The first incarnation of Korn was a band known as LAPD. At first LAPD stood for 'Love and Peace Dude'; however they later changed the name to 'Laughing As People Die' in order to be taken more seriously as a band. The group consisted of James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, David Silveria and lead singer Richard Morales, who later left the band, and the remaining members changed their name to Creep, adding guitarist Brian Welch. After adding singer Jonathan Davis (former frontman of Sexart) in 1993, they began calling themselves Korn, styling their name with a distinctive backwards letter "R". The band released their debut album, Korn, through Epic/Immortal Records in October, 1994. Korn is arguably the album most responsible for the rise of nu metal and has been a vital influence to legions of other bands of the genre including Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber, Static-X, Adema and Slipknot, earning KoRn the frequent nickname 'godfather of nu-metal.'

The band followed up their debut album with their second album, Life Is Peachy, in October, 1996. The album was more successful than their first, debuting at No.3 on The Billboard 200. It spawned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in the song "No Place to Hide." The album's release featured the first live internet broadcast by the band, and thus Korn became the first music artist to appear live on the internet to promote their new LP. Korn performed songs from the new album and took calls from internet fans watching at home. The event was hosted by longtime Korn friend, Adam Carolla, known best for his hosting of Loveline. The online performance was one of the first of its kind and helped launch Korn's internet presence which soon became a predominant part of their marketing and availability to fans.

In late 1997 the band formed their own label, Elementree Records. The first band they've signed was Orgy, who became succesful with their debut album "Candyass" which was certified platinum. Over the next years they've signed such acts as Videodrone, rapper Marz, and Deadsy.
Prior to the release of the band's 3rd album, Korn was featured once a week on their internet TV show, KornTV, which showed behind the scenes of the making of the record as well as special guests such as porn star Ron Jeremy, Limp Bizkit, 311 and many more. It also gave fans the chance to call in and ask the band questions. Korn was already ahead of the game by utilizing the internet to reach their fans. August 1998 saw Korn at their peak as they released their third album, Follow the Leader. It is generally recognized as their breakthrough album, and the album that ultimately ushered alternative metal into the mainstream. It featured a number of guest vocalists such as Ice Cube, Tre Hardson from the Pharcyde and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. Korn launched a whirlwind political campaign-style tour (from August 17, 1998 in Los Angeles through September 1 in Phoenix) to promote the release of Follow the Leader. It took the group all over North America to spread the news of their "Family Values" platform to hordes of fans at special "fan conferences" that were organized at every stop along the tour route. Korn chartered a jet, which took them to record stores in such cities as Riverside (CA), San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Toronto, Atlanta, and Dallas. They talked to fans at every stop, answered questions during the special "fan conferences" and signed autographs. Jim Rose hosted the entire "Kampaign" tour. Celebrities at various stops included Ice Cube and Todd McFarlane. The album was a success, reaching No.1 on the U.S. and Canadian charts and spawning the singles "Got the Life" and "Freak On A Leash." Follow The Leader debuted at the #1 slot in Canada, New Zealand and Australia; #4 in Finland; #5 in France, the U.K. and Norway; #8 in Japan; #10 in Holland; #12 in Germany; and it registered the highest debut on the Pan European "Music & Media" chart (at #6). The animated segments in the video for "Freak On A Leash" were directed by Todd McFarlane (creator of the Spawn comic book and a former artist for Spider-Man comics), who also drew the cover for the album. The live action in the video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, used innovative techniques which featured 'the magic bullet' that the camera followed through various scenes as well as a performance of the band in a Twilight Zone like room. "Freak on a Leash" won a Grammy for Best Video (Short Form), earned 9 Mtv Awards nominations, for: Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice. Eventually it won 2, for: Best Rock Video, and Best Editing. Follow the Leader is the band's most commercially successful album, being certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA and having sold almost 10 million copies worldwide.

