“COVID happened. I’m like, ‘I’m not going out there’”: Former Korn bassist Fieldy finally opens up on why he left the band

Korn's former bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu has addressed his unexpected departure from the band in 2021.

Former Suicidal Tendencies man Roberto “Ra” Díaz has taken his place in the nu metal institution, but the reasons for Fieldy's departure have remained unclear during this period.

“The past six years I’ve been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and have caused some tension with the people around me,” Fieldy's statement in 2021 read. “It’s been suggested to me to take some time off to heal.”

There was a widespread belief across the nu metal group’s fanbase that his exit would be temporary, but five years later, Diaz remains in post.

As per an interview conducted last year, which has now been belatedly published (via the PRP), Fieldy has spilled the beans at long last.

“COVID happened. That’s it,” he says of his exit. “I’m like, ‘I’m not going out there.’ That’s what happened, ’cause it was new. I didn’t get vaccinated or anything. When you reflect on it, that’s what happened. They’re like, ‘We’re going to Florida and all this.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to get vaccinated.’ I’m not going. I go, ‘People, this is weird right now.’”

Evidence suggests, then, that the band has simply pushed on, with Diaz holding down the low end, with no sign of a return for Fieldy. However, he sees a silver lining.

He continues, “It gave me time to sit, and once you sit, you can reflect; you’re kind of just waiting to know what’s next, ’cause I don’t know what the rest of this day is going to bring. I’m just on fire for whatever, whatever is ready.

“It’s rare that all the same [members stay in a band],” he continues. “I look back at my life and like, you know, almost 30 years with Korn, that was a blast. I don’t look back going, ‘That sucked.’ That was everything everybody dreams of.”

Requiem, which released in 2022, remains the band's most recent album, and features Fieldy's playing, but he was absent from Requiem Mass, its coinciding live album, which released a year later.

The band has now released a new single, Reward The Scars, in collaboration with Diablo IV video game. It's their first new music in four years, and ties into the game's new Lord of Hatred expansion.

In related news, Korn guitarist Munky has stuffed the sound of the band's debut album into a guitar pedal. Both Munky and Head have also revealed a bumper list of 20 songs which have shaped their sounds as players.