
What is nu metal?
Nu metal (also known as nü-metal, aggro-metal, neo-metal or new metal) is a subgenreof heavy metal music. It is a fusion genre which combines sounds, influences and characteristics of heavy metal and its subgenres such as groove metal, thrash metal and alternative metal with other genres, including hip hop, grunge, hardcore punk, funk and industrial. It is classed as part of alternative metal. (It is also a staple of the average Naruto / DBZ music video.)
You should all watch this.
Metal Evolution- Nu metal
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This guy does a documentary on all the sub genre's, and this one is about good ol' nu metal.
It's worth a spin to see what this metal purest thinks of it. A lot is his opinion along with the history, so don't take it all as fact.
It's not just some dude on Youtube with a crappy show, it aired on VH1 as a series. It's done well.
What do most people think of nu metal?
Good question! Let's see what some famous musicians have to say:
When I'm asked what do I think of a lot of the nu-metal bands that are out there, my response is that it seems really insincere to me. I've had a really shitty childhood and I'm really upset and I'm really ugly and I've put a lot of make-up on and I'm harder and faster and my voice sounds more like the cookie monster's than yours does. To me it all comes across as being comical, as being a parody of itself. - Trent Reznor
As KORN go on, it's the same things — bad childhoods and mean moms. It gets too old after a while. How old is Jonathan? Thirty? How long has it been since he lived with his parents?" - Chino Moreno
"I feel no responsibility for that, it's their mothers' fault, not mine." - Mike Patton
...Uh okay moving on, how about our very own GAF???
What a bullshit thread and band.
I'm not an elitist asshole, I just KNOW this is shit music.
I feel sorry/happy for people who LIKE it because they obviously aren't music listeners.
I become happy because they have a whole wicked library of music to hopefully "discover".
That will be an awesome experience.
Disturbed is one of the absolute worst bands I've ever had the displeasure of hearing. I don't mean to troll but if you're over the age of 12 or 13 and you're still listening to this kind of garbage (ie, HED pe), you're an asshole.
Anyway, Nu-Metal was terrible. Rather than bands learning from those that set the template in the first place (Faith No More's The Real Thing and Body Count's self-titled album probably being the defining statements at the time) we saw talentless bands combine forgettable, dumbed-down riffs with pitifully bad attempts at rapping.
Even the worst of the faux-Metalcore we hear today is nothing compared to the Nu-Metal nadir of the mid to late nineties.
CRAWWWWWWWWWWLING IIIIIN MY SKIIIIIIIIN
THESE WOUUUUUUNDS THEY WILLLLLLL NOT HEAAAAAAALLL
nu-metal was worse. you have to be in middle school or dense as a rock to listen to the genre. seriously, everyone who just posted something positive about disturbed should edit their posts with their age.
there are some bands with talent that unfortunately play nu metal (tool comes to mind). a shame.

Uh, wow. Do we have a metal thread?
Yeah
What albums would you recommend?
A lot of these recommendations will be personal, but I will be quoting reviews for most of these albums from Sputnikmusic. Also a special thanks to the user Metalstyles for all his awesome nu metal reviews / lists.
Korn - Self Titled

The production is limited, all the bells and whistles of studio-polish that were provided later are not here, but it even aids the album, giving it a hostile, raw feeling to the music. The song structures are very, very (very) simplistic, but even that cannot stop you from enjoying the music, and Korn itself. With a strong set of songs, exceptional vocal talent, and a knack for the rap-metal hybrid (at least for this period of time), Korn's debut is grim, brooding, nihilistic, and enjoyable to surprisingly great lengths.
Other albums by this band: Life is Peachy / Follow The Leader / Issues / Untouchables
Slipknot - Self Titled