The same year Follow the Leader was released, Korn started their own annual heavy metal tour called the Family Values Tour. That year they headlined the tour along with Incubus, Orgy, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube and Rammstein. It was highly succesful tour, there was a live CD and DVD from Family Values Tour'98 which earned gold and platinum status, respectively. In 1999, Limp Bizkit headlined, along with Primus, Staind, Korn, The Crystal Method, and Filter. Korn were not featured on the bill and instead only made surprise appearances at a few of the tour's stops to perform their first single off of their next album, "Falling Away From Me." The tour took a break in 2000 due to heavy competition.
 
In 1999 Korn performed at Woodstock '99 on 23th July in front of 250,000 fans. The band cites its performance as one of its most memorable moments.
 
The band's next album, Issues, was released in November 1999. The album debuted at #1 on The Billboard 200 and was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA, following up the success of Follow the Leader. It featured a broader range of styles and vocals compared to previous albums. To celebrate the album's release, the band performed the record in its entirety in front of a live audience at New York's historic Apollo Theater and broadcast the concert simultaneously across many radio stations. This performance made Korn only the second white musical group to ever perform at The Apollo after the legendary Buddy Holly in the late 1950's. This special event featured the NYPD marching drum and bagpipe band as well as a group of back-up singers to enhance the more melodic choruses and backing vocals Jonathan Davis used on the album. Earlier that year, Korn had appeared on an episode of South Park, titled Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery, in which the first single from Issues, "Falling Away From Me" was premiered. In the episode, the band helped the boys solve a Scooby-Doo style mystery. Korn released two more singles off of Issues, "Make Me Bad" and "Somebody Someone", both of which fared well on US charts. Videos were also shot for all three singles, with longtime friend Fred Durst directing the dark "Falling Away From Me", and Udo Kier and Brigitte Nielsen starring in a concept video for "Make Me Bad." The video for "Somebody Someone" was a simple performance.
 
In 2001, Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, Staind, Static-X, and Deadsy headlined the Family Values Tour. This was the last Family Values Tour held.
 
In June 2002, after two and a half years of hard work and a long creative process, Korn re-emerged into the media spotlight with their 5th album, Untouchables. As befits the trend-setting rock pioneers, Korn recorded Untouchables in a way that no rock artist has done before. By utilizing the new Euphonix R1 Digital Hard Disk Recorder with a 96k, 24-bit sampling rate - which is twice the highest rate that’s normally used for recording - KORN and producer Michael Beinhorn were able to create a rich sonic panorama which accentuates clarity as well as harmonics that are perceived rather than heard as musical sounds. The album had a very dark and gothic feel while featuring synths, strings and various effects the band had never used in an album before. The overall feel was drastically different from previous efforts particularly tracks like "Alone I Break," "Hating," and the haunting "Hollow Life," which singer Jonathan Davis claims is his favorite Korn song to this day. While the album received critical praise, Untouchables had disappointing sales. The band has blamed Internet piracy for the drop in sales - as an unmixed version of the album had leaked a whole five months prior to its official release date (from Munky's computer).
 
The album's first single "Here to Stay" earned a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Untouchables has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The first 2 videos from Untouchables were directed by the Hughes Brothers (best known for their films, Menace II Society and From Hell). The first video, "Here To Stay," has the band playing inside a TV on a static background along with controversial news stories and world issues being presented. The video was nominated to Mtv Video Music Award for Best Rock Video and won MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Video (Group). The second video, "Thoughtless," was a nod back to Jonathan's childhood as the character in the video is picked on and constantly beaten. The character ultimately gains revenge in a rather grotesque but deserving way. The third video for Untouchables, "Alone I Break," was directed by Sean Dack who won the honor of directing Korn's video through an Mtv contest. The video kept with the darkness of Korn, showing Jonathan Davis killing off the members of the band after a supposed mistake made by Munky when they were performing. The band later admitted the video would have been more fun to do if the director was actually a Korn fan.
 
