Nu metal
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Korn, late 2005 |
The origins of nu metal can be pinpointed to the
Lollapalooza music festival in the 1990s which increased the exposure of bands who performed brands of metal and metal-influenced alternative music seperate from traditional genre approaches (see
Alternative metal). The
funk influence of
Primus,
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Fishbone, the
hip hop/
metal crossover of
Rage Against the Machine, the
industrial metal of
Nine Inch Nails and
Ministry, and the aggressive experimental rock of
Faith No More,
Tool and
Helmet have been mentioned numerous times as influences who toured on the festival by nu metal bands who gained mass-media exposure at the end of the millennium.
The tour featured the band
Body Count, who were fronted by the rapper
Ice-T. This attracted attention from the rap audience, and many record shops classified Body Count under "rap" despite Ice-T's claim that the band were supposed to be a rock group.
Nirvana frontman
Kurt Cobain's death in 1994 would signal the beginning of the decline of
alternative rock (and
grunge in particular) as the driving force in modern American rock music, paving the way for nu metal to gain ground with the public.
Lyrics of a style previously associated with grunge are common in nu metal songs , including those with a reputation for integrating
hip hop into their sound.
While
Deftones,
Loitus XB,
Orochi DP,
P.O.D.,
Korn,
Linkin Park,
Limp Bizkit and
Slipknot are typically cited as the genre's instigators, bands like
Fishbone,
Body Count,
Faith No More,
Rage Against the Machine,
Helmet, and others are also proclaimed as progenitors.
Linkin Park is the best selling nu metal act with 38 million copies sold out of their first two full-lengths (
Hybrid Theory and
Meteora) as well as other non-traditional albums. Producer
Ross Robinson was labelled by some as "The Godfather of Nu Metal" due to his producing of several notable Nu Metal albums. Nu metal bands also typically claim influence by more conventional metal acts, particularly
Black Sabbath; it also has some sonic similarity with
death metal as well as
thrash metal bands like
Metallica and
Megadeth [
1].
Entertainment!, the 1979 debut from British
post-punk group
Gang of Four has been cited as an indirect influence.The term "nu metal" was coined in the late nineties to denote the resurgence of metal in the public eye with the rise in popularity of bands such as
Korn,
Limp Bizkit, and
Deftones, as well as the success of the traveling
Ozzfest festival. Ozzfest, unlike Lollapalooza, provided a venue solely for the metal scene.
Ozzfest demonstrated that a sizable audience existed for new heavy metal sounds. Unlike previous eras who held bands such as
Led Zeppelin and
Judas Priest as their icons, the newer bands typically drew direct inspiration from more recent metal movements (particularly thrash and alternative metal)[
2].
Korn had released their first album in 1994, but their true breakthrough came with the release of their 1998 album
Follow the Leader and the accompanying
Family Values Tour that year, which also included Limp Bizkit,
Incubus,
Orgy,
Ice Cube and
Rammstein. Music by these and similar bands began experiencing increased radio airplay and rotation on
Total Request Live program, revealing a return in the popularity of rock music.
The sentiment was reinforced by MTV's "Return of the Rock" specials which featured KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, and other nu metal bands that exeprienced mainstream success at the turn of the century. The term "nu metal" adapted and the category began to describe bands that combined traditional metal themes with other styles such as hip-hop.
Mainstream success and criticisms
Nu metal bands, because their style was not clearly defined, were often considered within multiple other genres. The mix of styles led to some criticism that nu metal was no longer related to traditional metal . Rap is often used in nu metal, and fans of mainstream rap didn't always respond well to it. (Papa Roach's
Jacoby Shaddix, for example, for this reason has abandoned rapping in his band's most recent work).
Defining the term
Categorization of specific artists as "nu metal" is difficult, an issue made more prevalent in the online community by traditional metal fans who take offense to the term. Nu metal began as a mix of different genres, so the definition is not solid. Linkin Park's Meteora album, for example, is listed as nu metal on
Wikipedia, "Rock/Pop" on MP3.com[
3], "Alternative" on AOL Music Now[
4], and three different genres (Rock, Metal, and Alternative) on Metacritic[
5].
Note that none of the information below is meant to describe all nu metal songs or meant to be the defining characteristics of the genre.
