A week before he celebrates his 40th birthday, James "Munky" Shaffer, the guitarist of the popular metal band Korn, is calling IN from Houston, Texas, where the group is playing on the Jagermeister Music Tour. The members of Korn have been out for the past month and as they are heading toward the end of this particular tour, Munky reveals that he is in need of some rest.

"I'm tore up. I'm gonna have a really big hangover after this tour," laughs Munky, who despite being tired and losing his voice, is happy to talk about music and the July 13 release of the band's ninth album, "KoRn III: Remember Who You Are."

"Not many bands have lasted as long as we have, and it's really important for the foundation of the band to keep making music. We don't know anything else to do, and now that Ray has joined us, it feels like there's a new beginning and it feels real again," says Munky.

Though Korn has been making music for the past 17 years, the band as a whole has seen members rotate in and out, but Munky says that the recent addition of drummer Ray Luzier was just what the band needed to move forward and remember why they started making music in the first place. For Munky, a lot of the epiphanies that occurred to the band happened while creating the music on their upcoming album in studio.

"This album has a lot of rawness and emotion on it. Nothing is planned, it just sort of happens. We worked the songs through musically first, and then Jonathan came in and listened to what we had, and it's kind of like a Frankenstein, he will just piece it together and write the lyrics. It all comes from the mind of Jonathan Davis," boasts Munky, who goes on to say that though front man Jonathan Davis is known for incorporating bagpipes into Korn songs, fans might be surprised to hear that there will be no bagpipes on this album as the group agreed that there was nowhere appropriate for the bagpipes to go.

As Munky talks about the new album, he touches once again on the emotion that is present on the record and how he hopes the fans will be able to share in that emotion during a Korn show.

"I don't really know what I'm doing when we play a show. It's a moment where I get to turn my brain off and I get to play my guitar, and that reminds me of being a kid and getting to rock out in my room and turning all the noise of the house off. Our shows are intense and aggressive and hopefully not disappointing. There's emotion and fucking anger and I want people to come and lose themselves in the music. That's how we made the record," says Munky, who adds that when listening to the record, fans will feel like they are in the studio experiencing what the members of Korn did in studio.

As he talks about the upcoming album, Munky admits he is nervous about the release because he wants people to like it.

"I have to tell myself that I made the record I made and if they don't like, well, then so fuck it," laughs Munky.

As Korn is heading toward the end of their current tour, they are already gearing up for more touring and a lot of album promotion. Once the Jagermeister Music Tour is over, Korn will get a week's worth of rest before heading out on the Mayhem Tour with Rob Zombie and Lamb of God. Before that tour starts, Korn will play at the Great Saltair, where Munky will be celebrating his birthday. The guitarist admits that he got goosebumps when remembering that 10 years ago, he celebrated his birthday at a small venue in Salt Lake City and the other members of Korn smashed a cake in his face.

Whether or not there will be a cake at this weekend's show, one thing is clear, those in attendance are in for a good time rocking out with a band that even after all of its successes, is happy just making music that allows you to feel.