Prior to their next album, Korn released the single "Did My Time," which was featured on the soundtrack to the Angelina Jolie film, Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life in early 2003. Angelina Jolie appeared in the video for "Did My Time," however due to scheduling conflicts the band's performance was shot at a different time and location than Angelina Jolie's. The single Did My Time was also used on the next album.
 
Korn's sixth album, Take a Look in the Mirror was released in November 2003. Korn produced this record themselves and cited it as a look back upon their career by returning back to a more stripped down and raw sound. The album featured the singles "Right Now," "Everything I've Known," and "Y'all Want A Single." The first two singles were animated videos while the third single, "Y'all Want A Single," was a performance video, which featured Korn and a large group of fans destroying a record store. The album peaked at No. 9 on The Billboard 200. Although the album provided what the fans were supposedly looking for, it was considered a disappointment by many who thought the first album could never be duplicated. The album also features the remastered track "Alive," which is the song Davis sang back in 1994 while first trying out for the band.
In 2004, Korn released their greatest hits album, Greatest Hits, Volume 1. It featured two cover songs and a compilation of the band's hits from the past 10 years. The first single was a cover of the song "Word Up!", which was originally made popular by the group Cameo. The album also featured a medley of all three parts of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." The song has become a concert staple ever since.
 
On 22 February 2005, Brian "Head" Welch announced that he had "...chosen the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and would be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end" [1], and was formally leaving Korn. Initial speculations that this was a hoax or practical joke were proven wrong; he has turned highly spiritual, even being baptized in the Jordan River and speaking openly about his faith and conversion, especially on his website [2]. Welch has also stated that his reason for leaving the band had to do with his daughter reciting obscene Korn lyrics and the fact that he was fighting an addiction to crystal meth. This was to be the band's first, and so far only, line up change in their history.
 
Upon completing their record deal with Sony Records Korn has since partnered with EMI and signed to Virgin Records. EMI has paid Korn $25 million upfront in exchange for a share in the profits of their next two LPs, including tours and merchandising. In exchange, EMI received a 30 percent stake in the band's licensing, ticket sales and other revenue sources. The deal was struck after Korn left its previous label, Sony Music.
 
On January 13 2006, Korn threw a giant party at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery announcing the See You on the Other Side World Tour. Guests at the party included Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose and actress Jessica Biel. The first leg of tour, with 10 Years and Mudvayne, began on 24 February 2006 in their hometown Bakersfield and ended on 4th April in Toronto. It was highly succesful leg of tour, and Korn earned approx. $7 million gross for it, and reached #15 spot on Pollstar's Top 20 Concert Grosses.
 
The Australian part of the SYOTOS tour consisted of Korn , 10 Years, Hatebreed, and Disturbed. The bands peformed in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne on the 24th, 27th and 29th of April 2006 respectively, and were received well in all three cities. This marked the first time Korn visited Australia since their Take A Look In The Mirror tour in February of 2004.
 
Support acts for headlining shows past this point have not been confirmed, however, Korn are slated to perform at various European rock festivals over the summer of 2006, many of which feature such legendary bands as Guns N' Roses and Metallica.
 
On March 13 2006, Korn released their second single from their album See You On The Other Side entitled "Coming Undone."

Korn have also recently announced the resurrection of their "Family Values Tour", which will kick off on July 27 in Virginia Beach, VA. The Family Values Tour will feature Korn, Deftones, Stone Sour, Flyleaf, Dir en grey (when confronted about the news that this band may be there, Jonathan called them "this crazy Japanese band that are just out of their minds"), and other yet-to-be announced bands. This is also the first Family Values Tour that will have a second stage and is in outdoor-pavilions. Tickets for lawn seating will be $9.99.
 
Korn recently teamed up with crunk rap group Dem Franchize Boyz to record a mash-up of their latest hits Coming Undone and Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It, which occurred due to both the groups being signed to Virgin Records. During the session, Jonathan Davis stated that he believed that crunk and heavy metal were in the same vein. "They are both energy. It just works," the singer said.
 
