Korn guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer recently provided an in-depth update on the band’s highly anticipated follow-up to their 2022 album, Requiem. In a new conversation with Rolling Stone Brasil‘s Igor Miranda, the guitarist revealed that the band has written close to 40 songs during a highly critical and exhaustive creative process.
Addressing the timeline for the upcoming record, James “Munky” Shaffer emphasized that the band is determined to maintain their core identity while simultaneously pushing their creative boundaries.
“It’s taking a f**king long time. We’ve gone through… I swear to God, we’ve written probably almost 40 songs, and gone through ’em, and rewrote ’em, and got rid of ’em, and tore ’em apart, and rebuilt ’em. And it’s been quite a long process because we’re very critical about what we do now. We’re very particular, because we wanna keep our original sound. You can’t really get away from that — when we start playing, it sounds like Korn, especially with all five of us. And Ra [current Korn bassist Roberto Díaz] has actually been such a great addition to bringing a lot of energy in the rhythm section. And Ray [Luzier, Korn drummer] and him play really well together. And it’s fun to watch those guys work out parts, because they do some stuff that I wouldn’t think of. That’s been a big part of this writing process, is those two working together, because they’ve never worked together on a record. Obviously, they’ve worked together on the older songs and stuff. But I think that working on the older songs, those two, learning the rhythm parts, has really given some insight to what is on the back catalog, and they’ve brought a similar vibe into the newer stuff that we’ve written, and that is exciting,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Despite the infusion of fresh energy, the guitarist assured fans that the fundamental stylistic elements of Korn will remain fully intact on the upcoming release.
“But, yeah, we’re trying to… As an artist, and any artist, you don’t wanna paint the same picture over and over again. You wanna add some flavor, add some color, add something new so it feels fresh, so the listeners still get a classic sound, but with fresh takes on things. So, it still sounds like Korn, for sure. There’s no heavy electronics, or you’re not gonna get anything too far out of left field. It’s still very guitar driven and bass heavy,” he stated.
When asked why the gap between albums has been longer than usual, James “Munky” Shaffer pointed to the band’s demanding post-pandemic touring schedule and their commitment to quality control.
“Well, we had quite an extensive touring schedule, especially after COVID. We were excited to get back out on the road. And I can’t remember exactly when, but I think when we released [2019’s] The Nothing is when we had some tours planned. And we were really excited because I love that record, and it really didn’t have its day. We didn’t really go out to support that record. And when we were in COVID, I was going insane being trapped at home. And I kind of assembled everybody to, like, ‘Can we get together? Can we all safely get together in a studio?’ And that was the result of Requiem. I think it’s just been a lot of touring and us taking our time to release something that… We didn’t wanna release something mediocre. That’s why I think we keep on writing and rewriting. ‘Cause honestly, we wanna release new music. We could just keep touring on our old records. But we like to keep something fresh. I think we took a page out of the book of Metallica on that. We can always play some new music and write something and record. And it’s fun. We love the process of writing and recording, just as much as we do touring,” he detailed.
The interview also touched upon the current status of original Korn bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, who stepped away from the band in June 2021 to address personal habits and focus on healing. The guitarist discussed the reality of recording new material without their longtime bandmate.
“There’s been moments where it’s difficult in imagining what it could be right here, if he was in the band, what would he do, kind of thing. But on the last couple of records, he was kind of checked out, and trying to get him engaged was a little bit difficult, just to stay in the room while we were writing. He would always just kind of leave, and he’d be in there for a few minutes, and then kind of just not focused, and he just kind of lost his ambition, I guess. But it’s okay. It happens. Everything goes in cycles. We’re definitely not mad at him or anything. We want him to be happy, and it didn’t really feel like he was happy being a working musician at the time. So it was a mutual sort of… I wouldn’t say ‘split’, because… I still use the word ‘hiatus’. I think he needed a break from [the band],” James reflected.
He elaborated on the grueling nature of the music industry and how the band’s relentless pace may have impacted the bassist over their three-decade career.
“We work our a**es off. Even when we’re not touring, we’re writing music or we’re working on things. And when we go home, we take a couple of weeks off from tour, and then we’re back at it. And I think that sort of schedule just became too daunting for him, after 30 years, to continue. It takes a lot of stamina. I just don’t feel like he had it at the time, or just had a lot of other personal stuff happening too. He wasn’t happy. It was obvious that he wasn’t happy. And at the end of the day, he’s our brother, and we want him to be happy. So it’s, like, ‘Well, do what you wanna do. Just stay healthy. Keep your mental health on the track to pursue whatever it is that makes you happy.'”
Regarding Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu‘s current well-being, the guitarist shared an optimistic update.
“I’ve heard he’s doing well. I haven’t spoke to him personally in probably a few months. But, yeah, I see his kids. His son is playing bass, and he’s doing a band, and I think Fieldy‘s been helping with that, and with his son. It looks like they’re having a good time. And, yeah, he looks like he’s doing better, honestly, which makes us all feel great. We definitely wanna see him at his best and enjoying being home with his family and staying healthy.”
While fans await the next full-length album, Korn recently broke their release drought. This past April, the band surprise-released a new track titled “Reward The Scars“, which was featured on the soundtrack for the “Diablo IV: Lord Of Hatred” expansion pack. The song, which marks the first new material since the release of Requiem, received its live debut during Korn‘s performance at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas late last month.
