February 27, 2003

Korn Frontman Enters TheTwilight Zone

By Jon Wiederhorn, with additional reporting by Co

Earlier this month, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis worked in a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind, and his boundaries were only those of the imagination -- well, those and the 30 seconds of air time the UPN network gave him for his theme to its newTwilight Zoneseries.New Line Television, which created the show, was impressed with the work Davis had done last year on the songs and score for the filmQueen Of The Damned, and figured he would be the perfect candidate to do a modern, dark and moody intro for the updatedTwilight Zone. Davis leapt at the opportunity."I just thought it would be awesome,"he enthused."I've been a huge fan ever since I can remember. When I was a kid, they'd have aTwilight Zonemarathon on Thanksgiving, and I'd watch them forever. One year I videotaped all 24 hours of it, and I watched them all the time."The new theme, which Davis recorded over a weekend, is filled with crunching down-tuned guitars and grating feedback reminiscent of Korn, as well as orchestral swells, layered sound effects and crashing drums. The tempo is unconventional and the tone barren, creating an eerie, elastic mood, and it ends with the minor-key keyboard line from the original series."It seems like when you're in the 'Twilight Zone', it's this place where anything can happen and it's usually something twisted or dark,"he said."So I just went for that kind of approach. Just making the visuals pop out and giving you that eerie 'Twilight Zone' feel."The show debuts Wednesday (February 26) at 9 pm ET.While he was"zoning"out, Davis was also busy working with the other Korn members to put together material for their next album. He reported that there were 10 songs recorded. And while Davis said he wasn't ready to talk about the new material, he revealed that Korn plan to debut the tunes at this year's Ozzfest, which they're excited to play."It was cool to be on the lineup because I have toured with all the bands and it's been a long time since I have toured with [Marilyn] Manson,"he said."We just got done touring with Disturbed, and I like Chevelle, so it's going to be really cool just hanging out with our friends. And we toured with Ozzy back before Ozzfest. I love seeing and watching him play [as well as] hearing all the songs."Although Korn have gotten used to playing their own shows, Davis said he looks forward to not being the main attraction for once."I am tired of headlining,"he said."I like to have time to watch a show and have fun. When we are out doing our own shows we don't get a chance to do that. By that time, everybody's going home. So it's cool opening up for Ozzy."On Sunday, Korn won the Best Metal Performance Grammy for"Here To Stay"from last year'sUntouchables.