Standard Issue: Nu Metal
Image by Nick M.W.
10 essential tracks for the uninitiated nu metal thrasher.
Grunge died with Kurt Cobain, and what was left was the resurgence of punk and the brief revitalization of swing music. These two never had to learn to play nice because they had their own part of the schoolyard. Everyone was happy until grunge’s red-headed step child emerged from the shadow’s and demanded the whole lot.
Nu metal had been seething in the dark corners of the playground since the early nineties, developing its solo-less song structure with shouted vocals atop distorted power chords; the landscape of music changed dramatically with its rise. The Nu metal fan demanded brutal music over coherent lyrics…and they got it.
10.
Artist: Papa Roach
Song: “Last Resort”
Album: Infest (2000)
Hailing from Vacaville, California, Papa Roach formed in 1993 and rose to the top of the charts with their smash hit song, “Last Resort”. Not bad for a group coming from a town known for its onion farms. The beauty of this song lies in their power to rip you away from the present and transport you to the past. Every time I listen to “Last Resort,” I can look down and see my black dickies paired with my mechanics work shirt. The song is iconic Millennial nostalgia; if it doesn’t remind you of high school, then you missed the rising tide of what would become the dominance of Nu-metal, for better or worse.
The song is identified by its catchy lead guitar melody and vocals that straddle rap and rock. One of the hallmarks of Nu metal lies in its lead singers taking on the style of a hip-hop M.C., both in dress and vocalization. Papa Roach might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but “Last Resort” embodies the Nu metal era, immortalizing it against a time and place that we analog Millennials cherish anytime our minds stray from the disorder of the digital today.
9.
Artist: Kid Rock
Song: “Bawitdaba”
Album: Devil Without a Cause (1998)
Before he was overhearing state secrets from former president Trump, Kid Rock was the frontman of one of wildest bands to ever hit a stage. A complete and total poser, Kid Rock is the absolute worst side of Nu metal. Born Robert James Ritchie, Kid Rock was not a street fighting gangster but an upper crust suburbanite. Despite his fortunate beginnings, he is one hell of a musician. I saw them live at the 1999 Summer Sanitarium tour, and they delivered a musical experience that was on-par with seasoned arena rock professionals. Halfway through their set, the band members jammed out while switching instruments with each other. Their talent was legit even if Ritchie’s origin story was not.
The song “Bawitdaba” is a nonsensical anthem, but it hits hard and delivers a feeling of impermeable ecstasy that only Nu metal songs could deliver. The rest of the album is a hip-hop infused, hard rock country collection of unforgettable jams. Ritchie might be full of shit, but Kid Rock is a masterful blend of talent that delivered chart topping singles for over twenty years.
8.
Artist: Limp Bizkit
Song: “Nookie”
Album: Significant Other (1999)
Brimming with idiotic lyrics delivered by a complete douche-canoe of a frontman, Limp Bizkit is the absolute poster child of Nu metal. “Nookie” makes no sense, but it doesn’t have to. This is a prime example of the audience respecting the song over its lyrics. You don’t like Limp Bizkit because of Fred Durst’s masterful vocals; you love Limp Bizkit for their musical ferocity. Guitarist Wes Borland became a legend outside of the band with every electric guitar playing Millennial who had a distortion pedal. This song hits harder than Mike Tyson throwing a fist clenched around a roll of quarters.
Significant Other is filled with complete bangers. You can’t help but fall back in love with the music. As your hatred grows for Fred Durst, so does your love for the rest of the band; and ultimately, you end up in love with the whole lot. The vocals are perfect for what the band is, and the music they created is nothing short of iconic. Limp Bizkit was at the center of Nu metal’s rise, and the scene would not have been the same without their super-charged music or Durst’s stupid red hat.
7.
Artist: System of a Down
Song: “Sugar”
Album: System of a Down
Straight out of Glendale, California, System of a Down is nothing but pure, uncut, Armenian talent. The entire self-titled debut album is pure gold. I was able to witness the rise of this iconic band at the 1999 Summer Sanitarium Tour, and they opened the bloody gig. Fresh and new-faced, System of a Down crafted a sound that was unlike anything Nu metal would ever see or hear again. They looked like they were preparing for tribal warfare on an ancient battlefield. The music they produced was relentless, and filled with enough rage to enthrall metalheads and punk rockers alike.
“Sugar” resides in the void, far from the beaten path, commanding pure authority over a zone of music that may have been explored by death metal but never settled. There is something wildly simple about the song, pulling you in with a simple drum beat before quickly dropping you into a waterfall of drop-D power chords that rattle your spine. The lyrics are spun over a twangy guitar lick carried by a jazz infused rhythm that runs alongside your racing heartbeat. System of a Down is Nu metal, with all the advantages and none of its stains. The breakdown in “Sugar” is wonderfully chaotic; a deliberate destruction of the fibers of its song structure. If you ever want to feel good while feeling bad, play “Sugar” with the lights off.
6.
Artist: Korn
Song: “Freak on Leash”
Album: Follow the Leader (1998)
Everyone had a cousin who wore black nail polish with spiked hair. Korn ushered in a new way to wear your clothes that had even your punk rock Uncle raising his eyebrows. The style and feel of Korn are indescribable. They lie somewhere between gothic and metal, but their sound is relentless and unique. Guitarists Head and Munky popularized seven-string guitars that were tuned so low you can feel their distortion in your lower intestine. “Freak on a Leash” is more refined than most of the Nu metal bands that were popular. You had to have a wild temperament to blast Korn with confidence. Fans of their music were not part of the mainstream crowd, and they never wanted to be once they discovered Follow the Leader.
