Korn | Blind
Korn’s “Blind” launched nu-metal in 1994, how a song from Jonathan Davis’s previous band became the genre-defining anthem recorded at Indigo Ranch with producer Ross Robinson.
"Blind" is one of the first videos I recorded from TV, from a local programme called Hangar 18. I used to watch this programme because it was the only way I could discover bands like these. The channel was Ege TV, and Hangar 18 was one of the most futuristic music programmes ever made in Turkey. I recorded so many video clips and watched them a million times. Korn's "Blind" was one of them, and I've loved this song since 1999.
Story Behind “Blind”
The Song That Existed Before Korn Did
“Blind” didn’t start as a Korn song. Before Jonathan Davis joined the Bakersfield, California band, he was fronting a group called Sexart. The song was composed by Sexart drummer Dennis Shinn in December 1992, with Davis providing vocals. When Davis left Sexart to join what would become Korn, the song came with him. Neither Shinn nor Sexart guitarist Ryan Shuck were originally credited when “Blind” appeared on Korn’s debut, though after legal action, they were credited on the band’s Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and all subsequent releases.
The version that appeared on the demo tape Neidermayer’s Mind in 1993 was notably different from what would become the album version. The demo had a more traditional heavy metal atmosphere. Korn added an extended intro, utilizing drum cymbals in a pattern that interpolates the drum intro from Primus’s “Too Many Puppies,” along with a small bass line. They also added a hip-hop styled bridge and a bass coda at the end that quotes Cypress Hill’s “Lick a Shot.”
From Mortician to Metal Pioneer
When Davis joined Korn, he was working as a mortician and had his own house. As he recalled to Rolling Stone, he “had to fucking quit my job where I was making great money as a mortician, had my own house, to fucking having nothing, working at a pizza place as a shift manager living under some stairs.” The sacrifice paid off. Korn was spotted by Immortal/Epic Records A&R employee Paul Pontius during a performance in Huntington Beach in the summer of 1993. Pontius described them as “the new genre of rock.”
The band signed specifically because the label wouldn’t force them to “sign away all of their creative freedom.” That freedom would prove essential, as “Blind” and the album it opened would essentially birth nu-metal and reshape heavy music for a generation.
“Blind” Recording and Production Details
Indigo Ranch and the $14,000 Album
Korn recorded their debut album at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California, from May to June 1994 with producer Ross Robinson, who had also produced their demo. The entire album budget was just $14,000. Robinson chose the studio because of its history with artists like Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Lenny Kravitz, and Nick Cave. “I knew that recording raw and vintage, the album wouldn’t sound dated ever,” Robinson explained. “So we didn’t have any of the Eighties reverbs.”
The studio’s location on a 60-acre property on a hillside allowed the band to record outside, contributing to the album’s distinctive sound. Davis was struck by the analog equipment when he arrived. “Walking in there and seeing all the crazy, old-school analog gear... I knew what this shit was because my dad had a recording studio. The shit that was in that studio, my dad dreamed about.”
Seven-Strings, Vintage Pedals, and a Stolen Guitar
One of the most distinctive elements of “Blind” is its use of seven-string guitars, played by James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch, paired with Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu’s five-string bass. According to the guitarists, the seven-string “was our magic power.” Head recalled, “Every song was written on seven-string. We were like, the seven-string, that’s what we need to make our sound off of.”
Robinson found a box of 1970s guitar pedals at the studio. “That first Korn album was the first metal album to really use guitar pedals,” he said. The exact phaser from Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light” was there waiting for them. Munky used a 1990 Ibanez UV7BK for most of the album, along with an old Silvertone for the intro to “Blind,” plus effects including a Big Muff, Dunlop Crybaby, and Tube Screamer.
In a particularly wild detail, Davis told Rolling Stone that the demo version of “Blind” was recorded using a guitar belonging to Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. “When we were doing the demos, I think it was W.A.S.P. was doing their record or some shit. So when W.A.S.P. went home at night, we’d sneak in and use their shit, so we’d be up all night.”
