Since its first haunted tracks became staples on mid-'90s rock radio, Korn has influenced a generation of angst-ridden rockers. It has also undergone some drastic personnel, and personal changes. In 2005, core member Brian "Head" Welch left the group to pursue his Christian faith, musically and otherwise. Statements exchanged via separate interviews during the past year have revealed that the professional rift between Head and the rest of Korn remains unresolved. Meanwhile, fellow former drug-crazed member Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu has also traded in the chemicals for the cross, a story that is told at length in the autobiographical tome Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery and Korn, released last year. However, Fieldy managed to undergo his spiritual revolution without leaving the band.
The current lineup is made up of founding members Jonathan Davis, Fieldy, and James "Munky" Shaffer, all of whom Davis recently called "the three that's the core of what Korn is," plus Ray Luzier (formerly of Army of Anyone) on drums. What has remained constant throughout the whirlwind of spiritual awakenings and band-related drama is the dark and cathartic quality of the group's music. Its new, ninth studio album, Korn III: Remember Who You Are, offers reassurance to devotees that Davis is as tortured as he was in the band's heyday, though the issues dealt with on the record are those of a man approaching 40.
