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KoRn's cathartic alternative metal sound positioned the group among the most popular and provocative to emerge
during the post-grunge era.
KoRn began its existence as the Bakersfield, CA-based metal band LAPD, which included guitarists
James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch, bassist Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu, and drummer David Silveria. After issuing
an LP, the members of LAPD in 1993 crossed paths with Jonathan Davis, a mortuary science student moonlighting as the lead
vocalist for the local group Sexart; they soon asked Davis to join the band, and upon his arrival, the quintet rechristened
itself KoRn.
After signing to Epic's Immortal imprint, they issued their debut album in late 1994; thanks to a relentless
tour schedule that included stints opening for Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Marilyn Manson, and 311, the record slowly but steadily
rose the charts, eventually going gold.
The following summer, they headlined Lollapalooza, but were forced to drop off the tour
when Shaffer was diagnosed with viral meningitis.
While recording their best-selling 1998 LP "Follow the Leader," KoRn
made national headlines when a student in Zeeland, MI, was suspended for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the group's logo;
the school's principal later declared their music "indecent, vulgar and obscene," prompting the band to issue a cease-and-desist
order.
Their annual Family Values tour also started in 1998, featuring a lineup that consisted of KoRn collaborators
such as Limp Bizkit and Ice Cube and likeminded artists such as Rammstein. The tour was an enormous success, so much so that
it continued on with KoRn overseeing the lineup for years after.
"Issues" followed in 1999, and in typical KoRn fashion
they debuted their new single in an episode of South Park. The band toured behind the album into the next year, but their
efforts were cut short by an injury that took out drummer David Silveria. They hired former Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin
to help them finish the remaining shows, and took a short rest before joining a summer tour with Metallica, Kid Rock, Powerman
5000, and System of a Down. Silveria also returned amid rumors of leaving the band for a fashion career, but these were merely
stemming from some modeling work he had done before his injury. A short headlining tour followed before the band stepped off
the road for a much-deserved rest.
Fieldy released a gangsta rap album and Davis scored the film Queen of the Damned
in the meantime, but the band resurfaced as a unit toward the end of 2001 and entered the studio for their next album. A few
shows with Static-X helped iron the wrinkles out of the new material, and by the next summer they had "Untouchables" ready
for release.
KoRn did a run of Ozzfest dates in support, and the album was another smash hit.
The self-produced
"Take a Look in the Mirror" arrived in 2003. Billed by the band as a reconsideration of their sound, the album was accompanied
by a tour of smaller venues called Back to Basics. More touring followed, with dates in Japan and Asia; 2004 also included
KoRn's first greatest-hits collection.
"See You
on the Other Side" was released the following December. It featured a batch of songs co-written with hitmaking production
team the Matrix.
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