On Friday the 13th, Korn guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch’s long-dormant side project Love And Death returned after an eight-year hiatus.
Welch is joined by Breaking Benjamin’s Jasen Rauch on bass, JR Bareis on guitar/vocals and Isaiah Perez on the drums. The band will unleash a new album Perfectly Preserved on February 12, 2021. Last week, the band gave fans a taste of what to expect with lead single ‘Down.’
“Everybody knows my foundation,” explained Head of the band’s return in a press release. “I feel like what our world needs most in this very unique moment in time are real stories about overcoming struggle. These are honest songs co-written by our group of friends targeting depression/mental health, challenging relationships, trauma, loneliness, and related issues.”
Jasen added, “There are certain things we can do melodically in Love and Death that might not work in Korn.”
He continued, “For me, there are certain creative risks I can take with the arrangements and production that wouldn’t fit with Breaking Benjamin. In this band, we don’t worry about how long a song might be, for example.”
As well as debuting single ‘Down’, the band unveiled the Perfectly Preserved tracklist — which notably features a cover of DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s ‘Let Me Love You.’ The Love & Death cover will feature contributions from ex-Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm.
Welch recently sat down with The Earache Project to discuss the return of his side project, and to illuminate his decision to cover a Justin Bieber track.
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When asked about the potential backlash at stake from the metalhead community for covering a Justin Bieber song, Head noted “DJ Snake actually wrote that song, Justin Bieber is only a guest.”
He continued, :So, maybe that’ll give us more street cred. So I have always loved that song and, actually, J.R. Bareis, the other singer in Love & Death, he brought it, and he did a demo of it.
“It was like just totally – take a pop song and crush it heavy. It just sounds way more fun to us, so that’s all. But, yeah, I wanted to see what you guys thought, I didn’t know if you would like it.”
Despite wholeheartedly backing the decision to cover the track, Welch is anticipating mixed reactions. Adding “we’ll probably get mixed reactions from it but we loved doing it, and it was fun to us, and it’s freaking crushing! And with Lacey singing on it…
Check out ‘Down’ by Love and Death:
Perfectly Preserved tracklist:
1. Infamy
2. Tragedy
3. Down
4. Let Me Love You (feat. Lacey Sturm)
5. Death Of Us
6. Slow Fire
7. The Hunter (feat. Keith Wallen)
8. Lo Lamento
9. Affliction
10. White Flag (feat. Ryan Hayes)
