While most artists would be ecstatic about achieving this level of success, Welch admits it drove him to the depths of despair. He says at the height of his fame, all he wanted to do was die. And with his constant drug abuse, Welch came very close to getting his wish.

“I had to make more money and more money,” Welch told Christian Living Magazine. “No matter how much I had, it was never enough. And when I got hooked on speed and it turned into an everyday addiction, my money couldn’t help me break that habit and that was my breaking point.

“I was sick of playing the same old songs, and the new song weren’t any good. I kept on thinking, ‘I’ve got everything, but I’m still miserable.’ I was toast. I had no hope.

Welch, 37, says he had a fairly normal childhood in the sleepy town of Bakersfield, California. He says he was quiet and shy, but found self-confidence when he learned to play guitar in high school.

Welch’s passion for music led him to performing in several local bands. He got his big break in 1992 when he founded Korn with three of his high school buddies. The quartet started playing in Los Angeles-area clubs and, in a short time, landed a major recording contract. Welch says it didn’t take him long to get caught up in the hard-partying, rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

Brian admits he knew this wasn’t the right way to live, but says he didn’t know how to stop. His behaviour put an enormous strain on his marriage to his wife Rebekah. The couple, who produced a daughter named Jennea, divorced in 2005.

When Jennea was a toddler, Welch said in a CNN interview that he heard her singing the lyrics to one of Korn’s sexually-explicit songs (A.D.I.D.A.S.). He says at that moment, he knew things had to change.

So Brian set out on a path to become clean and sober and become a better example for his little girl. He quit Korn and began to explore ways in which he could find the peace and fulfillment he longed for.

“I can go up there and play those songs and those solos but I distanced myself from Korn for probably a year and a half, two years. I just wanted to fade away, it was crazy. I was so gone,” Welch told Bakersfield radio station KRAB. “But I found my way out and I want to help anyone that wants to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Shortly after Welch left Korn in February 2005, he received an e-mail from a friend whom he had been telling about his personal problems. According to Welch, the man woke up in the middle of the night and felt compelled to e-mail Brian with a verse from the Bible, Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

The words were music to Welch’s ears. They prompted him to attend a service at Valley Bible Fellowship in Bakersfield.

“The pastor was talking about how Jesus was real and all you needed to do was to talk to him and he’d deliver you,” Welch told Christianity Today. “So that’s what I did. I went home and I said, ‘Jesus, if you are real, take this stuff away from me. Make me a good person again. Take away my suicidal thoughts. Help me want to live again.’ ”

That prayer provided Welch with the motivation to give up drugs for good. He quit cold-turkey by checking himself into a hotel for a week. Welch, who now lives in Arizona, says the withdrawal process was much shorter than he expected.

“Within a couple of weeks, I was off drugs and feeling good, which is unheard of when you’re a speed addict,” Welch said in an interview with Christianity Today.

With a clear mind, Welch started talking to Jesus and asking Him for answers about how to turn his life around. He says Jesus responded rapidly to his prayers by directing him to Bible verses that brought him wisdom, comfort and strength. He also says Jesus placed a joy in his heart unlike anything he had ever known, according to an interview with Christianity Today.

In March 2005, Welch publicly declared his faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized in Israel’s Jordan River. The event garnered massive media attention, inspiring Welch to write his memoir, Save Me From Myself (HarperCollins).
In the book, he gives a candid account of his lurid conduct while in Korn, including his addiction to methamphetamines. He also writes about how coming to know Jesus has dramatically changed his thoughts and values.

“When I got saved, I quit everything and left everyone and everything,” Welch told Christian Living Magazine. “I sold my house, quit my career and lived in hotels for a few months. I felt like God wanted me to wait, and that He was leading me to give my money away. Just to sell all my stuff and give it to the poor. It was tough.

“But instead of walking away, I started living what the Bible teaches. I bought a house in India that’s now being used as an orphanage and started giving money away. Now I’m down to faith and God. I want Jesus to be filled in me. I want healing, and I want it all.”

Welch’s life would no doubt be incomplete without a vehicle to make a difference through his musical talents. Later this year, he will release his debut Christian album, It’s Time to See Religion Die, under the name “Head.” Additionally, Welch is involved in a project to build more orphanages in poverty-stricken areas of India.

He says nothing quite rocks like using his gifts to help others discover the vast and unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

And his motto? “Come as you are. Jesus loves us all the same.

“I had been filled with anger, confusion, hate, selfishness, greed, you name it,” Welch told Christianity Today. “When God revealed himself to me, it was a supernatural peace and love that was so far higher and beyond anything you can experience on earth.

“I knew it was God. I knew it was him revealing heaven to me, eternal life. He poured out his love into my heart, and I was instantly changed in that moment. I mean God became so real to me. He’s irresistible.”

Photo courtesy Harper Collins