Metal Hammer Presents: Nu Metal

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PRINTED IN THE UK

NU SPECIAL 2014

PRESENTS...

PRESENTS The Loco Story Of...

08 Roots of nu metal Your guide to the bands that helped shape the sound of nu metal.

12 Korn

New chat with Jonathan Davis, plus an in-depth archive feature.

22 Nu metal moments

Slipknot on TFI, Linkin Park with Jay-Z and more.

26 Papa roach

All the best action from P-Roach’s nu metal legacy.

34 Freaks

Nu metal’s most outlandish looks uncovered!

38 Limp bizkit

Fred Durst as you’ve never heard him before in this all-new chat.

46 Hip hop invasion

How the world of rap changed metal culture forever.

50 Deftones

The inside story of one of metal’s most inventive bands.

58 Iconic videos Bullets! Ping pong! Ladybirds!

62 Disturbed

The early days of David Draiman’s industrial-tinged warriors.

68 Essentials

The fundamentals of nu metal revealed.

72 Slipknot

The early days of the Des Moines noise terrorists revived.

80 Ross robinson

Nu metal’s most influential producer shares his darkest secrets.

84 Incubus

A celebration of the genre’s funkiest advocates.

92 Family values

Inside the tour that changed it all with curator Jonathan Davis.

96 Linkin park

Chester and Mike leak the untold story of Hybrid Theory.

106 Nu metal’s worst bands There’s no place to hide for the dregs of nu metal!

110 Coal chamber

Dez’s spookycore crew get the full retrospective treatment.

116 Unsung heroes

We throw the spotlight on nu metal’s overlooked luminaries.

118 System of a down

Revisit the story of one of heavy music’s most unique bands.

126 Top 40

A countdown of nu metal’s greatest tracks of all time.

130 Brave nu world

The bands resurrecting nu metal for the next generation.

6 metalhammer.co.uk

metalhammer.co.uk 7

Keep all ‘helmet in the bush’ jokes to yourself

14 metalhammer.co.uk

Ahead of the release of Follow The Leader, Hammer caught up with Jonathan and Munky to talk about cracking the mainstream and putting bananas inside members of Marilyn Manson.

WORDS: Dan Silver PHOTOS: MICK HUTSON he Costes Hotel, situated

we haven’t heard it yet. Or at least, not all of it.

bang in the centre of one

However, if the five tracks we have been privy

of Paris’s more upmarket

to are anything to go by, then Follow The Leader

districts, is, if not the

will be a stormer, the true follow-up to the jaw-

height of luxury, then

dropping headfuck that was their eponymous

at least of a sufficient

debut – as opposed to the disappointing

altitude to induce pretty

second album Life Is Peachy. This, Korn fans,

severe vertigo. A once-

is the real deal.

over of the clientele lunching out in the terrace

“This could be the one, this could be it for us,”

restaurant reveals an impeccably turned out

speculates Jonathan Davis over a wake-up call

David Ginola, doubtless gathering his thoughts

Jack Daniels and Coke. “This is the album that

for his next piercing insight as part of the BBC’s

makes of breaks your career. If the third album

World Cup pundit panel, the ever-suave Johnny

does well then you’re set for life.

Depp and an assorted collection of Armani’d up nouveau riche.

In their midst sits a tallish fella with hair like

“I’m stressed out at the fact that it’s that good,” adds the frontman, and it’s a good thing too, because once the dust on Life Is Peachy

matted straw, decked head to toe in casual

had settled, the considered opinion was that

sports gear, hunched low over a plate of

it was, well, arse. [It really wasn’t – Ed.] After the

mozzarella and tomatoes, enthusing in a slightly

ground-breaking debut, to be presented with

whiny American accent about the quality of

such a similar, and thus ultimately redundant,

French food. His companion, slightly tanned

record was a massive disappointment, which

and sporting chunkier, neater dreads, but

the critics ultimately turned on. Fortunately,

looking no more healthy than the first, grunts in

Korn know this too.

acknowledgement, while toying with his multi-

“Well, yeah, we knew, it was obvious. We know

storey club sandwich. As the French chattering

that album sucked,” admits Jonathan, before

classes get at one with their déjeuner, you can’t

going on to qualify this statement with: “Well it

help but wonder what they make of Korn’s

didn’t suck, there’s good songs on there, but we

Jonathan Davis and James ‘Munky’ Shaffer,

know we rushed it. We were really upset with the

enjoying one of the many fringe benefits of

last album. It was awesome, but it could’ve been

being multi-platinum-selling rock stars.

better. We settled.

