Background and career
Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is a guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. Along with fellow Korn guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer, Welch helped develop Korn's distinctive sound (a mix of sirenlike shards of dissonant guitar that mimicked a turntablist's various effects and rumbling down-tuned riffing) that defined the nu metal aesthetic beginning in the mid-'90s. After becoming a Christian, Welch left the band in 2005 to focus on life as a father and to pursue his own solo career. He released his debut Christian album, Save Me from Myself, in 2008. He reunited with Korn on-stage at the Carolina Rebellion in May 2012 for the first time in seven years; Welch officially announced in May 2013 that he was rejoining the band. Welch and Munky were ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.
Welch was born on June 19, 1970 at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, though other sources have sited Welch's birthplace as Torrance, California. Welch was raised in Bakersfield. He was different from most kids, and was bullied in school. He liked music, and was a big Ozzy Osbourne fan. Originally, Welch expressed interest in playing the drums, but his father convinced him to play the guitar so he would not have to haul a drum kit around. He began playing the guitar at the age of 10. His first guitar was a Peavey Mystic, which he referred to in his book Save Me from Myself as "maybe the most metal-looking guitar you have ever seen." Describing how he got his nickname "The Head", Welch stated,
"Guys said my head looked like it was too big for my body, and so they started calling me 'Head.' I guess it stuck".
Korn formed after the group L.A.P.D. broke up due to singer Richard Morrill's drug addiction. Musicians Reginald Arvizu, James Shaffer, and David Silveria wanted to continue, and they hired Welch to play guitar in their new band named "Creep". In early 1993, the band took notice of vocalist Jonathan Davis after seeing his band Sexart and attempted to recruit him. Davis initially did not want to join the band, but after consulting a psychic he changed his mind and auditioned. After Davis was hired, the group decided to rename themselves. "Jonathan had an immediate idea for a new name. He suggested that we call the band "Korn," and we all liked it. It sounded kinda creepy because it reminded us of that horror movie Children of the Corn". Starting with Korn's self-titled debut album and with subsequent albums Life Is Peachy, Follow The Leader, Issues, Untouchables, and Take A Look in the Mirror, the band gradually became one of the top-selling nu metal groups, earning $25 million in royalty payments and selling out arenas.
On February 22, 2005, Korn's management announced that after almost 12 years, Welch had left Korn, citing that he had "...chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end." In a 2009 radio interview with The Full Armor of God Broadcast, Welch explained: "I was walking one day, just doing my Rock & Roll thing making millions of bucks, you know success and everything, addicted to drugs and then the next day I had Revelation of Christ and I was like, everything changes right now!" On March 10, 2005, Welch was baptized in the Jordan River with a group of believers from his church in Bakersfield, California. He declared that he rid himself of all drugs in his "own personal rehab" with God, in which he had checked into a hotel room and sat in his bed for hours. Welch and Davis attacked each other in the media after the former's departure. After Welch said that Davis and the rest of Korn cared only about money, Davis responded in kind, opening a rift between them that has since been resolved. In an interview in which Welch was asked about his book and Korn's reaction to the book and the attacks in the media he made earlier at the band:
They heard that I'd written it, and there was rumors going around in Hollywood that I was totally trashing them and that it was a 'tell all' book about everything they did and I did. And so they actually wrote two songs on their new album bashing me about the book. But once I heard that they were concerned about the book, I sent them a copy and put a note in there and said, 'I love you guys. I didn't trash you like people say. Read it yourselves. It is what it is.' And now they're doing interviews, and I've read that they're totally cool with the book, and it's not what they thought it was going to be. So everyone's happy. But, now they've got two songs hating on me on their record. But it's cool. It's all good. I love them, they love me. I think maybe I deserved those songs because of some of the stuff that I said after I quit the band. So it's all good.
