Surprising news today, in that Brian “Head” Welch of Korn has announced his departure from the band as according to a statement from The Firm, he “has chosen Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end.”
Personally, I always found him one of the friendliest and down-to-earth members of the band during the period I looked after their site. I remember clearly at the “Issues” contest signing at Tower Records in Northridge, CA back in 1999 that he (and Munky too, to be fair) was determined to hang in there – all day if required – to meet and greet every last kid who came down, despite the usual LA types telling him he didn’t actually need to.
Announcing his departure, he spoke to Bakersfield’s KRAB-FM and made the following statement:
This is Head, formerly of Korn. I wanted to come on here to KRAB, because… this is my home and I had it in my heart to come here and explain to you what I’m about to do.
I’m good friends with Korn and everything still, I love those guys – they love me, they’re very happy for me. I love Korn. Korn’s where I came from.
There’s a lot of kids out there that… anger’s a good thing, I think if kids, if they want to go and you know, listen to Korn and stuff then good – but there’s happiness too, y’know? After the anger, there’s happiness, and I’m gonna show it through my actions how much I love my fans.
I’m kicking it off next Sunday at Valley Bible, I’m gonna speak how I got to this place in my life. I’m gonna be there for them, I’ll answer all your questions, next Sunday – come on out.
Should be interesting to see the fan reaction over the following days and weeks.