Hammer is in Paris to chat to Korn about their impending new album Follow The Leader, by

“I’m schizo, I have two personalities.

I never have any guilt that I have a wife and kid at home.

I party” Jonathan Davis

“Life Is Peachy is all at one tempo, it’s all the same,” Jonathan continues. “On Follow The

their own admission the most important of their

Leader, we’ve got a lot of weird things going

career to date, but there’s one small problem:

on, a lot of variety.” metalhammer.co.uk 15

LIMP BIZKIT: SIGNIFICANT OTHER ERA BIZKIT FEATURING WES’S FORAY INTO THE BIZARRE AND THAT RED CAP

38 metalhammer.co.uk

The band that captured the minds of the mainstream and best defined nu metal.

WORDS: TOM DOYLE f nu metal was ruled

Three Dollar Bill, Y’all – onwards, it was clear

by charismatic,

that Bizkit were lovers of rap and rock in equal

ostentatious frontmen,

measures. This was not the hokey Run-DMC

it’s no surprise that the

and Aerosmith novelty we were used to seeing.

band people associate

This was a genuine hybrid. As if any more

with the genre above

proof were needed, the band’s second album,

all others had the most

Significant Other, featured guest appearances

outlandish frontman

from both Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots

going. Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst was nothing

and Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan. There really

short of a phenomenon. A foul-mouthed whirling

were absolutely no boundaries. And while the

dervish who was two parts bravado and one

band faced criticism in the aftermath of mass

part deep self-loathing, it was his ubiquity and

violence during their set at Woodstock ’99, it

infamy that helped catapult Limp Bizkit into

wouldn’t stop them creating songs that were

pop culture’s glaring limelight. Everything about

musical dynamite to mosh pits everywhere.

Durst was instantly recognisable. Your father,

The year after the ruckus at Woodstock,

your mother, your sister, your brother – all of

Bizkit unleashed Chocolate Starfish And The

them knew what a backwards red cap meant in

Hot Dog Flavored Water. A bona fide behemoth

2001. He was a cartoon, larger than life, a new

of a record, it was an unstoppable hit-fest

generation of rock star. He was brilliant.

which saw the band flung into the mainstream

I Like Limp Bizkit

A DAY TO REMEMBER

public consciousness, with songs like Rollin’

“There’s something about Limp

cartoonish-looking member of his band. That

and My Way proving to be crossover smashes.

Bizkit, the music they wrote and

accolade went to Wes Borland, the guitarist

Durst’s knack of mixing up yell-yourself-hoarse

their overall vibe that’s made to

Ironically, Durst wasn’t even the most

whose churning riffs were the engine room

choruses with crunching breakdowns

of Bizkit’s brand of balls-out hedonism and

was one that was hard for people

control a crowd of any size. I don’t even think it’s intentional – they do

of all walks of life to resist – even

their show without having to do any

impeccable rhythm section of Sam Rivers

if some more ‘tr00’ metal fans

stunts or anything crazy. It’s one

and John Otto, and with the help of DJ Lethal

stuck their noses up at the

of the most inspiring things. We

all-encompassing anger. Together with the

bringing it on, Limp Bizkit were the

band’s genre-bending ways.

watched them every night we played

band who, more than any other

It didn’t matter by then, of course.

with them on festivals. They played

of the nu metal generation, fully and most obviously embraced the influence of hip hop. Sure,

Limp Bizkit were a staple of the mainstream, their frontman even getting namechecked by the likes

right after us at Download and to watch 80,000 people go that nuts… Fred doesn’t even have to

there were plenty of other acts

of Eminem in songs about sexual

go crazy. There’s just a vibe and

bringing in rap influences, but it

encounters with pop starlets.

an aura to Limp Bizkit that makes

was the Jacksonville quintet who

Most importantly of all, though,

people go crazy. The hardest of

were donning the big shorts,

Bizkit were a genuinely great

hardcore bands can’t get the vibe

rocking Adidas shell tops and

band, whose power, punch and

to that many people to go that nuts.

give-a-fuck attitude helped not

Surely everyone loved Limp Bizkit

only to define nu metal, but also

at some point in their lives. They

emblazoning their album covers in graffiti fonts.

