Frankly, I am surprised I like this album as much as I do. I have to admit that the prospect of a 'Head' solo album did not hold much excitement for me.
I am a Korn fan from way back. From the moment I first heard the cymbal-tapping opening to "Blind" I knew this was a band for me. They were different, heavy, and insidiously catchy. Sure, they came after Rage Against the Machine and Faith No More (well, "Epic" anyway), but it is Korn that led the so-called nu-metal movement of the early and mid-1990s. There is no denying they hit at the right time with the right sound, influencing scores of bands that would follow them. However, I always saw them as a band where the sum was greater than the parts. With Save Me From Myself in my hands, I am willing to retract that statement, but only partially.
Welch's story is an interesting one. He rose to fame through the mid to late-1990s as a founding member of Korn, consistently turning out strong music. In the early 2000s Welch became increasingly distant from the band. Years of touring and living the rock and roll lifestyle were taking a costly toll on the guitarist. Addictions to alcohol and methamphetamine were tearing his life apart. This led to the momentous decision to leave Korn in 2005, after which he went into rehab, kicked his demons, and found a new spiritual life. All of this was chronicled in his memoirs, which bears the same name as this album.
Now, three years after leaving Korn, a band that is still going despite hemorrhaging band members, Welch has made his return to the music scene, writing and producing an album of surprisingly potent music. It doesn't hurt that he also surrounded himself with world-class musicians such as Trevor Dunn (bass: Mr. Bungle, Fantomas), Tony Levin (bass: King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment), Josh Freeze (drums: A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails), and Archie J. Muise Jr. (guitar).