In 2006, Korn's most popular song Freak On A Leash appeared on a countdown of Channel V's 40 Greatest Metal Songs Of All Time at #23. They also charted on a user-based interactive list of the 100 Greatest Videos Of All Time in the UK at number 10 with the same song.
 
On May 6 Korn won a MTV Asia Video Music Award in the "Favourite Video" category with their first single off of See You on the Other Side, "Twisted Transistor", beating Green Day, Kayne West, My Chemical Romance, and Franz Ferdinand. The band also performed "Twisted Transistor" live in front of 15,000 people.
In the song ‘Evolution,” Jonathan Davis lyrically speaks to mankind’s distinct lack of evolution--while the entity known as Korn has made amazing progress since their self-titled 1994 debut. That growth is evident on the 13 tracks populating Korn’s untitled, eighth studio album. The follow-up to 2005’s multi-platinum See You On The Other Side, Korn’s latest, Davis says, is “about us growing up and our minds opening up more. We weren’t necessarily worried about ‘oh, is this too poppy? Or too this or that? We started thinking that way when ‘Got The Life’ came out and we thought, ‘oh, we can’t put this out, it’s got a disco beat and it’s too dancey.’ It made us scared. But that’s something we like doing,” he emphasizes. “If we do a song and put it out and we’re not scared about it, I guess we’re not doing it right, because we always want to evolve, experiment and change.” Further proof of that credo? The lack of an album title. “This album felt like it didn’t need to have a title or boundaries,” Davis says. “We thought it would be cooler for fans. Metallica had a Black album, the Beatles had a White album, and Peter Gabriel put out a bunch of albums he didn’t title. We’re throwing it out there and letting people use their minds and imaginations.”

The experimentation, change and growth doesn’t stop there. Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch left the band in 2005, and drummer David Silveria has been on a hiatus from Korn since 2006. Davis notes: “The dynamics and chemistry have of course changed, and it’s reflected musically and creatively on this album. Munky has done an amazing job taking on all the guitar duties; he’s really grown as a player. We’ve all had to step it up, and the core of us--me, Fieldy and Munk--we share a passion. I don’t think we’d be alive if we didn’t have our music and weren’t able to do this.”

In 2007, that passion is channeled into the making and release of the band’s triumphant untitled album and the 2007 FAMILY VALUES TOUR which last year sold close to 500,000 tickets. The groundbreaking festival was founded in 1998 by Korn and management company the Firm. Korn, who have sold more than 25 million records worldwide and earned six Grammy nods and two wins to date, have upped the ante with each successive record and project, always innovators in the use of media, fan interaction, collaborations, business models, and most importantly, music. On the untitled album, produced by innovative British programmer/remixer Atticus Ross with The Matrix also taking production credit on 4 of the album’s key tracks, band favorites include “Starting Over,” “Hold On,” and “Innocent Bystander.” Shaffer notes, “Musically, I feel our last record was songs we wrote and put on an album, whereas this time it’s much more cohesive; you have to listen to the whole thing for it to tell the story.” From the record’s “Intro,” the tone is set—the creepy demented circus-influenced ditty portends what’s to come, which includes the primal industrial power of “Starting Over,” which is balanced with the song’s haunting bridge section and beefy bottom end. With ambient touches, cool melodies and the return of Davis’ bagpipes, Korn’s newest may be its most dynamic and experimental effort. Of course, that’s not unexpected, coming off the heels of the MTV Unplugged: Korn release, which debuted Top 10 in the Billboard 200 in March, 2007.

