Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch is once again using his platform to talk about faith—this time, urging fans not to confuse religion with a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

In a heartfelt Instagram video posted, the rocker, who famously left the heavy metal world behind two decades ago after giving his life to Christ, shared his frustration with what he called “self-righteous” religious attitudes that drive people away from God.

“Religion and religious people will pile on you loads and loads of guilt,” Welch said. “They tower over you with their self-righteousness to make you feel that you are way beneath them in order to keep you in that spirit of control over your life.”

The 54-year-old musician didn’t hold back, calling this kind of behavior “a cancer to spirituality.” “I’ve seen it countless times,” he said. “It’s a cancer to spirituality and chases so many people away from even the thought of a relationship with Christ.”

Instead, Welch said, Jesus offers something completely different: “Christ, on the other hand, is a real heart-to-heart relationship. It’s your heart connected spiritually in union with Christ’s heart.”

Welch reminded viewers that God doesn’t seek perfection before offering grace. “He leads you to Himself by kindness while acknowledging your flaws,” he said, emphasizing that following Christ isn’t about losing joy but about finding a healthier, freer way to live.

“It’s never about taking the fun away in your life,” Welch explained. “It’s about getting the things in your life out, completely out of your life so that you can have a healthier form of existence on this planet. He leads you by kindness; He leads you to acknowledge your flaws, and then He empowers you to lay those flaws down.”

Welch added that believers don’t need to rely on their own strength to change: “Christ empowers us through His Spirit to live a better life, to live a healthier life.” He then described grace as “the empowerment of God through the Spirit that gives us the ability to do this.”

The longtime musician concluded his message with a stark warning about organized religion. “Religion is corrupting this world,” he said. “It has been for countless centuries, but there are a lot of people waking up to the true fact of relationships, especially in the last 20 years.”

Welch’s faith journey has been one of the most talked-about transformations in rock music. In 2005, at the height of Korn’s fame, he shocked fans by leaving the band to follow Christ, later detailing his conversion in his 2007 memoir Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story. He eventually rejoined the band in 2013 but has continued to be outspoken about his Christian faith.

Over the years, Welch has admitted he didn’t always get it right. In 2021, he said he regretted what he called his “early fanaticism with Christianity,” which led him to join a group that turned out to be “cult-like.” Still, he’s never wavered in his love for Christ. “What I will never regret, though, is giving my entire being to Christ,” he said at the time. “And I will share my story until the day I die.”

For Welch, that story is ultimately one of grace over guilt—and relationship over religion. “Sharing your story of faith,” he once said, “is way different than shoving Scripture down people’s throats in a heartless way.”