MODESTO, Calif. — Brian “Head” Welch was riding high as a founding member and lead guitarist of Korn — raking in millions of dollars each year, partying with the rich and famous, traveling the world on tour, married to a beautiful wife with a precious daughter.

But there was the pit beneath the literal high, a daily addiction to crystal meth, including seeing his wife also get hooked and running off with a two-strike felon, hearing his bandmates bickering over music and personalities, and becoming a single dad with a young daughter who began singing the band’s lyrics, “All day I dream about sex.”

“I put those words there, and my angel was singing it,” Welch said.

He tried rehab, but said he couldn’t kick the habit. Then a friend took him to a church where he heard about the redeeming power of a life with Jesus. He said that power helped him kick his drug habit and become a better dad.

In 2005, Welch shocked the music world and his Korn bandmates when he walked away from the multiple platinum and two-time Grammywinning group. For the next few years, he lived on money socked away from his years with Korn and the royalties that followed. In 2007, Welch came out with a book, followed in 2008 with a new album, both titled “Save Me From Myself.” This year, he hit the road with a new band.

Expect the kind of heavy-metal rock music that put Korn on top of the charts, but with lyrics that showcase Welch’s change in values.

The 39-year-old Bakersfield, Calif., native spoke recently from Phoenix, where he lives with his 11-year-old daughter, Jennea.

When did you start playing the guitar?

I was 10 years old. I remember listening to my parents’ eight-track tapes — Queen and Billy Joel. I wanted to play drums because I liked the beat. But my dad talked me into playing the guitar because it was quieter. I started with beginner lessons, then I figured stuff out on my own. I guess I was born with a good ear.

Korn started with your Bakersfield friends, didn’t it?

We started jamming in little odd bands around town when we were about 16. We would start bands and break up and do that again until we graduated from high school. A few of the guys moved to L. A. and started a new band. I moved there and they asked me to join them. The band was called Creep. Then we got our lead vocalist, changed the name to Korn and it took off about a year later. I was 22 when Korn started.

When did you start doing drugs?

I tried smoking marijuana when I was 8 years old. One of my friend’s older brother smoked weed. My friend stole a roach from him. Then I tried it again in high school, but I didn’t like it. So I started drinking beer. Around 21, I tried meth one night and got pretty bad hooked with it. Three of the guys in the band were doing it pretty bad. We quit when we got signed. It crept back into my life for the next 10, 11 years. I got into cocaine a little bit. Vicodin. I stayed away from heroin and things people die from. But drinking beer was my main thing.

How did you rediscover God?

After my wife got hooked on drugs and took off with those scary guys, I said I wouldn’t do drugs any more. But after a couple of years, I started drinking with friends, and one of them said he knew a dealer, and it happened so quick. Once I started using crystal meth, I became an everyday user. I took it when touring and used it at home. I tried to go to rehab and get clean. As a last resort, I went to church with friends. The pastor said [God could help me]. I thought, I’ll just try it. I was at home in Bakersfield, and I felt like my heart was just changing. A couple of weeks later, I had the strength to throw away my drugs. I felt so much love from God that I wanted it all the time.