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Nu Metal from A to Z
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nu metal (‘nu-metl), n. 1. a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip-hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. 2. A much-hated subgenre of metal or hard rock, depending on how you view it, that started in the early 90s.
what is nu metal spread From baggy jeans to shitty haircuts to cursing your mom out for grounding you because she found your nudie mags, nu metal is a genre of music that deserves more. We all know the staples, such as Limp Bizkit and Korn, but do we really know what makes up the subculture? Believe it or not, there is a whole genre of music full of punched in dry wall and interesting facial piercings. No matter how much we bash the genre for its “mainstream” nature and controversial features, there is a whole community that shares a love for hard guitar, sick turn tabling, and wailing about how the world brings pain. Whether you learn something new or see something you hate, regardless of how you feel, Next Time Won’t You Scream With Me?
is for aggression
Many artists reach into themselves and channel past trauma and experiences and express those things throughout their discography. This helps create a sense of authenticity and vulnerability in the genre and this resonates with fans, as they can find ways to relate to their favorite artists and find joy in “mutual suffering�. Aggression takes shape in the nu metal genre in the form of loud, abrasive instrumentals and raw, real lyrics. Screaming, growling, and whispering are ways in which nu metal singers convey their lyricism, with these techniques stemming from passion, anger, and resentment. 1
Hot Topic deemed JNCOS “uncool.” Bold of them to declare what’s considered “cool”.
If there’s one fashion trend most commonly associated with the nu-metal era of the mid-to-late ’90s, it’s baggy jeans. Many artists wore jeans from a brand called JNCO (Judge None, Choose One). JNCO jeans were created by French brothers Haim Milo and Jacques Yaakov Revah. They launched their brand in 1985 and they were heavily inspired by East LA street fashion. The massive, flare-legged pants became synonymous with the fans of nu-metal, who attempted to emulate the baggy pants of skaters and rappers while taking the style to a typically metal extreme.
is for baggy pants
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California is a state where many musical artists and genres came to be. Many prominent nu metal bands originated from California, like Korn, Linkin Park, Deftones, and System of a Down. It began making waves here in the early to mid 1990’s with the release of Korn’s self titled demo. West coast hip hop sound and culture influenced this “new wave of metal”, eventually morphing into the genre nu metal.
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is for Evanescence
One of the most popular post-alternative American bands of the 2000’s, Evanescence debuted with a hybrid operatic goth-pop sound that paired soul-baring introspection with churning metallic guitars. Their 2003 album Fallen quickly proved to be a success thanks to the platinum hit single “Bring Me to Life,” which was soon followed by “My Immortal. “Bring Me To Life” features vocals by Paul McCoy, a member of the group, 12 Stones. With the use of these vocals, the goth rock group’s sound crossed into the nu metal genre, which allowed them to add another sound to their belt as a metal collective.
is for Deftones Deftones is a Sacramento, California based group, which formed in 1988. As one of the progenitors of the ‘90s nu-metal movement, Deftones quickly evolved beyond the scene, embracing their individual influences to create an artistic alternative metal hybrid that balanced beauty and brutality. They influenced a generation of musicians with their trio of platinum-certified early albums: 1995’s Adrenaline, 1997’s Around the Fur, and 2000’s seminal White Pony. Their music moved away from the nu metal after these three albums but they opened many doors for future bands who use this sound in their music. 4
is for frosted tips
Frosted tips are sort of like highlights for men, commonly known as “guylights.” What makes them different and oh-so ‘90s is that only the ends of hair strands are bleached, leaving the impression one’s hair has been “frosted.” This was a prominent trend throughout pop culture in the 90’s, but also within the nu metal community, with many artists popping up with this hair style. Singers like Chino Moreno and Chester Bennington rocked this hairstyle, adding yet another iconic look to the nu metal fashion look book. 5
You can’t have metal music without some sort of facial hair. Goatees are one of the many facial hair styles that appear within the nu metal genre. Goatees can be defined as a short beard that resembles the hair on a goat’s chin.
is for goatee No matter how long or short your goatee is, you’re still probably not getting any. 6
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Nu metal bands use instruments that often appear in heavy metal, like guitars, drums, and bass, as well as electronic instruments such as DJ decks and keyboards.
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Nu metal musicians were equally inspired by hip hop artists as they were by metal bands, listening to N.W.A., Cypress Hill, The Wu-Tang Clan, and The Fugees, among others. Korn claims Cypress Hill and Pantera to be the two biggest influences on their music. While Linkin Park, who were fans of KRS-One, Run-D.M.C., and Public Enemy, perhaps best exemplifies the incorporation of rap and hip hop with metal music.
