the circumstances that led up to his diagnosis.
"I tested positive on the 14th of August," he explains. "I was at a gig in Scranton. My girl had tested positive three days prior. So I was hoping [I wouldn't get infected]. I kept testing. I was, like, 'negative, negative, negative', like 'oh, I just dodged a bullet.' Then [I tested] positive. I was scared shitless; I was freaking out.
"I was totally wiped out. I couldn't move — just the body aches. I didn't eat for a month, damn near. But thank God it didn't get into my lungs; that would have freaked me really out. But I got through it and tested negative on the 25th, I think, and I played a show the next day. And I was beat up, but I just couldn't find it in my heart… I just wanted to get through it because I saw how happy people were to see live music and I just didn't wanna let anyone down."
Watch the full interview below.
Davis wasn't the only member to test positive during the band's tour, as both guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer and drummer Ray Luzier also contracted the disease, forcing the band to draft in replacements with J.R. Bareis of Love And Death and Aric Improta of Fever 333 stepping in.
Korn released their new single Start The Healing on November 11, announcing that their new album Requiem is set to be released on February 4 2022 via Loma Vista Recordings. Discussing the album with Audacy Davis expressed relief that he had plenty of time to work on his contributions.
"Every single Korn record I've ever done, the band gets all the time in the world to get their stuff done," he said. "They always book some tour and it's coming up, and I'm always hurrying and rushing to try and get it done. So this time, we had time. We came together. Overall, we're really, really proud of it."
Requiem is due February 4 via Loma Vista Recordings. Korn play Download UK in 2022.