Since the band’s inception Davis has been venerated for his visceral personal tales, and on the new untitled album, he does not disappoint. “Innocent Bystander” is self-referential, as he sings, “I’m a spectator/the motivator.” Davis explains: On the road, he is (and has been for several years) completely sober, but that said, he laughs, “I love to pour drinks, roll joints, do whatever to get the party started. But I am now the ‘innocent bystander.’” “Innocent Bystander,” with its raw, taut musicality and insinuating riffs, even contains a Korn first—a guitar solo. Then there’s a song that’s in the signature Korn style, “Hold On,” which takes its cue from death metal, a genre that Davis loves. That commanding, aggro vibe of the dramatic and epic “Hold On” was achieved with the help of one of the three drummers on Korn’s latest album: Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons), Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies) and even one Mr. Jonathan Davis, in his first recorded drumming since Issues. Bozzio is on “Hold On,” and Davis raves, “Terry has gotta be the best drummer in the world; he brought a more progressive feel to the band. His drum kit was huge, and all the colors and sounds he made pushed our music in different directions we might not ever have thought about going.” Adds Fieldy, “The drums are amazing on this new album; you get a big variety instead of just one drummer doing the same style throughout.” Playing live drums for Korn on tour is another stellar player—Slipknot’s Joey Jordison, who jumped at the chance to tour with a band he cites as one of his main musical influences Rounding out Korn’s touring line up is Clint Lowery of Sevendust on guitar and keyboardist Zac Baird. In addition to Zac being on the road with the band since 2005, he played keyboards and took on writing chores for the new album.

With all the successful and liberating change evident on the untitled record, one thing remains constant: Davis does not shy away from exploring his anger, inner life and the painful closeness between love/hate, which made the singer both famous and infamous thanks to songs like “Daddy,” “Shoots and “Ladders” and “Hollow Life.” On the untitled CD, the songs “‘Ever Be’ and ‘Love and Luxury’ “are me, venting about our ex guitar player. I didn’t get it all out on the last record!” Davis laughs. “This is the last time I’ll write about it, and I love the guy; I’m glad he’s happy and doing his thing.” “Evolution,” a grooving, heavy and strong representative kick-off for the album, is the first single. Musically, Davis says, “I wanted to stay away as much as possible from just beating on cymbals, which just make this crazy white noise over the music, and you can’t really hear what's going on. Lyrically, ‘Evolution’ is about us as a human race, who has basically not evolved since monkeys. If you look back and compare us, animals and humans are pretty much the same.” An apt analogy is also drawn in “Killing.” “A bird on a wire, you have a gun pointed at it, but it sits there and stares at you. The same goes for people--we like to take abuse, that’s our human nature, our trained response. Anything horrible happens to us, we’re preset to reset to dumb.” Another intensely personal track is “Starting Over,” which was inspired by Davis’ near-death experience with ITP, a blood disease that struck the frontman while on tour in Europe.

In their 14 years of togetherness, the L.A.-based lineup has both survived and thrived, and the songs on the untitled record are rife with detritus of decadence and lessons learned. That fervor and authenticity is felt and appreciated by both fans and peers, Korn’s groundbreaking sound spawned a plethora of imitators. But the fans know where it began, and show their loyalty. “Now we have a new generation of young kids at our shows,” observes Davis. “When we started, most of our fans were 14, 15, and now they’re lawyers and doctors who are bringing their kids. We’re transcending generations. It’s cool.” And Korn will not disappoint. On the 2007 FAMILY VALUES TOUR, the band serves up its biggest stage show ever, and in the set list are songs they haven’t performed in 10 years. “It’s definitely different for us. Fans are going to be very happy,” believes Davis. “The statement Korn wanted to make with this record and tour was, ‘yes we're down three members, but we're still very creative and still love making music.’ We're so happy to be doing this 14 years later. This is our eighth studio album, but eleventh release overall. [And eight of those releases sold platinum or platinum-plus]. What a career, and we don't see any end coming soon! I measure my success by challenging myself and seeing if I can help take Korn to new levels,” Davis concludes. “If we wrote the same records over and over but were still commercially successful, I would consider that a personal failure.”