Korn's Jonathan Davis and Evanescence's Amy Lee believe that the music industry has become a place where personality, presentation and technology matter more than talent.
Speaking in a joint Interview Magazine feature with Lee, Davis opened up the conversation about the current state of the music industry by stating "It seems like music has moved on to a place where it doesn't matter about talent. It's about how talented the engineer is at faking everything."
Lee supported the statement adding that "it has become so much about personalities too, right? I feel like that’s like the new generation. It’s more about a personality than the actual song. I’ve seen their Instagram but like, what is their music? What does that mean to you? But I don’t want to be the old person complaining…"
The vocalist's bands are currently on tour together and while they weren't afraid to share their controversial opinions, they were also mindful that there is still a lot of good music out there. Davis added "In the long run, it’s cool because everybody’s enjoying music. That’s all that matters, adding "It’s fun for me because we get to watch all the bands opening. It’s gonna be sick."
While Lee still sees hope in the works of some young bands that she comes across "There’s still a lot of good stuff out there. The world of rock, especially heavy rock, has just grown and expanded a whole bunch. And I am really excited about what is happening with our tour with all the different openers instead of one. It ended up being this rad combination of cool things."
The two singers comments are sure to create controversy and come just a day after they caught the world's attention with a duet on Korn's Freak On A Leash.
Lee joined the nu-metal icons onstage at Denver's Ball Arena on August 16. The Denver gig was a stop on the joint headline run that Korn and Evanescence are currently playing across the USA.
You can watch fan footage of the full Freak On A Leash performance below.
The performance was a reunion of sorts, with Lee having featured on the 2007 MTV Unplugged version of the song. You can revisit that classic rendition below.
Both bands are currently touring new albums with Korn pushing their Aussie #1 Requiem and Evanescence pushing The Bitter Truth.
Dropping into a heavy music world that is currently vibing a nu-metal renaissance, Korn's Requiem was conceived out of very different circumstances than the majority of the band’s catalogue. It is an album born of time and the ability to create without pressure. Energised by a new creative process free of time constraints, the band was able to do things with Requiem that the past two decades haven't always afforded them, such as taking additional time to experiment together or diligently recording to analogue tape – processes which unearthed newfound sonic dimension and texture in their music. The result is the next genesis of Korn.
In the weeks leading up to release, we were fortunate enough to sit down for a lengthy chat with the band's legendary guitarist James 'Munky' Shaffer to talk about the creative process and origins of Requiem, the secret to the band's longevity and their influence on current heavy music, taking several detours along the way, to gain insight into what the life and drive of one-half of the metal world's most influential and recognisable guitar duos.
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