Korn Member Leaving Band for Religion Feb 24, 8:02 AM EST
The Associated Press
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A founding member of Korn is leaving the band to focus on his religious beliefs. "Korn has parted ways with guitarist Brian `Head' Welch, who has chosen Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end," said a statement posted Tuesday on Korn's Web site.
Welch told The Bakersfield Californian that his decision might be surprising to some. "A lot of people think I'm crazy. I don't care."
Welch said he'd become increasingly disenchanted with producing heavy metal music that invokes dark and morbid images.
"Those guys in the band, they're not bad guys. They're just a bunch of kids getting marketed how these guys in the big corporate firms want to do," Welch said.
"It makes us look like bad people, but we're really just a bunch of kids who never had a chance to grow up."
Korn is working on its eighth album, set for release later this year. The band's self-titled 1994 debut album sold more than 2 million copies.