Nu-metal

Here's my week from hell. My roof got totaled by hail; and I had 15 guys on my roof for 3 days. Not only all pounding hammers, but blasting the "X" (nu-metal station) as well. I had to stay there to be a gofer for nails and stuff.
Anyway, I got to think long and hard about why that music doesn't do much for me. I concluded that it's really mostly made of muscled up pop music. It really lacks the dynamics of what we think of metal on this board. There are a few bands that get respect here (Soundgarden, Disturbed, etc.) that have some metal dynamics, but most of what I heard was overblown pop IMO. Sheer volume doesn't make for metal.

I'm not a huge fan of it either, but I gotta admit that I like a few Korn songs.

metal edge magazine just did a top 25 of nu-metal. their choices where very typical though.

I wouldn't say nu-metal is beefed up pop music. It's that and more. It's slowed down hardcore, alt-rock with a vocalist too heavy to be called alt-rock, etc. It's definitely not a very dynamic style in general, but nu-metal really is a very broad genre. Because of that, I think it's a bit unnecessary to just blow the whole "genre" off as worthless. Not saying everyone here is doing, but when Korn and Linkin Park—two bands that sound entirely different—are considered nu-metal, it makes little sense to blow off the whole genre.

One of the best "nu-metal" bands, Ultraspank (love that name, too):

I used to hate it 'til I ate it !!!







Then I and now I hate it even more !!! Nu-metal SUCKS !!!!!

BTW Soundgarden is definitely NOT nu-metal

Eyesore wrote:

it makes little sense to blow off the whole genre.

That's right, But sadly the radio station here sure wasn't playing much of the good Alternative Influenced stuff that runs from say, Only Living Witness or Chum through Seemless and stuff like that. It seems like I find more good Alternative metal by browsing the bargain bins and guessing than I do by listening to the radio. Maybe you could recommend a few bands beyond Ultraspank to clue us in further.

Chum! Fantastic band! =) Cool seeing that name here. I could list a bunch of great nu-metal bands, those never quite hit it big. But is it really something worth posting here? Comments like "Nu-metal SUCKS" is what makes me not want to waste my time.

But if people care, I'd gladly list some.

SAHB Healer wrote:

Here's my week from hell. My roof got totaled by hail; and I had 15 guys on my roof for 3 days. Not only all pounding hammers, but blasting the "X" (nu-metal station) as well. I had to stay there to be a gofer for nails and stuff.
Anyway, I got to think long and hard about why that music doesn't do much for me. I concluded that it's really mostly made of muscled up pop music. It really lacks the dynamics of what we think of metal on this board. There are a few bands that get respect here (Soundgarden, Disturbed, etc.) that have some metal dynamics, but most of what I heard was overblown pop IMO. Sheer volume doesn't make for metal.

Sahb it's just another form of young angry white male music, maybe it's hard to get at certain ages.

It's really influenced by King's X, Faith No More, Jane's Addiction and a whole lot of other stuff. Although the dynamics are sadly missing from the Nu-Metal derivative's of those bands.

Definately a different broad form of heavy metal though.

Eyesore wrote:

Chum! Fantastic band! =) Cool seeing that name here. I could list a bunch of great nu-metal bands, those never quite hit it big. But is it really something worth posting here? Comments like "Nu-metal SUCKS" is what makes me not want to waste my time.

But if people care, I'd gladly list some.

Do it, hip the great unwashed.

rattpoison wrote:

Sahb it's just another form of young angry white male music, maybe it's hard to get at certain ages.

This comment couldn't be further from the truth. If you don't know about the genre, don't make statements like this. You don't see me generalizing your precious 70s glam and whatnot.

Not trying to sound snotty, because that's not my point (although I guess that does seem a bit snotty, haha!). So many people make these blanket statements about nu-metal or rap, or whatever genre isn't considered cool among the metal masses; but the problem is that it's all based on a flimsy foundation of shallow knowledge.

Eyesore wrote:

rattpoison wrote:

Sahb it's just another form of young angry white male music, maybe it's hard to get at certain ages.

