On the Joshua Toomey Interviews podcast, Phil Labonte of All That Remains discussed Korn’s profound impact on the metal scene, particularly highlighting their influence on nu-metal and its evolution. Labonte credited Korn’s 1994 self-titled debut album with introducing critical elements of the nu-metal genre that continue to resonate in heavy music today. He explained:
“Without Korn, I don’t think you’d get deathcore bands that you have today. I think that they had a really, really strong influence on what it meant to make heavy music and what was heavy.”
Labonte pointed out Korn’s role in popularizing breakdowns and downbeats in heavy music, elements that were present in death metal before Korn but became more prominent due to their influence:
“The breakdown and downbeat stuff, there was some of that stuff in death metal before Korn and in metal before Korn, but Korn really brought that kind of out. And I don’t even know that you would have metalcore breakdowns that you do without bands like Korn. I’m not sure. Maybe you would, but I’m not sure.”
Jonathan Davis, Korn’s frontman, also shared his thoughts on the band’s impact in a 2019 Kerrang! interview. Reflecting on their early days, Davis described Korn as outcasts in the metal community:
“We were ultimately just outcasts. Nobody knew what to f*cking do with us in the early days; we were doing tours with No Doubt, Pennywise and KMFDM, but the metal community took us in. We had distorted guitars and were heavy, but no-one knew what to do with us. We didn’t fit in anywhere. Who’s this guy with a f*ckin’ tracksuit playing bagpipes? It’s the weirdest f*cking sh*t.”
Davis admitted that while he initially disliked labels like ‘nu-metal,’ he has come to embrace the term, acknowledging Korn’s role in shaping the genre:
“It’s crazy. I used to hate being called this and that, I hated labels. When we first started we were like, ‘We’re not a metal band, y’all’’ then they’d go ‘Oh, then you’re nu-metal!’ ‘Well f*ck you!’ If we invented nu-metal then f*ck yeah, cool. It’s pretty cool to say we helped invent some kind of movement, that’s pretty insane. The last big movement was us. Other bands helped along the way, but we spearheaded that whole thing.”
Korn’s latest album, *Requiem*, was released in 2022, and the band is currently on a European tour, set to conclude in Germany on August 19 before heading to North America in September for more performances.
You can watch Labonte’s full interview below for more insights into Korn’s lasting impact on metal.
