In a recent interview with ‘Talk Toomey’ podcast, Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera talked about the 30th anniversary of Korn’s self-titled debut album.
The rocker recalled how he first found out about the band. “Yeah, [it’s] very nostalgic. I remember [my late stepson] Dana coming home — Dana is of course [Max’s wife and manager] Gloria’s son [who was killed] in ’96. And Dana coming home with the promo of both records, Korn, I think he had a one-song promo, and he had Deftones’ ‘Adrenaline.’ And I listened to both. I had no idea who those bands are. I even joked, with Dana, about the names. Korn, that’s a weird name, man. I don’t think that’s gonna fly. How wrong was I?”
“But, yeah, I loved the music for real. Especially recording ‘Roots’ and [Soulfly’s debut album] ‘Soulfly,’ a lot of times, in the car, going in the studio, going up in Malibu, I was blasting, yeah, first Korn a lot, Deftones’ ‘Adrenaline’, and I got to be part of the second [Deftones album], ‘Around The Fur’, which is one of my favorite records of all time,” Cavalera continued. “That record is so good, man. It’s so killer. I still today, I listen to that and just go, ‘Whoa, what a banger of an album.’ But, yeah, the first Korn is the same. It’s an incredible record. It has a lot of emotion, but it’s balls-heavy too. The grooves are f*cking great — great grooves on that record.”
In a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis shared his thoughts on Sepultura’s album ‘Roots,’ saying he felt it copied Korn’s sound. “I thought [it] was a big compliment, but I also thought it] was f*cked up. That was just a blatant Korn rip-off, and I had it out with producer Ross Robinson about that, because he just took our sound and gave it to Sepultura. My young brain couldn’t handle it. But they were one of our biggest influences, so I guess they get a pass. And that’s a classic album, so it’s all good.”
However, Cavalera later clarified that this wasn’t the case. “I don’t see it like that,” he said. “I think especially the sound of Korn, in my opinion, with the bass, is horrible. We didn’t have that; we had a lot of low end and things that the Korn album didn’t have. So I don’t see why he would be pissed off, because I don’t see that much of a [similarity] between the two of them. Plus, Korn wasn’t the only reason we wanted to work with Ross. He had done a Fear Factory demo that I really liked and had a really raw sound. And he had done a Deftones song on the ‘Adrenaline’ album that I really liked.”
Korn’s debut album turned 30 this month. To celebrate it, the band announced an interactive free pop-up museum, limited quantity ‘Here to Slay’ hot sauce, and two different skate decks in collaboration with The Skateroom.