From their debut record – the Ross Robinson-produced

converted a whole generation

didn’t? They’re lying to themselves.”

of kids into rock fans. metalhammer.co.uk 39

72 metalhammer.co.uk

They quickly became too heavy for nu metal but Slipknot arrived in a hail of DJ scratches, rap influence and extreme reckless abandon.

WORDS: Dom Lawson PHOTO: MICK HUTSON hile the nu

In truth, Slipknot unintentionally sounded nu

metal era was

metal’s death knell. These nine masked men from

undeniably

the middle of fucking nowhere plainly owed a debt

responsible for

to their Adidas-adorned forebears, but within the

unprecedented

first few seconds of [sic], the opening track from the

levels of

band’s eponymous debut, it was abundantly clear

polarisation

that the nu rulebook was being comprehensively

among the metal

trashed and rebuilt as something much more

faithful, one band gleefully made a mockery of the notion that this new approach to heavy

I Like Slipkn

ot

dangerous, daring and downright destructive.

The clattering breakbeats and disorientating

music represented some kind of betrayal of

noise that fizzed and snarled at the heart of a song

cherished atavistic values. Careering into view

like Eyeless –arguably nu metal’s most exciting four

in the same year that Limp Bizkit made their first

minutes – belonged firmly to modern times, but the

credible bid for mainstream glory with Significant

core of Slipknot’s sound had far more in common

“I first heard (sic) on a body-

PARKWAY DRIVE

Other, the first Slipknot album was nothing

with the blistering, ultra-ugly slice of brutal death

boarding video and it’s still one of

short of bewildering. A remorselessly brutal

metal than with Coal Chamber or Orgy. For every

those tracks that I get stoked on

and uncompromising onslaught of foul, chaotic

astute squall of almost radio-friendly bluster like

and you always want it to be in the

riffing and throat-wrenching vocal hostility, it

Wait And Bleed or Spit It Out, Slipknot had several

live set. I wasn’t really into nu metal

showcased a band unafraid of embracing many

much less user-friendly outbursts, ranging from

at all but Slipknot were different

of nu metal’s key traits.

bellicose tirades like Surfacing and No Life through

to all of the other bands. It feels

to amorphous, sludgy dirges like Prosthetics and

weird to say it when you look at

harrowing eight-minute closer Scissors.

the suits and masks but it felt a bit

From the frenzied turntable wizardry of DJ Sid Wilson and the colon-flagellating rumble of

Those who dug deeper discovered the feral

less goofy. It was raw and loads of

of Corey Taylor’s quasi-rap vocal delivery and

attack of bonus cuts Get This and Eeyore, even

different elements went into it. It

the superficial impression that they had at

further removed from nu-metal’s polished façade.

didn’t sound contrived and even

least two more members than any band could

Slipknot arrived fully formed, angry as fuck and

among all of the insane heaviness,

ever realistically require, Slipknot were plainly

ready for war, as they kicked the door open for

there’s still melody in there. It’s not

a product of the post-Korn age.

Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage, Trivium and

controlled heaviness either. There’s

countless others for whom old-school metal values

people just smashing kegs and

were no longer derided relics of a bygone age.

there’s all of these crazy sounds

Paul Gray’s bass lines to the staccato verbosity

But underneath that pointedly contemporary exterior, a malignant undercurrent of underground extremity and diehard metallic

When nu metal stumbled into obsolescence

and samples scratched up and it’s

devotion ensured that no matter how frequently

a couple of years later, Iowa’s finest just kept

just layer upon layer of craziness.

exasperated purists decried Slipknot’s rise to

getting stronger, casually defying the odds to

To me, Slipknot were the sound of

prominence, the notion that the Iowan nonet were

become one of the biggest rock bands on the

controlled chaos even when they

anything other than an authentic heavy metal

planet. More than a decade on and they’re

were a nu metal band.”

band was never more than wholly preposterous.

still there: unique, inspired and unstoppable. metalhammer.co.uk 73

THE DEFINITIVE LINKIN PARK SHOT TO PROMOTE HYBRID THEORY

96 metalhammer.co.uk

Nu metal’s most commercially successful band turned the world of metal on its head and remain one of the biggest acts in the world today.

