One of the most anticipated shows of 2026 in Brazil is Korn , who will be performing a single show in São Paulo on May 16th , with opening acts Spiritbox and Seven Hours After Violet. Tickets are already on sale through the Eventim platform and at the official Allianz Parque box office, where the event will take place.
While fans prepare to see Jonathan Davis back in action in the country, it's worth remembering one of the most emblematic projects of his parallel career: the soundtrack for the film Queen of the Damned (2002).
In the early 2000s, the Korn vocalist faced an unprecedented creative challenge when he was invited to write the soundtrack for the film inspired by the vampire series The Vampire Chronicles (1976) and an indirect sequel to the film Interview with the Vampire (1994). This opportunity not only boosted his solo career but also transformed how nu metal musicians could collaborate with Hollywood.
How Jonathan Davis innovated by composing a soundtrack
The invitation to work on the film came when Warner Bros. approached Davis and composer Richard Gibbs to compose both the background music and the songs played by the character Lestat , the vampire protagonist who becomes a rock star. Prior to this, Davis had already shown interest in film scores and composition, and the proposal for Queen of the Damned fit his desire to explore beyond the Korn universe.
To get into the mood, Davis read Anne Rice's novels and said he needed to become Lestat, writing lyrics and melodies as if he were a 400-year-old vampire; an approach that helped give cohesion to the film's compositions. "I had to become Lestat, so I read the books and wrote lyrics about being a 400-year-old vampire and it was a lot of fun," Jonathan Davis told Metal Hammer.
Alongside Gibbs, Davis wrote more than eight songs for the soundtrack, which blended elements of nu metal with dark, orchestral textures to reflect the story's intense, gothic atmosphere. Their working method was quite intense. The two composed and refined songs during Korn's tours, after each show, and worked until dawn.
Once the tracks were ready, guest artists were brought in to bring Davis and Gibbs' lyrics to life, as the intention was to assemble a cohesive album with distinct voices that would fit the soundtrack's eclectic style. Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit was recruited on bass, Head and Munky of Korn for some guitar parts, Terry Bozzio ( Missing Persons ) and Vinnie Colaiuta ( Sting , Frank Zappa ) on drums, and Shankar on violin. Of the eight songs, the film's director, Michael Rymer , chose five for the production.
Jonathan Davis was unable to record the official soundtrack
Despite having written and sung all the songs during the production process and having her recordings used in the filming, Davis faced a major obstacle. Her contract with Sony prevented her voice from appearing on the film's official album, which was released by Warner Music Group – although the label did allow her voice to be used in the film.
Therefore, the songs he composed had to be re-recorded with guest vocalists in his place for the official soundtrack album – and the idea was to hire artists from Warner Music. This solution, while effective for the commercial release, left Davis frustrated. He even publicly expressed his disappointment at not being able to appear in the vocal credits of the work he helped create.
“Ah, that pissed me off! I was really pissed, like, 'Are you kidding me? You know how hard I worked on this, right?' I told them, 'OK, do whatever you want, don't try to imitate me.' I was there when they did the recordings, I produced with them, and it turned out good. I mean, they're good, but my voice sounded better because it was the real one,” Davis told Metal Hammer.
However, the chosen artists represented a true gallery of nu metal from that era – there couldn't have been a better choice. Wayne Static ( Static-X ) on “Not Meant For Me”, David Draiman ( Disturbed ) on “Forsaken”, Chester Bennington ( Linkin Park ) on “System”, Marilyn Manson on “Redeemer” and Jay Gordon ( Orgy ) on “Slept So Long”. To compose the soundtrack, Warner selected timeless nu metal songs.
In the November 2017 print edition of Kerrang! [transcription published on a Google forum ], Davis spoke about Chester Bennington's participation in the project: “I collaborated with him a few times. When I wrote those songs for the movie 'Queen of the Damned,' my record label wouldn't let me sing them and said we had to use Warner Bros. artists, so I chose everyone I wanted. Chester got my favorite song [“System”]. He really made the track his own. He just came in and killed it.”
The late Aaliyah was a Korn fan
During the wrap party, an unexpected encounter caught the crew's attention. Aaliyah, who played the legendary vampire Queen Akasha , approached Richard Gibbs and praised the songs he and Jonathan had composed for the film, revealing, to his surprise, that she was a Korn fan. The singer went further and expressed a desire to record a song written by the duo, leaving the invitation open at that moment.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Richard Gibbs recounted: “I was speechless. Seriously? This beautiful R&B and pop singer? She saw my surprise and said, 'Oh, I love Korn.' And then she surprised me again. Then she said, 'I would love it if you and Jonathan wrote a song for me.'”
Later, during post-production, Aaliyah went to the Bahamas to film a music video and planned to return to Los Angeles to record a song for the film's end credits. However, the artist tragically died in a plane crash in August 2001, interrupting those plans.
According to Metal Hammer , Richard and Jonathan were planning to compose the song she had requested as a tribute. The idea was to document the process for a series called The Woodshed Revelations – a project by Richard, recorded in his studio. To date, the final recording has not been released.
Rejected by critics but acclaimed by fans
Released in February 2002 in the US and in April in the UK, Queen of the Damned did not receive good reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a 17% approval rating and on Tomatometer , a 66% audience approval rating . However, the soundtrack ended up becoming one of Davis's most memorable projects outside of Korn, earning a gold record in the United States and selling half a million copies in a year. The project influenced not only fans of the genre, but also the musician himself in his later solo career. The film's songs were not only original, but were written for live performances and not just as background music.
Jonathan Davis himself acknowledged that the experience undoubtedly boosted his confidence to explore avenues outside his main band—a step that would culminate years later in works like his 2018 solo debut album Black Labyrinth . “It gave me the confidence to venture out and start doing more. My solo album also fits into that category. It’s simply what I write; I write dark, vampiric music,” confessed the Korn .
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