This comment couldn't be further from the truth. If you don't know about the genre, don't make statements like this. You don't see me generalizing your precious 70s glam and whatnot.

Not trying to sound snotty, because that's not my point (although I guess that does seem a bit snotty, haha!). So many people make these blanket statements about nu-metal or rap, or whatever genre isn't considered cool among the metal masses; but the problem is that it's all based on a flimsy foundation of shallow knowledge.

It didn't need to be taken literally, it was a loose comment to put it in context with other forms of young angry white male music (this is not a generalization it's used as a light hearted label, although there is always just a little bit of truth behind humour) like various generations of punk and metal and so forth. It's different to Sahb's young angry white male music so to speak which is Black Sabbath and the like. It was for a new generation of kids and not necessarily for him.

I have been one of Nu-Metal's great defender's on this board even though i'm not a fan of it. Need i speak of the Slipknot thread.

Oh I know about this genre I've heard tons of it. And it sucks! Hip hop influanced wanna be metal crap is what it is.


Sorry if I am being a bit offensive it's just that this stuff drives me up a wall
and I am constantly being subjected to it by my friend at work .

He always says the same crap about how it is " unjustly labeled by people who
don't know anything about it blab blab blab..." instead of just accepting the fact that me and the other guy he works with ( also a metalhead ) hate it
not because we don't know about it but because it sounds like crap to us !!

I swear I'm going to break some of his CDs if he keeps making us listen to them...

Well as far as what I'd call "Post Grunge" (if not new metal), I just got a whole bunch of just killer CDs out of the bargain bin. Fantastic stuff. Unfortunately the radio station I heard was of no help in tipping me to the good 21st century stuff. I'm sure it's out there cause I've heard some of it. There's stuff with a whole lot more chops than they were playing on the radio. I guess it's unfair to judge by the radio. I know how pissed I get when people judge classic rock as lame by their exposure to the inevitably homogenized surface of it.
Once I internalize all of the recent bargain bin purchases, I'll post a list called "Alternative with teeth". It's gonna be pretty weak on the 21st century though. Most of the stuff I like I'd call Soundgarden influenced to some degree. I'm not so big on the RATM influenced stuff, but there's a lot of styles out there beyond that.

PeyoteWereWolf wrote:

Hip hop influanced wanna be metal crap is what it is.

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. That's about 1% of the bands under the nu-metal umbrella. In fact, one could argue that the rapcore-styled bands don't even belong under the nu-metal banner.

Hey Eyesore i hope you got what i was saying before in the response. I'm not ignorant like that.

Eyesore wrote:

I could list a bunch of great nu-metal bands, those never quite hit it big.

But if people care, I'd gladly list some.

I'd love to see your list. The best I could do would be up to 2000, but after that I'm lost.

Eyesore wrote:

PeyoteWereWolf wrote:

Hip hop influanced wanna be metal crap is what it is.

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. That's about 1% of the bands under the nu-metal umbrella. In fact, one could argue that the rapcore-styled bands don't even belong under the nu-metal banner.

They don't actually have to "rap" to have hip hop running though the musical style. Just like Korn rarely actually rap. It is more in the patterns of the riffs and bass lines were hip hop can be heard.

rattpoison wrote:

I have been one of Nu-Metal's great defender's on this board even though i'm not a fan of it. Need i speak of the Slipknot thread.

I do remember that. It was impressive.

rattpoison wrote:

Hey Eyesore i hope you got what i was saying before in the response. I'm not ignorant like that.

I did. It was just late and I wanted to go to bed, so I only replied once. Haha.

PeyoteWereWolf wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

PeyoteWereWolf wrote:

Hip hop influanced wanna be metal crap is what it is.

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. That's about 1% of the bands under the nu-metal umbrella. In fact, one could argue that the rapcore-styled bands don't even belong under the nu-metal banner.

They don't actually have to "rap" to have hip hop running though the musical style. Just like Korn rarely actually rap. It is more in the patterns of the riffs and bass lines were hip hop can be heard.

I respectfully disagree. Hip hop is a tightly structure form of music. Take away the vocals and it's often the same beat looped for four minutes, with no deviation at all. This is why many hip hop artists lip-sync or rap over the actual track "live." If they stop rapping, and it's just the instrumental, they can't figure out where the hell they're at in the song.

