What is nu metal and why is it hated?
After grunge took hold of culture and transformed the landscape in 1991, rock music was the it-genre once more, and a host of different sounds and scenes emerged. While the Britpop phenomenon was the most popular in Britain during the mid-1990s, across the pond, another sensation, nu metal, captured the minds of those inclined for darker and much heavier music.
A strange time for music, the period ostensibly produced bands that have gone on to have glistening and widely influential careers, as well as those that have gone on to typify the very worst of an era where misogyny and excess were still rife. Outside of the baggy pants, new era caps, piercings and fat trainers, nu metal is defined as a subgenre of alternative metal which was heavily influenced by the likes of Faith No More, Helmet and the groove metal of Pantera in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Characteristically, it is deemed to reject the bluesy chromaticism that grunge used and instead blend metal with hip-hop, alternative metal, industrial and the thematic darkness of grunge. Unlike the Seattle scene that opened the gates for it, there are rarely guitar solos and technical peacocking, instead preferring intense syncopation and heavily de-tuned, distorted guitar riffs, often played on seven-strings. The bass was a vital aspect of the perceived sound too, with slapping and low tunings making it a more percussive instrument than in other metal forms.
DJs were also a common aspect of the sound, with sampling, scratching and electronic palettes used to create a world that delved even further into postmodern alienation. As for the vocalists, rapping, growling, and melodic signing were blended into one arsenal, with Faith No More’s Mike Patton deemed the progenitor of such a dynamic style. He has distanced himself from such a connection, though.
Although it’s hard to pinpoint where the umbrella tag of nu metal originated, Korn’s 1994 self-titled debut is often deemed where the music began, with tracks like ‘Blind’ proving widely influential for the raft of other groups they were later tied in with. As the decade wore on, the likes of Coal Chamber, Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, Papa Roach, P.O.D., Sepultura, Staind, and others would all be associated by the use of the tag. Despite the heaviness, they’re all different, with some better than others.
Why is nu metal hated?
Outside of genuine musical innovations being cheaply ripped off, there are a number of other vital aspects that have made it so hated, despite the contemporary fascination with Korn and Deftones due to the broader love for the Y2K era.
The most significant is that of Woodstock 1999. A disaster in every aspect, marred by arson, sexual violence, difficult environmental conditions, looting and even deaths, it led to immense controversy, which changed the dimension of the music in many people’s eyes, particularly after Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst was deemed to have egged the audience on during ‘Nookie’. They were the biggest nu metal band at the time, and this went on to typify what people believed were the most harmful aspects of the genre in light of such an inhuman frenzy unfolding as its backdrop.
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda distilled why nu metal is hated when speaking to NME in 2015: “We never held the flag for nu-metal—it was associated with frat rock. Arrogant, misogynistic, and full of testosterone; we were reacting against that.”
Why do bands reject the nu metal tag?
Interestingly, almost all of the supposed pioneers of the genre have rejected nu metal and distanced themselves from it, as have those later deemed central to the alleged movement, which it’s clear there never was.
Famously, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2004: “We’re not ‘rap rock’, we’re not ‘nu-metal … We might have invented a new genre of heavy music or rock, but I believe the term ‘nu-metal’ was made up for all the bands that followed us. Those guys, to me, are nu-metal. And we’re just Korn.”
Davis has since changed his tune slightly, maintaining that he hated pigeonholing, as Korn always conflated several different genres. However, he accepts that if his group did invent some form of genre, “that’s pretty insane”. His issue concerns groups jumping on the bandwagon and copying what Korn did, resulting in what he called “cheap knockoffs” when speaking to Philadelphia’s 93.3 WMMR in 2014.
It’s not just Davis who has been critical of the label. Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has always hated it. He’s also been more critical of other bands as Deftones have continued to move away from their early sound. He even criticised Davis’ lyrics and asserted that he had become repetitive after 2002’s Untouchables arrived. The Deftones leader also claimed that opening for Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park was “a big problem” as neither would have existed without him.
The late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington also absolutely hated the tag because of his own band’s experimentations with the limits of genre and what some groups came to represent outside of the music. Ironically, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland has constantly denigrated the tag despite his band being the group commonly associated with the very worst it brought. The Florida outfit’s role is worthy of a piece in itself.
