Five Albums That Changed My Life: Brian 'Head' Welch

Union Entertainment Group

Brian 'Head' Welch's career would make for a great Hollywood biopic. Raised in Bakersfield, Calif. where he was bullied as a kid, he would eventually find huge success as a guitarist in the band Korn. After six hit albums with the group, Welch left the fold after finding religion and kicking a longtime drug problem. Since then he's become a best-selling author and currently fronts his own solo band, who recently released a single called 'Paralyzed.' Welch is the latest artist to contribute to Noisecreep's 'Five Albums That Changed My Life' series.

'Back in Black'

AC/DC (1980)

"I remember listening to this record for the first time Christmas morning, 1980. I was 10-years-old at the time. Listening to those classic riffs, staring at a picture of Angus Young, I could think of only one thing, "I've got to learn how to play the guitar and become a rockstar." So that's what I did. Don't ask me how I did it, cuz I have no idea."

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'Van Halen'

Van Halen (1978)

"Are you serious? 'Eruption' – is that a guitar? I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time it came on. The first Van Halen record was a complete masterpiece. It was the perfect party record too. 'Runnin' with the Devil,' 'Ain't Talkin' bout Love,' 'Jamie's Cryin',' 'Ice Cream Man' – all instant classics. I tried learning 'Eruption,' but quickly found out it was pretty much impossible. Nobody can play that song with the right feel except Eddie."

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'Shout at the Devil'

Mötley Crüe (1983)

"I'd been playing guitar for a few years when this album came out. I pretty much knew Mötley weren't the best musicians compared to some of the other bands I listened to, but this album was about more than just musicianship. It had that dirty Crüe sound and look that was so cool at the time. I think this album was a learning season for me about image. I learned that a band's image could be very important if done right. Over a decade later, I had a surreal moment when Tommy Lee handed all of us in Korn the MTV award for 'Freak on a Leash.' Life is a trip."

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'The Real Thing'

Faith No More (1989)

"After years of practicing solos, trying to be the fastest player in my hometown, I ended up moving to LA to get closer to the music industry. That's when it happened. I got a copy of 'The Real Thing' and all my years of practicing leads were thrown out the window. It was the first album I really loved that had few leads. Instead, the album focused on song structure and it had a way of helping the whole band shine rather than only the singer and lead guitarist. It was very unique and refreshing. Way different than all the flashy "look how fast I can play" guitarists in a lot of the other metal bands I listened to. It was definitely a life changing album for me."

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'Rage Against the Machine'

Rage Against the Machine (1992)

"When the first Rage CD dropped, things definitely changed for me and my friends in Korn. We actually saw a video of Rage before we heard the album. It was a raw clip of them playing at a club in LA. We all flipped when we saw how crazy Zack went off live. We'd never seen any musician shake and spaz out as intensely as that dude. I didn't know it was even possible. They inspired us Korn holes so much with the dynamics they had in their songs too. And Tom Morello's guitar playing – forget about it. He inspired me to look at the instrument from a totally different perspective."

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