Korn’s frontman Jonathan Davis has given a lengthy interview to the Independent, in which revealed — among other things — that the band’s fifth record Untouchables lives up to its title when it comes to his opinion of the extremely expensive album.
“The record I’m most proud of is Untouchables. I still think it sounds like the heavy metal Asia”, he said. “The production on it is of the same calibre in terms of sonic quality. We spent a lot of money making that record and it took us two years to make; I remember we spent a month just getting drum sounds. [Michael] Beinhorn is my favourite producer ever, he’s just got a great ear and he’s not afraid to tell you if you suck. I’d do vocal takes and think they were the best and then he’d tell me to go home because he thought my voice wasn’t right. I’d get so mad at him, but I love him.
“It was so much work; if I can find the footage, I’m going to put a little documentary together about that record because it’s a one of a kind that will never be made again.”
He also revealed that he finds Korn III to be the band’s worst record, blaming producer Ross Robinson for its failures.
“[Korn III] would have been a much better album if [Robinson] hadn’t been so fucking hard and let us have a bit of fun”, he says.
Davis spoke of recording ‘Are You Ready To Live?’, which deals with his wife’s drug addiction. “Ross called her without me knowing and asked her to show up to the studio and I had to sing that part to her! He pushes your buttons on purpose to get those kind of performances out of you and he wants to get you to the point where you’re so fucking mad, the emotions just come pouring out.
“I get it”, he adds, “but I don’t necessarily want to be a part of it now that I’ve been there and done that.”
It’s all water under the bridge, but it’s clear it niggles Davis. “I think he’s amazing, one of the last great producers, but that record sounds forced to me and it took me to a very dark place that I didn’t want to go back to. I think going backwards rather than forwards might have been the biggest mistake we made as a band.”
