Korn’s Jonathan Davis Says ’90s Nu-Metal Scene Was “Full of Misogynistic, Opportunistic, Dickhead Jocks”

By the time Korn and their ilk made it to my high school it was already the domain of the jocks, and that’s a big part of why I checked out from metal between roughly 1996 and 2000. But according to Jonathan Davis, he resents that his music was coopted by that crowd.

In a new interview with NME, Davis was asked about the ’90s nu-metal scene, and, like so many musicians from that era, says he was not a fan of everything the movement came to represent:

“Oh man, that scene was full of misogynistic, opportunistic dickhead jocks. The sort of people who’d be bullying me at school if they weren’t supporting my band at shows.

“I’m about the art. We got lumped in with that stuff kinda because of the way we dressed. We were kinda hip-hop, but there was nothing really hip-hop about Korn other than the basslines to an extent. I didn’t rap!

“In the beginning, nobody knew what we were – we’d play shows with No Doubt or Pennywise and then when the metal community embraced us we went with it because it felt like we’d found a home.

“But I hate thinking that some people hear the name Korn and think we’re some douchebag, misogynistic, fucking macho dickhead band. I think the fact that we’re still here says a lot…”

While the band’s dress style certainly borrowed from hip hop, I’d argue that Korn got lumped into the nu-metal scene precisely because they sounded like a friggin’ nu-metal band, musically speaking, even if Davis didn’t rap. I don’t believe that rapping was the defining element of nu-metal, although it certainly was a frequent ingredient in the potpourri.

That said, I can certainly empathize with the plight of having your artistic intent twisted, morphed and turned into something it’s not. Although I have to imagine, with Korn’s continued massive success, Davis had the last laugh at those jocks.

Korn’s new album, The Nothing, is out now. Read our official review here.

[via Ultimate Guitar]