Korn are working on a new studio album and, according to Brian “Head” Welch, it’s going to be a heavy-sounding return to roots.
The guitarist, who co-founded Korn in 1993, has spoken about the California nu metal pioneers’ progress with new music in an interview with WSOU 89.5 FM.
“We are passionately and intensely working on new music,” Welch said (as transcribed by Metal Injection), though he also admits, “We’re a little bit behind.”
The guitarist elaborates: “I love the songs that we’ve done, but tone-wise I feel like we can beat it. So we’re spending a lot more time on this new music, we’re spending a lot more money and we don’t have any record label involved, so it’s all coming from us.”
Promisingly, though, Welch continues by saying, “We really want to dissect our sound and remember where we came from and how we did it back then,” then promises “a vintage Korn feel with a modern twist”.
He adds, “I think it’s the best and heaviest Korn stuff in years. And I think it’s gonna be raw and just kind of more basic, as far as sound and recording and everything. I don’t wanna give it all away, but we’re just very, very pleased with where we’re at right now.”
Korn’s 15th album will follow 2022’s Requiem, and it’s unclear whether or not longtime bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu will perform on it.
Though Arvizu tracked the bass for Requiem, he took a hiatus from Korn before the album’s release and is yet to return.
In a letter to fans in June 2021, Arvizu explained he was stepping away to work on “bad habits” which have “caused some tension with the people around me”. The exact nature of these “bad habits” has not been specified.
Before Korn release their next album, they will tour extensively in 2024. They’ll spend the summer playing European dates and festivals (including a stacked show at London’s Gunnersbury Park on August 11), then from September to October will tour North America with Gojira and Spiritbox.
All of Korn’s confirmed live shows for the year are listed below. Tickets to the European dates are now available; American dates go on sale tomorrow (March 29).
Korn 2024 tour dates:
Jul 22: Marousi Ejekt festival, Greece
Jul 25: Plovdiv Hills Of Rock festival, Bulgaria
Jul 27: Sibiu Artmania festival, Romania
Jul 29: Prater Metastadt Open Air, Austria
Jul 30: Katowice Spodek, Poland
Aug 01: Berlin Zitadelle Spandau, Germany
Aug 02: Wacken Open Air, Germany
Aug 04: Lokeren Lokerse Feesten, Belgium
Aug 08: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, UK
Aug 09: Halifax Piece Hall, UK
Aug 11: London Gunnersbury Park, UK
Aug 14: Munch Zenith, Germany
Aug 15–17: Sulingen Reload festival, Germany
Aug 18: Charleville-Mézières Cabaret Vert, France
Aug 19: Bonn Kunstgarten, Germany
Sep 12: Tampa Midflorida Credit Union Ampitheatre, FL
Sep 14: West Palm Beach Ithink Financial Amphitheatre, FL
Sep 16: Alpharetta Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, GA
Sep 18: Charlotte PNC Music Pavilion, NC
Sep 20: Camden Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, NJ
Sep 21: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Sep 23: Newark Prudential Center, NJ
Sep 25: Toronto Budweiser Stage, Canada
Sep 27: Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre, MI
Sep 28: Tinley Park Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, IL
Sep 29: Louisville Louder Than Life, KY
Oct 02: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Oct 03: Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, AZ
Oct 05: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA
Oct 08: Portland Moda Center, OR
Oct 10: Tacoma Dome, WA
Oct 12: Nampa Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, ID
Oct 13: Salt Lake City Delta Center, UT
Oct 16: Greenwood Village Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, CO
Oct 18: Kansas City T-Mobile Center, MO
Oct 20: The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, TX
Oct 21: San Antonio Frost Bank Center, TX
Oct 23: Tulsa Bok Center, OK
Oct 25: Omaha CHI Health Center, NE
Oct 27: Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN
