A religious awakening has prompted Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch to leave the powerhouse U.S. rock band, Billboard.com reported Wednesday.
Welch told KRAB-FM, Bakersfield, Calif., he would be at a local church Sunday to explain his departure.
"I had it in my heart to come here and explain to you," Welch said. "I’m good friends with Korn. I love those guys, and they love me, and they’re very happy for me." [Source]
I use to listen to Korn prior to my conversion. They even appeard on a recent episode of Monk. Their lyrics are laced with profanity and I stopped making excuses to continue to listen to them. I even use to play some of their songs on my guitar. It does make me wonder how many head-banging and Gregorian Chant loving traditionalist like me are out there?
Update: Michelle Malkin has a little more info on this story.
16 comments
Huh. Imagine that.
As to your last question, I think the answer is “a growing number.” I grew up on Soundgarden and such-like. I still love a lot of that music, for whatever reason. Electronic is my true love, though, and while I don’t think it’s intrinsically wicked, so much of it is just…well, vaguely dark and menacing. On this aesthetic point I’m terribly conflicted. How do you make those kinds of judgments, especially when you know exactly nothing about music?
I dunno.
I went through a Nine Inch Nails/Nirvana/Green Day/STone Temple Pilots/Cub phase. I have an excuse though, I lived in Vancouver and popped down to Seattle a lot where I had lots of friends. Used to read Dark Horse comics too.
I hate it when I can’t get reception of Catholic radio, because then goes in my Marillion or Pink Floyd disks and I find myself way too caught up in the music. 😉
I am certainly one. I got into metal when I was sixteen. I converted to Catholicism sixteen years later and am very orthodox. I love chant and incense and liturgy celebrated to emphasize the mystery and awe proper to our faith.
One of the more painful parts of the conversion process was realizing that most of my music collection, much as I loved it, was either satanic,sexually disordered or nihilistic and not good for me. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth let me tell you.
But the link between headbangers and traditional liturgy lovers doesn’t seem at all odd to me. After all, the greatest period of Catholic art and architecture was the Gothic period. Goths love Gothic. It’s one of those cases where we’ve changed completely in some ways and not at all in others….
Although I consider myself a music lover I definitely have an affinity for metal, or hard-hard rock, whatever you want to call it. Part of my conversion was also getting rid of much of my old music. Fortunately, I have found there are quite a few Christian bands out there who play this type of music — “Third Day” is one of the best. Unfortunately, very few if any are Catholic. Since I came into the Church one of the things that has been disheartening has been the lack of good, contemporary, Catholic music. It’s downright painful to listen to some of the “contemporary” music they show on EWTN…blech!
I guess Third Day isn’t considered hard rock by any stretch of the imagination. But they are great and there are definitely “hard” alternatives. “Pillar” is one that comes to mind.
Count me as one more — I routinely listen to Dream Theater, Zepplin, Vast, System of a Down, etc. as well as Palestrina, Mozart, Vivaldi…
And don’t tell me that Beethoven, Hayden, and Wagner didn’t absolutely ROCK. A lot of metal groups, as well as progressive rock groups, borrow a fair share from classical.
Wow, I guess there are a lot of hard rocking theological concervatives out there. I do listen to some Christian rock like Third Day, though I tend to wards the harder stuff like Project 86, Stavesacre, and Blindside. Being from Portland I was also much into the Seattle grunge era especially with Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, Nirvana etc.
Blindside does, in fact, rock.
Yes, yes…en fuego.
I was a huge Def Leppard fan and recently came across “Hysteria” at a yard sale. I enthusiastically bought it for 50 cents and was singing along to my favorite tunes, when I kind of realized what I was singing. So I went to one of those lyrics websites and read all the words I was singing. I haven’t listened to the CD since, although I haven’t trashed it either. I guess my detachment is still limited.
Haha, haven’t we all gone through a rock phase (and perhaps still live in it?)? I am 20, and grew up on Lynyrd Skynyrd and the like, with a more recent emphasis on Nirvana (the favorite of my 16 year old brother). Yet I am constantly reminded of the fact that I am one of the more traditional people in my circle of friends. Somehow, it just makes sense. At least that’s how I justify the angel tattoo I got when I turned 18, while “highway to hell” was playing on the radio. Never a good sign… :-/
Ginger, your story sounds exactly like mine.
Yeah, you can count me in that group.
though I tend to wards the harder stuff like Project 86, Stavesacre, and Blindside. Being from Portland I was also much into the Seattle grunge era especially with Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, Nirvana etc.
I like Soundgarden — they seemed to be the most talented musicians of all the Seattle bands. Glad to see another member of St. Blog’s Parish who’s heard of Stavesacre, Blindside, et al. Living Sacrifice might appeal to you if you liked Korn (check out the last three albums).
Mark me down as another headbanging gregorian chant lover. I listened to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, etc. I still love that kind of music and still listen to my Savatage CDs (they have christian tones in a lot of their music). I also love Beethoven, Mozart, Gregorian Chant, etc. One of my favorite pieces is the Agnus Dei from Adagio for Strings.
jonathan davis hates head for turning to God. jon is a satanist