Notes About “Blind” by Korn
Release Date: August 1, 1994 (single), October 11, 1994 (album)
Duration: 4:19
Genre: Nu Metal / Alternative Metal
Album: Korn (debut studio album, track 1 of 12)
Producer: Ross Robinson
Label: Immortal Records / Epic Records
Chart Performance: #15 Canadian RPM Alternative 30
Certification: Album certified 2× Platinum (RIAA)
Korn “Blind” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: Korn (self-titled debut)
Release Date: October 11, 1994
Label: Immortal Records / Epic Records
Producer: Ross Robinson
Recording Location: Indigo Ranch Studios, Malibu, California
Recording Period: May to June 1994
Budget: $14,000
Album Themes: Child abuse, drug abuse, bullying
Band Members
Jonathan Davis - Vocals
James “Munky” Shaffer - Guitar (Ibanez UV7BK seven-string)
Brian “Head” Welch - Guitar (Ibanez UV7PWH seven-string)
Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu - Bass (Ibanez five-string)
David Silveria - Drums
Production Credits
Producer: Ross Robinson
Engineers: Ross Robinson, Chuck Johnson, Richard Kaplan
Mixing: Ross Robinson
Photography: Stephen Stickler
Design: Jay Papke, Dante Ariola
Album Legacy
Rolling Stone called it “the most important metal record of the last 20 years” in 2014
Guitar World ranked it #27 in “50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994”
Launched Ross Robinson’s career, leading to work with Sepultura, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot
Inspired Coal Chamber, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Machine Head, and Sepultura
Band played the full album on 20th anniversary tour in 2014-2015
Interesting Facts About “Blind”
The Introduction That Changed Metal
“Are you ready?” Those three words, growled by Jonathan Davis at the start of “Blind,” became one of metal’s most iconic openings. Head recalled the significance of the track in Korn’s early days: “It was a powerhouse, that was such an important song for us. We started playing it around Los Angeles, and we always opened with that song, because we were saying ‘Get ready, because this is a new thing, this is a new sound, you’re going to be seeing some freaky looking dudes going nuts onstage!’”
The song’s intro builds tension through sinister, skittering cymbals and jagged, repeated slashes of guitar before that famous call to arms. The track was initially released as a promotional single and never bothered the charts significantly, but it made a massive noise in the underground and served as the introduction to Korn’s new breed of metal. By the time the end of the century approached, Korn were global stars and “Blind” had taken on its own monstrous life.
Steve Vai’s Unlikely Connection
The seven-string guitars that define “Blind” exist because of Steve Vai. He convinced Ibanez to create the specialized instrument in the late 1980s, using it on Whitesnake’s platinum 1989 album and his own Passion and Warfare. Ironically, by the time Korn’s debut came out, Ibanez had all but discontinued the guitar, only to bring it back when they realized what Korn was doing with it.
Vai himself was stunned when he first heard Korn on the radio. “One day I was coming from the zoo and heard Korn on the radio,” he recalled. “I was stunned. It sounded like a herd of buffalo wearing iron shoes and blowing fire out of their nostrils.” The guitarists actually got to jam with Vai in the studio in 1998. Munky later reflected on the impact: “One of the things I’m most proud of is helping pave the way for people looking and seeing and hearing the instrument in a different way.”
Common Questions
Q: What is “Blind” by Korn about? A: “Blind” deals with Jonathan Davis’s struggles with amphetamine addiction, describing the scattered feeling of being under the influence and using drugs to hide from problems. Davis said it was easy to write because he had his whole life experience (all 22 years of it at the time) to draw from.
Q: Who originally wrote “Blind” by Korn? A: The song was originally composed by Dennis Shinn while Jonathan Davis was in his previous band Sexart. Korn reworked the track, adding an extended intro, a hip-hop styled bridge, and other musical changes. Shinn and Ryan Shuck were later credited on Greatest Hits Vol. 1 after legal action.
Q: What guitars were used on “Blind” by Korn? A: Guitarists Munky and Head used Ibanez Universe seven-string guitars, which had originally been designed for Steve Vai. Munky used a 1990 Ibanez UV7BK along with an old Silvertone for the intro. This was one of the first metal albums to heavily feature seven-string guitars.
Q: When did Korn release “Blind”? A: “Blind” was released as a promotional single in August 1994, with the album Korn following on October 11, 1994. The single reached #15 on the Canadian Alternative chart. The album eventually peaked at #72 on the Billboard 200 in February 1996.