Slipknot's debut is a highly influential and focused release that is held back by the fact that it is too immature to take seriously occasionally. The pressure was off for the band on their debut and whatever the listener's pre-conceptions of them, this album shows off everything their early works embody. Nowhere on Slipknot is there a filler track in sight as was the main problem with their most recent album and every song feels honed and unrestrained.
Other albums by this band: Iowa / Vol. 3
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

Hybrid Theory stands as a defining mainstream album at the turn of the century, and for good reason.
Other albums by this band: Meteora / Reanimation
Disturbed - Believe

Disturbed is a band comfortable with being in the middle; their musicianship is good enough, heavy but not heavy, with David Draiman exuberating passionate vocals over mostly simple song structures that don't sway too far away from verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus. While for most bands this would seem like a problem, like the band was in a rut and completely uninspired, Disturbed make it work however, throwing in slight variations of their sound (a change in tempo here, a nasty palm-muted riff there) and allowing Draiman's voice to carry the tunes into extremely catchy territory. This is heavy music for a party; nothing to step back about and say "wow, that was incredible" but enough oomph to make anyone want to headbang along and throw up their fists in delight. Believe is the pinnacle of Disturbed's successful formula as it carries the best of the tunes Disturbed has to offer and remains very consistent, albeit at times boring.
Other albums by this band: Down With The Sickness / Ten Thousand Fists / Indestructible
Mudvayne - L.D. 50

(hey i'm just playin it safe)
Like other unfortunate bands such as Television, Joy Division, The Doors, Linkin Park, and The Ramones, Mudvayne has never been able to top their debut. They've mellowed, and they've dropped the silly makeup, but they've never reached the atmospheric peak of L.D. 50. And that's okay, since they left us with an uncompromising masterpiece. And while it seems stereotypical to say this, especially on this website, this is nu-metal's defining album.
Other albums by this band: The End of All Things to Come
Sevendust - Animosity

With numerous albums within their arsenal, Sevendust crafts their third-studio album with relative ease and satisfaction. Pressing some dark and mature themes to the table, the band cement themselves amongst the finest of bands willing to openly reveal their hidden pains to the world. Sometimes the only cure for such a pain is to let it out, and the boys let it out in the only way they know how to: through music. A certain passion for the art must be present in presenting honesty and truth to an audience, Sevendust is one to follow. Animosity is a masterpiece.
Deftones - White Pony*

*Even if you hate nu metal you should check this out. There's a bit of debate whether or not early Deftones even was nu metal but whatevs, it's my favorite album.
Other albums by this band: ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY
System of a Down - Self Titled

this shit fukken rules
Other albums by this band: Discography is pretty solid
Static-X - Wisconsin Death Trip

The late 90s were an interesting time. Korn and Limp Bizkit were fighting “boy bands” like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys for the top of the charts, 90s alternative was starting to trail off, and Carson Daly was relevant. Nu-metal was reaching an apex, and with its popularity came a shift in the radio landscape. Stations were forced to play songs that they normally wouldn’t due to the demand for these heavier songs and one of the bands that benefited most from this change was Static-X. While being more industrial than nu, they were able to use the push for nu-metal to get their music to a wider audience. Wisconsin Death Trip came out in March ’99, perfect timing for an album full of hard-driving guitars and industrial samples and programming, complete with a distinct lack of singing.
Drowning Pool - Sinner

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR
Snot - Get Some

Get Some has to be one of the catchiest nu-metal albums ever and it’s all because of its spastic, funky, and simply downright playful nature that most nu-metal bands never dreamt of ever doing.
Amen - Self Titled

It’s a shame to think of what Amen could have become if it wasn’t for a sub-genre of music that collapsed in on itself with an oversaturation of Linkin Park’s, Papa Roach’s and Korn wannabes. Amen’s passion towards keeping classic punk alive speaks volumes and instills the fact that nu-metal had a beating pulse at one time. As a testament to Snot as well, the three previous members certainly joined the right band and followed up with an equally impressive set of tunes (somewhat in the vein of Snot too if you think about the integrity both of these bands possessed). With Chaos leading the charge and direction of Amen’s S/T, the perfect touch was added in making this a genuinely pissed off album. Pissed off indeed; Amen deliver a one-two punch to the face with their s/t debut.
Papa Roach - Infest

