Hey y'all! I'm glad you dropped by to hear me talk about my favorite genre of music. I know I talk about heavy metal in almost every blog but today I'm here to talk about a certain type of metal. Obviously there are many subgenres of heavy metal and my favorite is called nu-metal. So buckled up because I'm about to rock your socks off ;)
How did nu-metal get started?
Nu-metal music got its start on October 27, 1995 thanks to a band called Korn. They had a gig in London with that caught the attention of the 800 metal fans in the crowd. The band from Bakersfield, California fronted by Jonathan Davis (a former mortuary assistant) released its debut album the previous year. They took influence from Rage Against the Machine and made their own style of rap-metal. The LA music scene was revived when bands began to follow in Korn's footsteps by down-tuning their guitars and diving into nu-metal. Another one of the founding bands of nu-metal is called Limp Bizkit. Fred Durst (tattoo artist) decided to take more influence from hip-hop into Limp Bizkit's music. The band wasn't quite metal but it wasn't hip-hop either. It was a perfect blend of the two genres and this attracted tons of fans. Static-X is another important nu-metal band. This Chicago band captured the outsider look of nu-metal with their lead singer sporting a hairstyle that made him look as if he had been electrocuted. One of the most unhinged bands from the genre is a nine-piece band from Iowa. Slipknot perfectly encompasses all aspects of nu-metal in all fields. The creepy mask wearing group were known to huff fumes from a dead bird in a jar before shows to get themselves in a dark mindset. Pretty crazy, right? Well, that's what nu-metal is about. These people don't fit in so they go out of their way to further push the boundaries of society with their music.
As quickly as nu-metal was born, Linkin Park came along in 2000 to put it to death. Their first album was an instant success as it sold 5 million copies in 12 months. The expectations were set far too high which took away the spotlight from other bands of the genre. As they were struggling to keep up with the demand, members of Korn, Deftones, and other bands fell into drug addiction. Limp Bizkit lost many fans and lost their place as one of nu-metal's leading bands. Many artists decided to leave the scene while bands like Slipknot and Korn stood strong. The 2013 Download festival singlehandedly save the entire genre with a killer line-up featured Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down, and Limp Bizkit. Since then, nu-metal has been pretty successful and you usually hear a few songs from the genre every time you turn on your local rock station.
Here is one of Korn's most popular songs just to give you an idea of what they sound like.
What is nu-metal?
The majority of nu-metal lyrics deal with struggle and mental health. For example, Jonathan Davis of Korn writes about the abuse he endured as a child and his insecurities. Nu-metal artists use their lyrics to talk about all of the anger and sadness they feel. One of my favorite albums from Slipknot features songs that discuss the depression that overtook the band once their bassist passed away in 2010 from an accidental overdose. As you can already tell from the two songs I have included, most songs are very vulgar. It just adds to the intensity and helps the artists to really express their emotions.
Nu-metal is a mixture of grunge, alternative metal, hardcore punk, hip-hop, other genres of heavy metal (industrial, groove). It includes melodic vocals, guttural screams, shouting similar to hardcore punk music, and rapping. It is also common for songs to have rapped verses with screamed choruses.
Overall, nu-metal emphasizes mood, texture, and rhythm over melody. Nu-metal uses rhythmic and syncopated riffs on distorted electric guitars with down-tuned strings to create a dark and resonate sound. The drumming often consists of hip-hop, funk, and heavy metal. Double bass drumming is not very common but Slipknot is one of the few exceptions.
Structure of the songs
Instrumental introduction, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus
The bridge is often the climax of the song and sometimes it is just one line repeated over an over, getting louder and louder.
ICONIC lyrics
Nu-metal lyrics tend to show the vulnerability of the artist and it has always helped me connect with the music. It often makes the listener feel understood because they talk about very real and common problems that people experience.
And I'm about to break"
Everley, Dave. “Revenge of the Freaks: the Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Nu Metal.” Metal Hammer Magazine, Louder, 19 Mar. 2020, www.loudersound.com/features/revenge-of-the-freaks-how-nu-metal-took-over-the-world.
“Nu Metal.” Metal Wiki, Fandom, metal.fandom.com/wiki/Nu_metal.
Pereira, Ansel. “100 Best Nu Metal Bands - Spinditty - Music.” Spinditty, 5 Feb. 2020, spinditty.com/genres/100-Best-Nu-Metal-Bands.
This was a great blog post Chasidy! I feel like I know a whole lot more about heavy metal than I did before. I found it really interesting how the nu-metal music is mainly about mental illness and abuse though.
ReplyDeleteI feel like you already know what I am about to say... we have a lot in common especially with our music taste. I know a good bit about metal and rock music, but I have definitely learned more from your blog. I am ecstatic to listen to the bands that you talked about in your blog, I have listened to most, but there are a few that I have never heard of. I found it interesting that nu-metal is about the awareness of mental health, and the drug abuse. Music is definitely one way that people can learn about these sort of things. It truly was just a great blog!
ReplyDeleteI never realized how much nu-metal I listen to until I read this blog. My parents practically raised me on Korn, Linkin Park, and my dad is constantly trying to convince me he went to school with the singer of Limp Bizkit. So far, the blogs i've seen (including my own) had genre's starting in the early 20th century so it caught me way off guard to see how recently it was a thing.
ReplyDeleteHello, I really enjoyed reading your blog! Every time I read your vlog I always learn something new about metal. Which is exciting! One of the things that intrigued me is how nu-metal is about the awarness of mental illness and drum abuse. I can see why many people listening to this style of music.
ReplyDeleteHi, Chasidy! I would have never listened to this type of music on my own. I really love the way you opened up your type of music to us. The lyrics were very nice and I loved them.
ReplyDelete