Unlike traditional metal, the overall defining trait of nu metal guitar-playing is the emphasis on mood and texture over melody or complex instrumentation, achieved largely through performance or effects. Generally speaking, the emphasis in the music is on either communicating feelings of
angst and hostility, or motivating a crowd to move with the beat -- ideally, both at once. However, guitar-playing in nu metal still often varies vastly in complexity, sound and usage. Bands take elements from several forms of music when composing the riffs for their guitars, causing a high variance between the bands. One common trait of most nu metal bands however, is to emphasize the guitar as a rhythmic instrument. Riffs often consist of only a few different
notes or
power chords played in rhythmic,
syncopated patterns. To emphasize this rhythmic nature, nu metal guitarists generally make liberal use of
palm muting, that is often widely spaced out and blend easily into the surrounding riffs.
Another common technique with nu metal guitarists is the use of de-tuned strings whose lower
pitch creates a thicker, more resonant sound. Strings 'de-tuned' in this way, are often
drop-D or lower, sometimes adding a seventh string. Guitar solos are not often used in nu metal songs, and when they do appear they are often short and simple when compared to those of other metal genres.
Linkin Park,
Spineshank and
Disturbed are three bands that may be considered to represent examples of many techniques common to nu metal.
The speed and skill of a bassist in traditional heavy metal plays a large part of outcome in the band's sound, complementing percussive tempos (and occasionally the guitar riffs) to add a strong rhythm to the tone.The nu metal bass is often slow and reminiscent of hip hop or pop music, strutting a funky, loud sound that could arguably compete with the presence of the band's vocalist. Unlike most other genres of music, the bass in nu-metal is more often than not the driving force behind the aggression of the music,(i.e.
Mudvayne,
KoЯn,
Tool, etc.) Typically, most nu-metal bands use basses that require more than the traditional four strings. These are usually five or six string basses, five being the norm while six is far more rare. Fieldy of
Korn and
Ryan Martinie of
Mudvayne use five string basses.
Nu metal drumming usually consists of 4/4 beats, often believed to come from the genre's
hip hop influence. These 4/4 beats are sometimes used as a sole drumming pattern. One widespread aspect of nu metal drumming is that tempo rises above the estabilished midtempo range on chorus lines and bridges.
Many notable nu metal bands feature a
DJ for additional rhythmic instrumentation (especially
scratches and
electronic backgrounds). Some examples of nu metal DJs are
DJ Lethal of
Limp Bizkit,
Joe Hahn of
Linkin Park, and
Sid Wilson of
Slipknot.
Vocals
Nu metal bands often feature aggressive vocals that range from melodic
singing akin to
pop and
rock (and in many cases
punk and
emo), guttural screaming and shouting from various forms of metal music, and
rapping.
Some distinction is usually maintained between bands who use rap vocals extensively, and those that do not. Bands featuring almost exclusively rap vocalization are sometimes loosely called "rap metal," while the less common term
rapcore is used to describe bands who use a combination of singing, screaming, and/or rapping (for example,
Limp Bizkit,
Linkin Park and
P.O.D., and
Korn have songs that combine the styles). One method of rapping common in nu metal merges rap with "shouting". The
Thousand Foot Krutch single "Rawkfist," for instance, finds vocalist
Trevor McNevan shouting hardcore punk-style in the form of rapping. Another common method is simply utilizing the different styles in different parts of the songs, such as a "screaming" chorus breaking up rapped verses. The style and lyrical themes of nu metal rap are generally very different from those of mainstream hip hop. Distortion and other post-production effects are often added to vocals in the nu metal genre.
Tool is a recognizable origin for some nu metal vocalization; Chevelle's Pete Loeffler, Taproot's Stephen Richards, Disturbed's David Draiman, and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst have cited Maynard James Keenan's signature style as an influence, with Durst also calling the entire group (in general) both a biggest musical influence and favorite band. [6]
Lyrical themes
The
lyrics of nu metal songs temd to reflect on the stresses and mishaps of everyday life. Topics covered in this manner range from childhood alienation or abuse, socio-economic status and relationship/marital difficulties. However, the songs aren't generally depressing ; many songs in the genre send messages of hope and strength to get through the difficulties of life. Often, the tone of the songs resemble emotions felt by adolescents, such as intense frustration, and lyrics often resemble such a tone. This is considered a quality of praise and weakness among the respective supporters and critics.
*
List of Nu metal musical groups*
Mallcore*
Post-grunge*
Christe, Ian (2003).
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. ISBN 0380811278.
*
Kitts, Jeff and
Tolinski,Brad (2002)
Guitar World Presents: Nu-Metal Hal Leonard. ISBN 0634032879
*
Quart, Alissa (2003)
Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0738208620
*
MTV.com: Nu Metal Meltdown