The artwork on the album embodied an urban gangster tone that brought a new era of music to Nu metal. There are hip-hop bass lines and drum beats scattered through Korn’s early albums, and the music is all the better for it. The band delivers a tone that is perfect for any horror movie soundtrack, having escaped the desolate landscape of Bakersfield, California to deliver an inescapable resonance that has yet to be matched.
5.
Artist: Staind
Song: “Mudshovel”
Album: Dysfunction (1999)
Staind is nowhere near as popular today as it once was, but that is nothing short of a damn shame. “Mudshovel” holds a razor-sharp edge that slices through your speakers faster than a butcher on meth quarters a deer. The song starts with a beautifully toned bass line that introduces Aaron Lewis’s melancholic vocals. Unlike most Nu metal bands, Lewis has a great singing voice, and its range is expertly showcased on “Mudshovel.” Shifting from melodic hooks before diving headfirst into a screamed chorus, Lewis was one of the few faces of Nu metal with considerable talent.
The band may not seem like anything special, but even a hit single is nothing to sneeze at. The Nu metal scene is filled with bands that never saw the same amount of fame and fortune outside the early 2000’s, but the talent was always substantial. Long before auto-tune was good enough to hide even the worst vocalist, bands still needed to be able to craft a song worth listening to. Staind may be tucked away in the corner of the Nu metal room, but they were there, they were part of something magical, and they are still worth listening to all these years later.
4.
Artist: Taproot
Song: “Smile”
Song: Gift (2000)
Like riding a skateboard into the mouth of hell, Taproot was for the harder crowd. “Smile” rocks harder than your aunt after her fourth whiskey sour. Taproot may not be as famous as some of the other bands on this list, but their sound crashes against your eardrums harder than a train in Palestine, Ohio. The alternative scene tried to sink its claws into Taproot many times, but I believe their energy is right at home in the Nu metal vibe.
The introduction is plastered with static-charged guitar strumming that quickly explodes into a beautiful chaos. Heavily distorted guitars are the name of the Nu metal game; without them, you weren’t part of the scene. Stephen Richards’ vocals are a great blend of screaming and singing that is another hallmark of the Nu metal scene. Taproot might not be a headliner, but they were a contender, still part of something great.
3.
Artist: Static-X
Song: “Push It”
Album: Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)
Riding that fine line between industrial metal and Nu metal, Static-X wields a heavy tone that few in the genre could ever match. The vocals switch back and forth between hallowed screams, war chants, and searing melodies. Static-X is a fierce force of metal vibes fused with techno rhythms that absolutely date its rise as a fresh face of the coming millennium. Lead singer and guitarist Wayne Richard Wells, also known as Wayne Static, belts out vocals that sound like Jonathan Davies of Korn and guitar licks that are reminiscent of Rob Zombie.
The genre of Nu metal doesn’t always sit well with metal heads, but Static-X should be welcome in any metalheads home. Techno driven rhythms and chunky guitar riffs are something that every head-banger can learn to appreciate. Static-X is not what they used to be after the death of Wayne Static in 2014, but their album remains; immortalizing a one-of-a-kind sound that begs to be listened to.
2.
Artist: Slipknot
Song: “Left Behind”
Album: Iowa (2001)
You will find no finer rage than the raw power of Slipknot. Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Slipknot is a veritable force of sick, disgusting, human nature. A nine-piece band that fills the stage with a depraved sound that would strike fear into the heart of any horror movie villain. Iowa rocks a sound that knocks their debut self-titled album out of the water with a howitzer. “Left Behind” is a raucous anthem that champions the frustration of feeling apart from the rest of society. It harnesses what makes the lyrics of Rolling Stones, “Paint it Black” so impactful, and turbo-charges it into a chaotic mess of percussion, DJ sampling, guitar riffs, and screamed vocals.
Nu-metal met its match with Slipknot. Few bands can fuel the rocket needed to light up arena shows so early in their career. Slipknot might be from fly-over country, but they were destined for the global stage the second Iowa was released. If you need to destroy a house with nothing more than a hammer; all you need to do is turn the volume up to 11, and it will fall.
1.
Artist: Deftones
Song: “My Own Summer (Shove it)”
Album: Around the Fur (1997)
The quintessential Nu-metal band, Deftones are a masterful group brimming with pure talent. The group’s initial sound is more aggressive than a feral Pitbull on steroids. “My Own Summer” captures a time and place that was the late nineties, and there will never be another age like it. Lead singer Chino Moreno fuses vocals that mix the melancholic nature of The Cure’s Robert Smith with a rage-filled scream akin to Maynard James Keenan of Tool. The result is something beautiful and haunting all at once.
The Nu-metal scene is hard to define. Too many bands are a part of the scene, and each are just as unique as they are similar. The twilight of the 20th Century was fading against the bright lights of a new Millennium. Y2K failed to deliver a broken world; and so, the youth were ready for anything. Nu-metal was the gift to Millennials that grunge bestowed upon Generation X. We were grateful for the cultural opportunity – basking in its sonic radiance. Analog kids became digital adults, and Nu-metal held our hand across the threshold.