Korn fans might be getting excited at the prospect of the nu-metal icons hitting up Aussie shores next month for the inaugural Download Festival, but Jonathan Davis, the group’s frontman, seems to be getting rather keen on finally releasing that solo album he’s been working on for quite some time.
Speaking to US radio station 93.3 WMMR (and transcribed by Blabbermouth), Davis revealed that his solo album, which is due out later this year, is set to be quite a bit different from what fans might expect after years of listening to Korn.
“It’s completely different. It’s a different thing. It’s something I’ve been working on for 10 years,” Jonathan Davis noted. “It’s just a crazy, different world music hybrid of all kinds of things, and [there are] all kinds of different players who play on the record. And I’m really proud of it. Like I said, I’ve been working on it really hard.”
“I did most of it back in… I started it in ’07 and ’08. I was signed to another record label, and, unfortunately, the people that signed me left. Some other people came in, they wanted to do it, and they ended up not doing it, so I got the record back.”
“And then, [I went through] a few different managers and stuff, so it’s just the same thing — they want the Korn machine moving,” he continued. “So finally I’ve got a break now, and I’m, like, ‘ I wanna do this now, guys. Let’s do this.’ So we’re doing it.”
As one would expect though, it would be hard for any musician to decide whether or not a song that they’ve written is better suited for their usual band or their solo project. However, for Davis, he admitted it was a rather easy process.
“It’s completely different — it’s not for Korn,” he said in regards to being asked why he chose to make a solo record. “You’ve heard ‘What It Is’ — that’s not a Korn song. So this is stuff that’s completely different.”
“There’s stuff I’ve brought to Korn before, like from these sessions, the song ‘Take Me’, on our last record was one of these songs, but we took it and the guys — [Korn guitarists] Head and Munky — got it, they tore it apart and made it their own. It’s totally different. Sometimes it works. But the majority of the stuff wouldn’t have worked for Korn.”
“I write every night of the road,” he continued. “Korn’s been on the road for a long time. So when everybody else is… well, not anymore, we don’t do that [right now], but back in the day, when everyone was partying and doing their thing, for me to stay sober and keep doing it, I’d just feed myself with my new addiction, [which was making] music.”
“So I would just write and write and write, and I would write all kinds of different songs just as an exercise,” he concluded. “That’s what got me through the night. So that’s just how this all came together. And some songs end up Korn songs, some songs don’t.”
With Korn hitting up Australia next month for their solo show in this country as part of the Download Festival, Jonathan Davis is set to head off on a solo tour almost immediately afterwards, hitting up Europe and a number of festivals. At this stage, there’s no details forthcoming about an Aussie tour, but we’re sure that if and when it happens, it will be just as well-received as a Korn concert usually is on these shores.
Check out the solo single from Korn’s Jonathan Davis, ‘What It Is’:
Download Festival Australia 2018 lineup
Korn (Only Australian Show)
Prophets of Rage
Limp Bizkit
Mastodon
Good Charlotte
NOFX
Suicidal Tendencies
Gojira
Amon Amarth
Arch Enemy
Falling In Reverse
Neck Deep
Sabaton
Hot Water Music
Of Mice & Men
The Story So Far
Northlane
Trophy Eyes
Nails
Issues
Bad Cop/Bad Cop
Ocean Grove
Psycroptic
King Parrot
Clowns
High Tension
Make Them Suffer
Saturday, March 24
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (Lic. / All Ages)
Tickets on sale now
