Korn’s Brian ‘Head’ Welch on His Mental Health Partnership & Why He’s ‘Living Proof That You Can Get Through It’

On Tuesday (Mar. 5), Korn announced a 30th anniversary celebration for the fall, commemorating three decades since the beloved hard rock group’s debut. The one-night-only event will be held on Oct. 5 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, with special guests Evanescence, Gojira, Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, Spiritbox and Vended among the special guests joining the special Korn performance.

The band has hinted at a rollicking year to toast the 30th anniversary of their 1994 self-titled debut, with a string of European festival performances kicking off in July, as well as a slot at Louder Than Life 2024 in Louisville in September. For Brian “Head” Welch, however, 2024 has also brought the extension of his long-running advocacy for mental health awareness and treatment.

In January, the Korn guitarist announced a partnership with Atlantic Behavioral Health, a newly opened treatment center serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire and focusing on mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression. Atlantic offers medication management, individual therapy and group therapy as part of their outpatient program, and Welch has been active in encouraging patients as part of the new partnership.

“As I get older, I start to reflect on my life and what I’ve been given, and also my responsibilities,” says the 53-year-old Welch, who has spoken extensively about his addiction issues and struggles with mental health that played a part in him departing Korn in 2005 before rejoining the group in 2012. “People look to us, they hear what we’re sharing. It’s been really cool to give back, and to see other people doing so as well.”

Last month, Welch spoke to Billboard about linking up with Atlantic Behavioral Health, becoming more open about discussing his internal struggles, and challenging himself to give back during a busy year. (Ed. note — this interview has been condensed for clarity.)

How did this partnership come about?

I’m gonna go way back — I started experimenting with alcohol and drugs at 14, just massive drinking through my teenage years, a functioning alcoholic. And I joined a band, and then we got signed, and the drugs and alcohol just went on for a decade. I left the band and got my life together, and I’ve just been trying to help people that were like me back then.

When I rejoined Korn in 2012, a couple years after that, I met this kid Justin, who was a massive heroin addict, crack addict, everything. And I befriended him, got to know his family really well, tried to help him when, honestly, it wasn’t looking good. And then he finally got his life together, and got sober, and I opened sober living homes with him in the Boston, New Hampshire area. We did that for a while, and he’s been able to help so many people, and then we met some more people in the industry. We found that a lot of the addicts, when they get sober, they don’t know who they are, they don’t know how to feel. And that’s why a lot of people relapse, because they’re not comfortable in their own skin. And so that’s where the mental health aspect comes into it.

We met some amazing people in the industry, talked to them about this idea, and they have a couple outpatient and impact patient rehabs in the Boston area, so we partnered with them to [focus on] the mental health aspect. We want to help people that are struggling, with addiction or with mental health.

From what you just described, it sounds like you evolved from your own issues, to helping one other person with their issues, to finding a whole community of support.

And I really feel like I didn’t have that back in the day. I’m sure there were some programs, but an all-in-one program, with medication consulting and group therapy and one-on-one therapy, like the whole package — I wish I would have had something like that when I was going through my issues. I’ve sat in on group, and I’m going to continue to do so. I’m going to grab some of my men and women from the music industry to come on Zoom and sit in group and encourage people.

Man, I was so lost, and I had so many mental health issues. And it had nothing to do with being rich and famous or not, because I was successful! I just had a horrible time with my emotions and mental state. But I’m living proof that you can get through it, and you can change. You can get to a new place where you find contentment in life, where you find joy.

How do you think this partnership will play out on a weekly and monthly basis?

I’ve sat in on group, and I’m going to continue to do so. I’m going to grab some of my peers from the music industry to come on Zoom and sit in group and encourage people. I’ll do things in person, I’ll do things on Zoom when I’m on tour and whatnot. It’s amazing to be a part of, and what I love about it the most is that there’s a wide variety of different people that come — male and female, gay and straight, old and young. Everybody has something in common, and they’re all discussing what kind of tools to use when they get into that dark space in their mind.

You’ve been speaking out for years about your battles with addiction and mental health issues. Over the course of that time, have you seen others become increasingly open to discussing these issues in public?

When I was 16 or 17, I went through this phase where I didn’t want to be around my parents, I just wanted to be by myself. Some of that’s normal for teenagers, but I think mine was a little bit deeper, because my dad had alcohol issues and anger issues, and he was a good dad, but some of the unpredictable emotional outbursts — I was getting bitter from some of the experiences.

And so they took me into counseling, and dude, I did not want to go into counseling. I would have rather just run away, I would have rather have gotten beat up, than talk about my feelings. It was like an open wound that someone was trying to touch, so I just lived my life in avoidance — I wanted to avoid any issues that were internal or mental, and I avoided it by just drinking. I did that for years, and then when I started getting sober, I started opening up more as I got older, and got really scared that I didn’t want to live my life. The alcohol and the drugs worked for a while to numb it, and then, as we all know, that starts to turn on you.

I started to open up, and as I reached out more, and I started to find counselors who I’d work with one-on-one — but I didn’t have that [community], that group aspect, any of those options. That’s really changed a lot.

With the Korn 30th anniversary and your Atlantic partnership, it sounds like it’s going to be a busy year for you.

It is, man. I mean, Korn and my family are in California, and then Atlantic’s in Boston. My daughter’s in Indiana, and then there’s touring, so to juggle everything is sometimes a challenge. But I like a challenge — I think it’s good as we get older to keep active, so I’m just gonna do the best I can. And for Atlantic, the doctors and therapists are the rock stars, and I’m just getting the word out. I’m really honored to be a part of it, even in a small way.

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