Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story, released on July 7 (7/7/07), is a reflection of the ex-band member's dramatic conversion story. In it, he shows how God can work inside even a hardcore rocker.
"The enthusiasm from Korn's early days was gone. I just sat there in so much dark depression," writes Welch in his new book. "How did I get here?...Why is my life such a nightmare?...It felt like I was under a curse, honestly. I was stuck. And it didn't look like I was ever going to get out."
For more than a decade, the founding member of Korn played as lead guitarist and garnered huge success in mainstream music. The band's CD's went platinum, they won multiple Grammys, and Welch amassed incredible wealth. Beneath all that, however, the musician felt trapped.
In 2005, at a 10,000-person concert people in Bakersfield, California, Welch shocked millions of his fans around the world by telling them he had found God and that he was leaving the band.
As part of his newly released book, Welch explains the evolution of Korn and how his life ended up in so much pain. He also relives his greatest difficulty: an addiction to meth that he could not break, even with the birth of his first daughter.
Only through God was he able to kick the habit, which he says proved the Lord's true existence to him.
"I got hooked on methamphetamines the last two years I was in Korn, and I did meth everyday," explained the guitarist in an interview this month with Christian Today. "I wanted to quit [but] I couldn't quit. I tried to quit. I went to rehab, and I just couldn't quit.
"[One night I prayed] 'Lord, if You're real ... please take these drugs from me. Make them go away. Reveal Yourself to me and all that.' I think in a week or two, I got the urge to throw away all my drugs with the help of a friend. I was done."
As Welch reveals the untold history of Korn, he also talks about what a lifestyle of touring and addiction can create, the difficulties that come with walking away from fame, and the doubts that he has had to deal with the past two years since his departure but also how his faith has given his life more meaning.
The musician hopes that the book will stir up a passion within its readers, both Christian and secular, and that it will touch those especially in similar situations to his past.
"So I just want people to know God. I just pray that it imparts a hunger, even Christians, to know God more. You know, deeper," the ex-Korn member told Christian Today.
"And if tons of drug addicts get set free from their drugs by the book, that's awesome."
Welch is currently on a book signing tour around the US. He has three more cities left, Phoenix (July 16), Los Angeles (July 17, 18), and Chicago (July 25).
He also plans on releasing an as yet untitled CD album in the near future, much of which is devoted to his testimony.
