When Brian ‘Head’ Welch stunned fans in February 2005 by leaving the 30 million record-selling Korn, he caused a massive media storm. He testified in front of 20,000 kids at a church in his former home town of Bakersfield, sharing his story on an extended interview with CNN and even had MTV fly all the way to Israel to film him being baptised. The man affectionately known as Head promised to drop his long-awaited debut album Save Me From Myself ever since, however it has taken over three years for it to finally see the light.
Originally penned as It’s Time To See Religion Die, Head has spent the last three years living in seclusion in Arizona and working on his much anticipated debut with Grammy-winning producer Bob Clearmountain and additional producer/mixer Ralph Patlan. Prolific drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, The Vandals) contributed all the drum tracks early in the production phase and Mr Bungle’s Trevor Dunn contributed bass tracks. However, closer to the album’s release, it was revealed that Dunn had been sacked and Tony Levin of King Crimson fame had taken his place. Welch also signed a big record deal with indie-label Driven Music Group in conjunction with Warner Records to release the album. So while Head appeared to have vanished, a lot of work was being done behind the scenes to revive his career and vision.
The album begins ferociously with L.O.V.E., leading in with a signature Welch riff which would not sound astray on Korn albums from the era of Follow the Leader or Issues. A wall of guitars soon follows. The main riff is solid, and heavy, but not mindless. The verse reminds us of the old Korn, with multiple guitar tracks and almost whispered vocals, reminiscent of Korn tracks Shoots and Ladders and It’s On. The first track is anything but what you would expect from its title. It is heavy, progressive and solid – the perfect opener.
Lead single Flush follows, and most people would be familiar with it as it has preceded the album by a month. The official video clip has also been picked up by all the usual channels. Flush has copped some criticism for its lyrics, which are admittedly fairly simple and over-positive, however it is sung with some great screams and growls that Korn singer Jon Davis would notably be missing. Head has clearly spent a lot of time learning to sing, although he has provided great backing vocals in Korn songs since their debut album. The song is catchy and fuelled by Welch’s experiences with Korn and his slow and destructive decent into drugs and alcohol abuse.
Re-bel is an impressive track off the album. Rather epic in nature, it is a thick industrial-sounding track which features a children’s choir chanting Head’s lyrics like a nursery rhyme. The track then becomes very heavy, with a slow, grinding riff playing under Head’s screams of “Rebel!” The track explores a dark keyboard theme during the bridge, followed by an epic male chorus reminiscent of the Red Army Choir.
Welch has given his former swipe at 50 Cent, A Cheap Name, a big facelift on Home. The guitars replace the keyboards heard on the demo and Freese’s drumming gives the song a big lift. Freese is tight, playing heavily but with control. In fact, his drumming on the whole album is a credit to him. Head’s songs are not complex, and would be a walk in the park for Freese, but that is not to detract from his performance.
When Head announced the album, he promised to return to the raw sound of Korn’s early days. While in this author’s opinion, Head has not really done that. The closest track to achieve Welch’s vision is Adonai. The track is fast and loose, with plenty of screams and the signature Welch guitar effects which made nu-metal so popular in the ‘90s.
Album closer Washed by Blood is one of Head’s best tracks yet. At an epic 9:34, the song is a great achievement. Beginning with string samples, it progresses into Head’s now familiar melodic yet heavy sound. Welch throws just about everything at this one: guitars, vocal styles, strings, synths. If there was a track that could aptly show everything Head is capable of, this is it. The song is soft, heavy, aggressive and quiet during its long journey, and is a perfect grand finale to the album.
The Fool
said on the 22nd Sep, 2008