HOLLYWOOD — Guitarist and co-founder of the metal band Korn, Brian "Head" Welch has revealed the powerful words God spoke to him that drastically changed his life forever.
At the premiere of "Run The Race" in Hollywood, California, the Grammy-winning rock star told The Gospel Herald that at the height of his career, he was the "worst of the worst," immersed in a life of drugs and alcohol.
"I was like the Apostle Paul...just doing everything wrong and being a 'bad boy' until I was in the gutter and God just was like, 'Are you done? Do you want real life now? Do you want to awaken to true love?' And so, that's what happened,'" he shared.
In 2005, Welch walked away from Korn - and a $23 million dollar record deal - because he had "chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end." During his sabbatical, Welch not only focused on building a relationship with Christ, but also devoted more time to being a better parent to his young daughter Jennea, now 20. He returned to the band eight years later, completely free of addiction.
Based on his experiences, Welch told GH that in a world that's increasingly hostile to Christians, it's important to spend one-on-one time with God and shut out outside noise.
"My biggest thing that's always helped me is to focus on the intimate life; take time and separate yourself from everything," he shared. "Turn off the phones. It's not all about going to church and praising with the body and everything - that's amazing and important - but we've got to have a relationship with Christ. We have to pull away from the crowds and worship Jesus alone."
The California native said that as a bad-boy-turned-outspoken-Christian, he believes he will "really resonate" with the film "Run the Race," which tackles issues of identity and redemption.
Welch is currently gearing up to release his own film with his daughter on June 2 titled, "Loud crazy Love." The movie is an honest documentary about how the life of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll impacted his relationship with his daughter.
The musician told GH that he wants to be honest about his past indiscretions to inspire others to live a God-glorifying life. He shared how, since becoming a Christian, he's learned to deal with his frustrations in a healthy, open way.
"We have to be real with God," he shared. "The other day things weren't going a certain way. I used to be quiet about it and say, 'Lord I trust you.' But the other day I said, 'Lord, I'm frustrated with this,' and I let that out because I don't want to keep anything inside anymore. I bottled up too much."
"I''m going to let the good bad and the ugly out in a way that is honoring to Him, too," he added. "I used to cuss when I got frustrated, but now it's just like, 'Look, I'm frustrated right now, and I know you said this, and I trust you in this, but I'm going to expose my feelings to you.' That's really helped me a lot."