I guess I just don't know what you mean.

I guess not.

Anyone who listens to Korn that doesn't hear hip hop I don't know what to tell them. It's very obvious even though they aren't rapping. Korn is where the genre comes from and the hip hop sound is there. Although other bands many sound unlike Korn they have the common thread running though most of the music known as nu metal. Most of the musicains themselves will tell you that.

It's a sound I don't like .

So does that make me ignorant or somehow lacking ? Obviously not it just means I don't enjoy 95% ( at least ) of the nu metal genre. Why is it that a certain type of people who like something always try to put down the people who don't like it as some how ill informed rather than just accepting that they think it sucks?

I mean I know people who hate Death metal and I don't go on rants about how igorant and uninformed they are. They don't like it . Whatever , who cares.

PeyoteWereWolf wrote:

So does that make me ignorant or somehow lacking ? Obviously not it just means I don't enjoy 95% ( at least ) of the nu metal genre. Why is that a certain type of people who like something always try to put down the people who don't like it as some how ill informed rather than just accepting that they think it sucks?

I mean I know people who hate Death metal and I don't go on rants about how igorant and uninformed they are. They don't like it . Whatever , who cares.

Who is putting you down here? If you wish the just throw blanket statements out there and not expect anyone to reply back, maybe posting on forums isn't for you. I'm not putting you down. I'm simply saying there is no way in hell that you know you dislike 95% of nu-metal. You simply are not that educated in the genre. It's impossible. I have over 6,000 albums, have been listening to music obsessively for over 20 years, and I don't know 95% of any genre in existence.

I don't generally enjoy death metal or black metal, but I'll never make a blanket statement about the genre. There are some death/black metal bands I like. A more appropriate thing for me to say would be that I don't care much about the style to delve deeper into. But for me to say "Death metal sucks!" would be a bit arrogant.

Plus, death metal has a very definitive sound, whereas nu-metal does not. If you take five random death metal bands and stack them up side by side, they will more than likely all share a very similar sound. Take five random nu-metal bands and do the same, and you'll more than likely hear five bands that sound vastly different.

Here are some CD's for those of you who like myself might be unimpressed with the Alternative metal that you've been exposed to, but might admit to a fondness for Soundgarden, STP, AiC, Helmet, or Tad Doyle. This will only get you into the mid 90's. I can't help much after that, but this is pretty metallic music. In fact some might see very little Alt influence here in some cases, but I do.

1. Only Living Witness "Prone Mortal Form" (great metal)
2. Chum "Dead to the World" (Proto Nu-metal?)
3. Sex, Love & Money "Era" (diverse and very heavy)
4. Kerbdog- S/T (UK)
5. Only Living Witness "Innocents" (almost as good as #1 above)
6. Sugartooth- S/T (Soundgarden/Tool, but very heavy & brooding)
7. Mindfunk "Dropped" (great metal band goes Alt)
8. Mental Hippie Blood "Pounds" (Swedish)
9. New Idol Sun "Reach" (Stone Temple worshipers, but good)
10. Greta "No Biting" (hardcore/thrash/beatles/prog. Awkward but fascinating)

Is there Nu-metal somewhat on this order?

You obviously have a problem accpecting that lots of people think nu metal sucks.
That is what fuels your rants not people being uneducated . I am certainly not going to listen to every nu metal album out there especially when every single one of the countless bands I have heard make me ill to my stomach except SOAD. And I have heard a lot of it due to morons trying to "educate " me at work.

I didn't say your putting me down . It's a saying ..you know like ..writing me off as ..

Obviously you are the one up in arms about the responces you don't like not me therefor maybe posting is bad for your heart . I personally am unmoved either way about your posts I am just making a point that yes it is OK for me to make a blanket judgement on a genre that I have been hearing repeatedly over and over again since it first came to light without hearing every single band out there. If one day I hear something I like it would be the exception rather than the rule by now without a doubt.

And they do have a united thread that runs though their sounds whether or not you hear it. I hear it and many others hear it as well.