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is for jumpsuits
Many nu metal bands wear matching jumpsuits or tracksuits. Bands like Slipknot did this to show unification between their band members as well as shift fans’ and onlookers’ focus onto other physical attributes like masks and makeup. It helps add onto their image as a band and collective. 8
Korn changed the world with the release of their self-titled debut album. It was a record that would pioneer the nu metal genre, while the band’s enduring success points to a larger cultural moment. They formed in 1993 in Bakersfield, California and as of 2012, they have sold over 35 million records worldwide. They have been credited as “the fathers of nu metal”, bringing a new sound into mainstream music. Members include Jonathan Davis, James Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Ray Luzier, and Brian Welch.
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Limp Bizkit is a rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Their lineup consists of Fred Durst, Sam Rivers, John Otto, DJ Lethal, and Wes Borland. Their music is marked by Durst’s angry vocal delivery and Borland’s sonic experimentation. Borland’s elaborate visual appearance, which includes face and body paint, masks and uniforms, also plays a large role in the band’s live shows. The band has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, sold 40 million records worldwide, and won several other awards.
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Meteora is the second studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003 through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on their 2000 debut studio album Hybrid Theory. Meteora has sold around 16 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Some songs from the album were remixed with some of Jay-Z’s songs for the EP 2004 Collision Course. (Hybrid Theory still slaps though.)
is for Meteora
Emerging from the booming South Florida metal scene of the mid- to late ‘90s, Miami’s Nonpoint traffic in a dynamic mix of styles incorporating elements of hard rock, rap, and alternative. The group’s neck-snapping riffs and groove-heavy flow found mainstream success in the early 2000’s via chart-topping albums like Statement (2000), Development (2002), and Recoil (2004), the latter of which included a muscular rendering of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” which was featured in the 2006 film Miami Vice. They began to move away from the nu metal genre for a more groove, alternative metal sound, but were still a big contributor to the overall genre.
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is for Nonpoint
is for one hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is an artist primarily known for one hit song. One of the most commonly mocked things about the genre was the sheer amount of bands who would get snatched up by a label and release one charting hit (two if they were very lucky) before falling off the map. Many of these hits were 80s pop covers.
The only reason why I know the song Careless Whisper is because Seether did a cover of it. Sad. 12
Nothing makes Mom angrier than a tattoo, but facial piercings are second best. Rock a septum, pierce a brow or two and you’ll be competing with Disturbed’s David Draiman for fiercest frontman. Piercings are just another drop in the bucket that is nu metal fashion culture and creates another means of self expression.
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is for quick to rise and fall
As a genre, nu metal was quick to rise in popularity and fall due to criticism. It grew within the ‘90s and as it became popular and more mainstream, big nu metal names began to reject the nu metal genre and as a result, move away from the sound for something different. This created a big decline in the bands and music available in this genre. This helped create a new wave of nu metal and the genre has infiltrated other styles of music, creating crossover and a new complexity in sound.
Try and name a Papa Roach song other than Last Resort and Scars. Exactly. Point taken. 14
Producer Ross Robinson helped shape nu metal and provided some of the genre’s most insane moments. He helped discover acts like Korn, The Blood Brothers, Glassjaw, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. Robinson is famously responsible for the production on some of nu-metal most iconic albums, including Korn’s debut and their Life Is Peachy follow-up, Slipknot’s debut, Sepultura’s Roots and Limp Bizkit’s debut Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$, among others. Despite his denouncing of the genre later in his career, he can be considered the “godfather of nu metal” and he helped create many of the sounds that make nu metal who they are.
is for Ross Robinson
is for Static-X
Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The band was founded by Wayne Static and original drummer Ken Jay. They rose to fame with their 1999 debut album Wisconsin Death Trip where their heavy industrial metal sound attracted attention within the burgeoning nu metal movement of the late 1990s, with the album eventually going platinum in the United States. The band released five more albums over the course of the next decade: Machine in 2001, Shadow Zone in 2003, Start a War in 2005, Cannibal in 2007, and Cult of Static in 2009.
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is for tattoos
Tattoos are a means of expression that many metal artists and fans have. They range from personal emblems to far out conceptual pieces to amateurly drawn caricatures done in somebody’s basement. Music fans alike will get tattoos of their favorite artists or song lyrics as a means of dedication. No matter how crude or thought out they are, these body modifications are one of the many attributes that bring the genre together.
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is for ugly
1998 was a dull time for teenagers in the suburbs. We were just starting to feel the effects of our first dose of hormones. We needed something that felt like a rebellion against the cookie-cutter tween media that we’d been force-fed in our childhoods. Along came a cluster of bands who we couldn’t be accused of ‘crushing’ on because they were ugly as fuck and whose lyrics seemed to perfectly define the tangle of feelings that comes hand-in-hand with adolescence. They wore weird baggy clothes and were covered in piercings. They were different, they scared our parents, and they were seemingly made just for us. Above all, they fucking rocked.
