Brian Head Welch, US, Guitarist
August 11. Brian Welch. Brian—also known by his stage name Head—was a guitarist and a founding member of the nu metal band Korn, who pioneered nu metal music, a form of alternative metal music—music for the disenfranchised.
In 2005, Brian left the band to focus on life as a father and to pursue his own solo career. He released his debut Christian album, Save Me from Myself, in 2008.
Now, at the top of Brian’s Facebook page, he’s posted: “I am an example that depression, addiction, and deep-rooted self-hatred can be conquered.” On this date in 2009, Brian published his award-winning book Washed in the Blood: Lessons from My Time with Korn and My Journey to Christ. Today’s story shows what turned Brian into a conqueror.
If you’re a slave to the fix, surrender to Jesus, and be free.
The whole world thought Brian and his bandmates were living the musical dream, but behind the scenes, Brian’s life had eroded into a nightmare.
The alternative-metal band Korn was #1 on the charts, and night after night the group played to stadiums filled with screaming fans. “We’ve made it; we’ve arrived. There’s nowhere else to climb,” said guitarist Brian. But he soon learned that the cliché was true: it really was lonely at the top. And loneliness was not his biggest problem.
Brian had become a slave to a meth addiction and its chaotic lifestyle. He was using every day just to function. On the road with the band, he had every type of drug at his disposal; he couldn’t get away from it if he wanted to. At home, he would wake, snort meth, and make breakfast. “I spent day by day, week by week … using meth. I didn’t miss one day because I couldn’t get out of bed without it,” Brian said.
Brian knew no way out of his hell, so he emailed a trusted friend with a cry for help. His friend replied with a Scripture he felt God had given him for Brian. Brian read the words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV). That moment was a turning point for Brian. The words his friend had sent comforted him, and he got a glimpse of hope—a way out of the hell he was in.
On Sunday morning that same friend invited him to church. Desperate for help, with nothing to lose, Brian accepted. The two men sat together in the service. The singing and praying going on around him made Brian feel awkward. He didn’t want to be there, but he felt compelled to stay.
The pastor talked about how God had brought him out of a life of alcoholism and violence. And something began to stir inside Brian. He needed what that pastor had. Brian needed freedom. He prayed that if God were real, He would show up.
At home that night, Brian put his daughter in front of the TV and sat down to do what he always did. Snort some meth. But this time was different. This time he prayed. “Jesus, if you’re real like that pastor said, you gotta take these drugs from me. When you’ve reached the top … come into my life … you know I want to stop.” Suddenly the words of the pastor rang in Brian’s head.
“The Lord will fix you. You don’t have to come to him fixed. You come to him all broken.”
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls’” (Matthew 11:28–29 NLT).
Do you struggle with habitual sin? If you’re a slave to a fix, surrender to Jesus, and be free.
RealTalkTVShow. “Interview with Brian ‘Head’ Welch.” YouTube. February 4, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfYPSpq6Faw&t=585s. Welch, Brian. Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2008.
Story read by: Nathan Walker Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter Audio production: Joel Carpenter Story written by: Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/ Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ Project Manager: Blake Mattocks Copyright © 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved.