BRIAN 'HEAD' WELCH: Why God Has Called Me Back To KORN

KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, who left the band in 2005 after becoming a Christian and returned eight years later, was asked in a new interview with Matt's Movie Reviews if he has seen a growing Christian community on the heavy metal touring circuit. "Definitely people are more spiritual nowadays," he said (hear audio below). "It's crazy. Just so many. And if they're not Christians already, they're just open to talking about it. Because it looks different now — the faith of Christianity has changed. Before, it was just judgmental, and it was, like, you have to be separate from the world, and you can't be in this music. In America, it was laughable a few decades ago. It was like 'The Simpsons' — that show 'The Simpsons'. People thought of Christians like the Ned Flanders character — annoying people that thought they were just too good or holier than everybody else, and 'everyone's going to hell' or whatever. And so nowadays, you can show you're a complete mess without God and that you don't judge others. That's why I think God has called me back to the band, 'cause he's changing the way Jesus really is. He's showing the authentic faith and the real acceptance of actually everybody — everybody is welcome to come to him. So it's pretty cool to be a part of that."

Welch was also asked if he was an influence on KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu to become a born-again Christian in order to help get his life together and get sober.

"I was not any influence whatsoever to him," Brian said. "It was really wild how it happened, because his dad became a Christian when we were, like, 18, 19 years old. His dad was a musician too, and he played around in clubs and just partied a lot — drank so much and did drugs. So we were shocked when he changed to become a Christian. We were, like, 'Oh, no. He's gonna be one of those weird guys.' His dad, at first, shoved it down his throat, and then, after seeing that didn't work, he just kind of loved on him and wanted a relationship with him. So what happened was I became a Christian, I left the band, and I went to follow God my own way, to be with my daughter. And then, I was at home all the time. And while I was gone, Fieldy's dad passed away, and at that point, he decided to seek out the Bible and see if there's any truth in there. 'Cause his dad suddenly passed away at a young age — he was in his fifties or something. So that was it. He opened the Bible and he's never put it away since that day. And it was all on his own — not even with me at all. But he stayed in the band, and I left. And I was confused with that. People were too. Fans were confused: 'Why can't Brian be in the band if Fieldy is?'"

Both Welch and KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu have had highly public conversion experiences, ones that have been greeted with a certain amount of skepticism.

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years.

Welch rejoined KORN for a handful of live performances in 2012 before officially becoming part of the lineup again in early 2013.