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Vocal styles used in nu metal music include singing, rapping, screaming, and growling. Vocals in nu metal are often rhythmic and influenced by hip hop. While some nu metal bands, such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park have rapping in their music, other nu metal bands, such as Godsmack and Staind, do not. Nu metal bands occasionally feature hip hop musicians as guests in their songs; Korn’s song “Children of the Korn” features the rapper Ice Cube. The hip hop musician Nas was featured on Korn’s song “Play Me”, which is on the band’s album Take a Look in the Mirror.
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There’s a reason this style was nicknamed “angry white boy” music. While the criticism was not unwarranted, if some of the more personal or emotional lyrics from these songs are anything to go by, it’s been abused to the point of becoming a Dead Horse Trope. Despite this unfortunate trait, many songs still ring true as sincere and raw and that cannot be ignored.
is for wangst
This isn’t much of a fact, more of an expression. “Nobody understands me!” Insert scream crying.
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is for xtremely cool letterz
As such, many peoplez will intentionalli mizzpel wordz by xubztituting ðese letterz, in the hopez that this will draw moar attentshun from young peoplez and make the rezult look moar youþ-oriented. Several band names, including (but not limited to) Korn (which spells its name with a backwards “R”), Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Speaks for itself really. How kewl is that?
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Despite the very interesting assets nu metal brings to the table, the genre has a lot of controversy and rejection under its belt. Many musicians labeled as nu metal artists rejected the title, not wanting to be lumped in with the tropes and image the genre has. The genre has been slammed for the themes depicted in artist discography, like misogyny, violence, and arrogance. Not to mention what happened with Limp Bizkit at Woodstock ‘99. Yikes..
is for yikes
Don’t look up what happened during Limp Bizkit’s performance at Woodstock ‘99. Just don’t.
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Zebrahead is an Orange County, California-based punk/rap band that was formed in La Habra, California. Their discography currently consists of 13 studio albums, 2 compilation albums, 35 singles, 41 music videos, 4 video albums and 4 extended plays. Zebrahead formed in 1995, releasing their self-titled debut album Zebrahead (more commonly known as Yellow due to the color of the cover) through independent label Doctor Dream Records in April 1998, before getting signed to Columbia Records. They use many sounds within their music, including ska.
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References and Citations Bezer, Terry. “Ross Robinson: the Man Who Built Nu Metal.” Metal Hammer Magazine, Louder, 1 Nov. 2017, www.loudersound.com/features/how-ross-robinson-shapednu-metal. “The Complete Guide to Nu-Metal Fashion.” Fuse, www.fuse.tv/galleries/2015/02/ nu-metal-fashion. Crockett, Zachary. “JNCO, the Terrible Jeans Brand from the ‘90s, Finally Goes out of Business.” The Hustle, 30 June 2020, thehustle.co/jnco-jeans-goes-bankrupt. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas Thomas. “Evanescence: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/evanescence-mn0000787428/biography. 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. Freeman, Thomas. “‘Frosted Tips’ Are the Latest Questionable ‘90s Trend to Make a Comeback.” Maxim, Maxim, 30 June 2017, www.maxim.com/style/frosted-tips90s-2017-6. “Korn Don’t Know Who Started The Whole JNCOs Fad, But It Wasn’t Them.” Kerrang!, www.kerrang.com/the-news/korn-dont-know-who-started-the-whole-jncos-fad/. “Korn.” Discogs, www.discogs.com/artist/18837-Korn. “Legendary Nu-Metal Producer Ross Robinson Shows Off His Gear.” Kerrang!, www. kerrang.com/video/legendary-nu-metal-producer-ross-robinson-shows-off-hisgear/. “Limp Bizkit.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Limp_Bizkit.
Lucey, Kate. “A Love Letter to Nu-Metal, the Most Hated Rock Genre of All Time.” Hard Noise, 2 Nov. 2019, noise.thehardtimes.net/2019/11/02/a-love-letter-to-nu-met al-the-most-hated-rock-genre-of-all-time/. “Meteora (Album).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Meteora_(album). “Nonpoint.” Spotify, open.spotify.com/artist/6BdSOHfQ6kMg0tbAFlXR1z. “Nu Metal.” KidzSearch.com, wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Nu_metal. “Nu Metal.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NuMetal. “Nu Metal.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Nu_metal. “Nu-Metal.” Rock and Metal in the Late 90s/Early 00s, 28 Apr. 2014, ifitmeansalot.word press.com/nu-metal-2/. “Static-X.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stat ic-X. “Xtreme Kool Letterz.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XtremeKool Letterz. Yeung, Neil Z. “Deftones: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/art ist/deftones-mn0000813946/biography. “Zebrahead Discography.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Sept. 2020, en.wikipe dia.org/wiki/Zebrahead_discography.
A tribute to my hideous taste in music and obscene sense of humor.
This book was made by Christa Faas at Moore College of Art & Design for Thomas Foley and Jason Ganski’s Advanced Typography class in the fall semester of 2020. 1/1
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