The debut appearance for Papa Roach has officially shown a somewhat cliché appearance. But on the other hand, Papa Roach seem to master their image, and distort it with a major variety of genres that do well in putting up at least a new sound that compliment this over played style of theirs. This was a fair performance by the band, and it seems that Papa Roach won’t abandon their image before long, till new influences come along anyway.
Nonpoint - Statement

Ultimately, Statement is a surprising listen and a great major label debut for Nonpoint. Listeners who like Sevendust, Puya, Ill Nino, and even Rage Against the Machine would definitely be encouraged to give this album a listen with its rock and hip-hop fusion. Again, the instrumentation is hardly innovative, but Goldman's clean and distorted guitar riffs and arpeggios as well as Rivera's fantastic percussion provide a solid foundation to frontman Elias Soriano's sung and shouted vocals.
Other albums by this band: Recoil / To The Pain
P.O.D. - Satellite

In "Satellite", P.O.D. spreads it wings and reaches new levels of intensity and emotion with the help of excellent song-writing and willingness to experiment with their sound.
Other albums by this band: Fundamental Elementals of Southtown, Murdered Love
Ill Nino - Revolution/Revolucion

In conclusion, Ill Nino’s Revolution/Revolucion is a decent nu metal album. While it doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table, it has some qualities that you can’t get from other nu metal albums, like the constant latin influence and the surprising heaviness of the music. Simple and straightforward, this album delivers a slab of angry, heavy metal for the listener. If you like nu metal and alternative metal, or are a open-minded person who’s ready to give any kind of music a chance, give this album a spin, if not, don’t waste your time.
Other albums by this band: Fairly consistent discography.
Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.*

*This is more funk metal, but also kinda nu-metaly, so I dunno. Like with Deftones, since I think this album would appeal to people who like nu metal, I'll keep it up.
The album stands out like a sore thumb within Incubus' most widely acclaimed albums, though, and it's because even though S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was a logical progression in context of the band's musical ventures, it's a strange creature on its own. It's that chill kid in your Biology class, kinda smelly but vibey at the same time - the kid you end up becoming best friends with, despite his lack of hygienic discipline. See, he knows that sometimes it's more rewarding to embrace the filth, to be rough around the edges for the sake of something more important. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. only cares about elements and drugs, about love and chemicals and dust, not about how cautiously these themes should be presented, and this is why Incubus' debut album also happens to be their most unforgettable.
Spineshank - Self-Destructive Patterns

This was Spineshank's final album before the band originally broke up (they have since re-united and are in the process of recording a 4th album). It's in my opinion their best work, although it doesn't have my favorite songs by them, it is the most consistently good. "The Height of Callousness" was a great album, but there were a few segments in it that were just painfully bad (Cyanide 2600), and "Strictly Diesel" was interesting, but nothing special (especially not their dreadful Beatles cover). I would not be surprised by another release from Spineshank either this year, or early next, that catapults them back on the scene.
Other albums by this band: The Height of Callousness
Nothingface - Violence

Around the time all the NU-Metal bands were appearing and copying each other, there was one band that appeared out of thin air. They called themselves Nothingface and the music they had to offer was very hard hitting and brutal. Each album they released got heavier and heavier and we finally ended up with Violence. As much as this album has been overlooked, many underground critics have said it was “Brutally Beautiful!” My first listen of the album put me in shock. It is so heavy and well written that it became my number one album of all time.
Other albums by this band: An Audio Guide To Everyday Atrocity / Skeletons
And of course, what nu metal list could possibly be considered worth a damn without mention of the king:







Other albums: Significant Other
Well, that's all I got for now. I don't think is going to go over very well :lol