Originally published in the NCC Chronicle on September 26, 2008.
Brian “Head” Welch might be the most unlikely person to have become a Christian. He was a drug addict, a member of a popular heavy metal band, and is covered in tattoos.
But in 2005, Welch, the former bassist of the heavy rock band Korn, became a born-again Christian and left his band and his lifestyle behind for good. He wrote a memoir and recorded a solo album—both are titled Save Me From Myself—and hit the road on a signing tour. He stopped by WONC last Sunday and gave an on-air interview for Mission Rock, the Christian alternative radio show here at North Central, to promote the album and shed light on his most unlikely life story.
Welch explained how he got to writing the book in the first place.
“I really didn’t want to do it at first because I’m a musician,” he said. “But I felt like if I shared my life and all my struggles and my deep secrets and just poured out my soul, it would help me and help someone who is reading it.”
But writing about such personal information seemed to make things all the more difficult.
“It was a struggle. As I was writing, I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ because there are a few things in my life, like beating my wife, that my daughter is going to read about one day. But I knew that it had to be real.”
Welch explained what brought him and his former band mates together and how that connection manifested itself through their music.
“We all felt connected in some way. Most of us share the same sort of pain when we were kids. The pain of being rejected, the pain of being picked on, the pain of not understand a father’s love for us. Everyone had similar issues with their dads when they were kids. It was a pain a lot of our fans would share later on.”
With the band, he said, they found an outlet for their emotions.
“It felt good to be angry,” he said.
The events Welch chronicles in his book are eye-opening. His troubled childhood, his addiction to alcohol and methamphetamines, and his struggles with depression eventually began to wear away at his soul and cause severe inner turmoil.
He writes in the book: “There was a battle between my brain and my soul where I wasn’t sure who I was going to let win. It was almost like God and the devil were fighting over my soul. Like it was a spiritual fight for my life and it was up to me to make the final choice.”
When Welch decided to leave the band in 2005, there was a brief falling-out period between him and the other members of Korn. Since then, though, their relationships have improved.
“It’s healing. They’re my friends. They say I can come back any time. That’s pretty cool for them to say. I wish the best for them and they wish the best for me. They just want me to be alive and happy.”
Welch has turned away from his troubled past and blazes a new trail in the Christian music industry, using his life story to get across a message of redemption and hope. He made a music video for “Flush,” the single off the new album. The song, he says, is about flushing away all of the junk in your life and starting fresh.
But the video, which features some gruesome content and sensuality, has taken aback some in the Christian industry. Welch remains defiant.
“Lighten up!” he says to those who question his work. “Look at the Bible. If they made it into a real movie, it would be rated worse than ‘R.’ There’s incest, rape, violence throughout the whole thing. And look at Jesus in the Bible. He went around saying all kinds of crazy stuff. You know, ‘Eat my flesh and drink my blood.’ It’s like a metal song, really.”
Asked about the reaction from fans of his former band about his new music and spirituality, Welch said he hasn’t dealt with any backlash personally. But when he is asked about it by someone who is apprehensive, he simply tells them to read the book and listen to the album.
“After listening to the album, most of the people say, ‘I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect this.’”
As for his future, Welch has an idea of what he would like to accomplish with his music and with his new ministry directed towards troubled kids.
“I would like to tour eventually, if the doors open for the music and it’s meant to be. I have a lot more music. I can’t wait to do another album.”
Above all, Welch remains humbled and grateful for a second chance at life. He believes he has found his calling in making music with a message, even if the means by which he gets that message out offends some people.
“I’m not called to be a Sunday school teacher. I’m called to share my testimony and help wake people up.”
Brian Welch’s debut album Save Me From Myself is in stores now.