WORDS: Tom Doyle inkin Park have

Following such an all-conquering behemoth

made the biggest-

should have been a struggle yet with Meteora,

selling debut album

Linkin Park delivered an album which satisfied

of the 21st century.

the vast majority of appetites. The singles Faint,

Breathe that fact in

Somewhere I Belong and Numb in particular

for a second. Bigger

picked up from where Hybrid Theory left off,

than Adele, bigger

slickly produced off-ya-feet gold that could

than Lady Gaga,

raise the pulse of even the most hardened

bigger than absolutely everyone. When Hybrid

cynic. The album was another commercial

Theory hit, it was like a tidal wave sweeping

smash. Some 16 million copies sold and

through the world of metal, rock and beyond.

the most successful record to ever hit US

As inescapable as it was powerful, it quickly

alternative radio? Not a bad day’s work.

became the benchmark by which all other

Unfortunately, from that point

I Like Linkin Park

ISSUES “I grew up on country music and then I discovered N*Sync, R Kelly and

contenders were judged. They had taken the nu

onwards the band began to be

Usher and hearing Linkin Park was,

metal formula and distilled it to utter perfection.

overtaken by challengers who years

to me, like a metal band but one that

earlier would only have been snapping at

I could relate to. It wasn’t this huge

with its swooping DJ embellishments, to the

their heels. For all their ability, Bennington and

jump into super heavy music, Linkin

futuristic pulse of closer Pushing Me Away,

Shinoda lacked the personality of Fred Durst

Park was a natural step into what I

Hybrid Theory is an album that doles out

and collectively they seemed unable to move with

would listen to next. It could appeal to

massive hooks like Zakk Wylde dishes out

the times in the manner that Papa Roach and

someone like me that liked what they

pinch harmonics.

From the spidering opening riff of Papercut,

Deftones did. The result was that their futuristic

heard and discovered heavier guitars

Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda were

shtick, which chimed so well as we entered a new

but could still enjoy the melodies.

a formidable duo up front: the latter offered the

century, suddenly felt very dated only a few years

I got into them when Breaking The

twisting rhymes that propelled the band’s verses

down the line, even if they were still capable of the

Habit hit radio but after that me

along with fist-pumping gusto, but it was the

odd moment of brilliance (What I’ve Done, Burn It

and all my friends got into Hybrid

former who was the true weapon. Bennington’s

Down, Bleed It Out), and some of the tunes from

Theory and it was a huge part of my

coarse singing timbre lit up Linkin Park’s songs

their heyday had a little life breathed back into

childhood and made us skaters and

with a unique, unmistakable panache that set

them courtesy of their collaboration with Jay-Z.

rockers. Chester’s voice and melodies

them apart from the crowd. Powerful enough

Linkin Park are, in commercial terms at

really stood out. I liked the pop side

to blow the windows out of a skyscraper, his

least, the most successful band of the nu

of hip hop and so the rapping made it

roar could also be dialled down into a subtle and

metal crop, but it’s hard not to see them as

cool but Chester had this voice that

emotive focal point which afforded the band a

something of a relic in 2013 – an artefact so

didn’t have a lot of vibrato to it and he

diversity of sound that eluded a lot of their peers.

definitive of a time and place that they have

could put emotion into their music

never been able to truly escape it. Nevertheless,

with his voice and that was something

more importantly still stands as a monument to

as nu metal goes, it doesn’t get much bigger

that made me really love what Linkin

metal at the turn of the millennium.

that the boys from Agoura Hills.

Park were doing.”

Hybrid Theory won countless awards and

metalhammer.co.uk 97

ON S ALE

JAN 15th

STEP INSIDE THE LOCO WORLD OF NU METAL

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