KORN's Jonathan Davis on Losing His Wife and Mother: 'It's Tragic and Painful, But I Won�t Let It Kill Me'

When Korn released their 2019 album The Nothing, the record carried an emotional depth that reflected a difficult period in the life of singer Jonathan Davis.

During interviews conducted around the release of the album, Davis spoke openly about the devastating losses he experienced while the band was working on the record, the deaths of both his mother and his wife within a short period of time.

In a conversation with iHeartRadio Canada at the time, the singer reflected on how revisiting the material from The Nothing during touring helped him cope with the grief.

�It�s helping,� Davis said. �I guess it�s like pouring salt into the wound, it�s going to hurt. But you keep putting it in, you keep putting it in, and you get used to the pain and it numbs you. That�s what I�m going through right now. I had a whole year to process everything.�

Even in the midst of tragedy, the vocalist emphasized that he refused to let grief define his life.

�It�s tragic and painful, but I�m not going to let it kill me. That�s not going to win.�

During that same period, Davis also described how he was beginning what he called a �new life� after mourning both losses. Over time, he explained, focusing on family and fatherhood helped him regain balance.

�It�s amazing now,� he said. �There�s a lot less stress. I have different kinds of stress now. My son Pirate is going through puberty and his teenage years, and sometimes I want to pull my hair out. But it�s beautiful watching him grow.�

For Davis, fatherhood remains one of the most important anchors in his life.

�I�m doing what I love the most: being a dad. Those two things for me, being a father and being a musician, are on the same level. I�m happy that I can do the two things I really love.�

The painful chapter that inspired much of the emotion behind The Nothing followed the death of Davis�s wife Deven Davis in August 2018 at the age of 39, after mixing several drugs including cocaine and heroin.

Reports indicated that Deven struggled with substance abuse for much of her life. In a statement released after her passing, Jonathan described her as �an amazing wife, an amazing mother and an amazing friend,� while acknowledging that she had battled severe mental illness.

Jonathan and Deven married in 2004 and had two children together, Pirate and Zeppelin. The singer also has an older son, Nathan, from a previous relationship.

The emotional weight of these events would ultimately shape The Nothing, a record that many fans and critics consider one of the most personal and emotionally intense albums in Korn�s career.

More than just another chapter in the long history of Korn, the story behind The Nothing reveals how deeply personal experiences can shape the sound and spirit of an album. For Jonathan Davis, turning pain into music became part of the healing process � a reminder that even in the darkest moments, art can transform tragedy into something powerful.

And for fans around the world, records like The Nothing stand as proof that behind the intensity of Korn�s music lies a very human story of loss, resilience, and the determination to keep moving forward.

Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist