Nu-Metal Rockers Past Their Best Days?
Band Photo: Korn (?)
USA Today music writer Ken Barnes took part in an online chat with readers on Tuesday, where he was asked about the state of nu-metal, with the questioner suggesting Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, and Korn are still going strong. "I don't know, they all seem to be past their best days to me," Barnes countered. "Linkin Park still does well on radio and in record stores, but their tour this summer wasn't exactly a sensation. Papa Roach and Marilyn Manson seem to belong more to yesterday, and Korn, if they're lucky, may hang on to attain some sort of elder-statesman status as the Metallica of nu-metal. But I think it's more likely that they'll fade, too."
Read the full article at USA Today.
Source: Rockdirt
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90 Comments on "Nu-Metal Rockers Past Their Best Days?"
2. writes:
who gives a f-uck what the mainstream thinks about these band...the unerground doesnt give to sh**s...we like what we like because we like it. dont let critics tell you what is good and whats sellin the most records....buy the cd cause you like the music....buy the ticket because you like the band...not because usa today said it was good
4. writes:
Member
7. writes:
Korn had a great first album and everything since has been very average. Don't worry about them fading away, they have been fading away for the last ten years. Marilyn Manson had a f***ing sensational debut but he's follow up albums have been good but nothing special. I have to ask the question though: "Why the f*** do we care what some donkey f***er in usa today is saying!?!?" f*** the mainstream, go underground mutha f***ers.
Member
9. writes:
i agree who cares what is not popular you like it or you dont. but how the hell is manson nu-metal. hes been in music before the term was ever made. is it because hes a house hold name? hell why do this have to be put in catagories? manson nu-metal....HAAAAAAAAA
Supporter
27. writes:
manson is stil good. and yeah, KMADD, i heard he was quitting too. i think he's making
some movies or maybe him and dita want to have kids?
imagine that people.........little dominatrixes with face paint!
muffy, go to hell! no, wait, hell is to good for you! i hope you end up in some parallel
universe and then get sucked in by a black hole!!!
30. writes:
32. writes:
M.Manson is a shocker to all those pretty F ucks and that's good,LP is stupid because they've been around for 3 for years and still haven't made a good record,korn is not metal just some idiots turning there guitars down just to be original and they are doin' it for 10 f***in years C'MON! and papa roach well there just ANOTHER band with nothing original! so M.M. is original and has made a good impact(to bad if he's quiting) and the rest should go to hell or make some changes in there band!!!!!!
33. writes:
Papa Roach------Sucks Linkin Park------Sucks Korn-----i have respect for because even though they are in the mainstream, they are one of the heaviest mainstream acts out there Manson-----Hasn't made a decent record in years. Nu Metal is over, it sucks, move on with your lives. Only care about what you like and not what you dont like. MASTADON WILL SOON TAKE OVER ANYWAYS
37. writes:
.manson is nu metal you blind c** dumpsters. He made the way for fa**ot goth kids...who cry and think theyre live is so bad.... korn, manson, and linkin park....all suck... i think there sucess is good for them...but to me, i see a bunch of spoiled f***s. manson isnt really THAT talented hes got a voice, can paint..but more or less just a act.... hes talented at cuttin himself... i think he should keep to that, when he dies all his fa**ot goth followers will sit there and cry.....man only if people knew who skinny puppy were, theyd know better industrial... manson is a fake MTV teenbopper to nu metal kids.... f*** mtv, and f*** music on mtv....
38. writes:
dude your whole point is f***ing retarded.
1. hes not goth
2. he writes all of his own music and some of the best lyrics ever to be put on a record
3. hes not goth
4. hes only goth to ignorant little "metal" pieces of sh** who think killswitch is f***ing hard.
5. portrait and antichrist has some of the best bass lines ive ever heard. mostly portrait.
6. hes not goth
7. i hate rellik
48. writes:
I really think your right brad, Rammstein now those guys have real techno in there songs,
actually rammstein isn't something it's just music of their ohwn with influences (or whatever the spelling is in that word)form techno,opera,metal,rock and alot more.
rammstein rocks and as for MM well he's ok but definetly not goth,BTW 13 can you tell me some more about him being a satanist....?
49. writes:
Linkin park and Poppa roach are a f***ing waste of time ,how do bands like this even take off? as for manson we could really do without his image, what a disgrace!!! I would much rather listen to Korn over any of these bands. Something has to be done with Nu-metal we need heavier bands!!!!
50. writes:
You all just keep writing the same sh** over and over. Why can't we all agree that Manson is way past his prime, he's not goth, korn is the only semi-decent of the bands mentioned, and that I kick a**. Simply praise what you like instead of going over what we all hate.
METAL WILL SOON TAKE OVER THW WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
51. writes:
Honestly..I hate linkin park and all the bands that are all happy and up beat...I hate punk too..I need something sonicly driven. also what most people call nu metal..isn't even metal..or anything near it..You want some f***ing metal kiddies Sepultura or morbid Angel..thats real metal right there...slipknot ain't even nu metal anymore..they weren't after iowa..Iowa if anyone payed attention to the style was metal...alright..why can't everyone just cool it..jesus..
Kill all the little bubble gum rockers...like Simpleplan,the used,The killers,franz ferdinand...thats crap right there..utter useless crap..its generic..korn is far from mainstream in my mind...mainstream is sh** like what I have listed above..
Mudvayne is not copying off knot either..mudvayne has there own style...they were doing the mellow/metal thing even on there very first album which was an indie release...know music before you bash it people..If this is supposed to be a metal forum..why are there little bubblegum rockers here...
And in closeing...all you people who bash bands like Korn and Mudvayne who rock it out all the time..I have one thing to say..I wanna see you people sound like that..and actually make it sound good like they do...really..try it..I dare you..im out..Im done ranting...
53. writes:
yeah, brad, i suppose your right, but on any given day, tell me the
difference between him and a guy like paul oakenfold!?
he was ordained a minister at the Church Of Satan by Anton LaVey back in the
mid-90's. He's been doing a few ceremonies out in L.A. and that's all of his
movements in the Church that I know of. He's hard to keep track of since he
tours and doesn't really promote what he does in his other time. but he has
said he's a satanist, in an interview awhile back in 2000.
55. writes:
Thank you for saying that Mikial. I agree with you almost completely. Korn actually is in the mainstream, they are played all over the radio and on MTV (those f***ers). However, I do agree with the rest of what you say, and I wish people would realize that Simple PLan is the worst f***ing band in the world, theyre just a bunch of f***ing p***ies that need to shut the hell up. you do not even want me to get started on those jack asses. Anyways, GO METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
58. writes:
korn is past their hayday but made an incredible impact on metal...they basically created the down beat which all bands are still using to this day..even Lamb of God. Listen to Slayers "diablus in musica" and tell me nu-metal didnt make a huge impact...it affected the most bad a$$ metal band of them all!!!! now dont get me wrong ...there were alot of sh**ty nu-metal acts...like Noone...Disturbed, ect. BUT look at the good ones...Slipknot, Mudvayne, Korn, Spineshank, and yes Linkin Park (sorry they might be too mainstream and maybe a little gay sometimes, but they are too damn talented to deny). now lets take a look at metal before Nirvana (they killed metal and it would have all but died out if it wasnt for 2 metal albums: Metallica:metallica/Pantera: Far Beyond Driven) what bands in the 80's impacted Nu-metal pioneers and others? i can only think of a few and the rest are crap of their genre: metallica, megadeth, slayer, biohazard. there are probably a couple more but i guess they werent good enough to stick out so i'd remember em.....which is the true test of all these bands
69. writes:
can't believe all you people dissing nu-metal. It's the best thing to happen to music in the nineties. It's because no one's given a sh** about heavy metal since the 80s that it had to be incorporated into other styles of music like rap jazz folk etc.
Shouldn't all you poor suckers be happy that at least more people can now say they're into metal? Isn't it good that at least now it's more popular? Or is it better to have a minority praising a bunch of monotonous bands??
Member
70. writes:
Statements like that are the reason we 'diss' nu metal. No one's given a sh** about heavy metal since the eighties? Metallica and Pantera both charted number one albums in the first half of the nineties, so that kind of throws out that theory.
Music doesn't 'have' to be incorporated into other styles, rather it's something that inevitably happens. It'd be retarded to be constantly churning out the same thing and the underground metal scene has changed over the years just as all music has. People have different preferences in what are positive and negative mutations in music and in general around here, nu metal is regarded as a fairly negative step for the genre at best.
Do you need other people to like the same music as you for you to enjoy it more? It's never affected my listening experience.
71. writes:
Okay...I just read this whole thread and I feel I'm ready to insert my opinion on all of this. For starters Nu-Metal blows hairy donky balls and has been a plague on how the outside world views Metal for the past 10 years. It's not at all that no one gave a sh** about Metal until Nu-Metal came along it's more like the industry hadn't found a candy coated version of Metal they could exploit and sell to the unsuspecting masses of droning sheep until Nu-Metal came along.
Bands like Slayer, Deicide, Pantera, & Death (R.I.P.) were kicking a$$ all over the 90's. It just so happens that most of the quality bands that were out during that time were too extreme and they scared the suit and tie chicken sh**s running the music industry. Now obviously I mentioned some of the more well known bands that played quality music this is for all the ignorant people that decide to view this so they might have an idea of where this level of music begins.
Luckily for the rest of us that real Metalheads can smell bullsh** comming a mile away, and recently this has started a minor uprising. For all the rest of you that means we're p***ed off and tired of having this sub-standard commercial trash shoved down our throats, and we're begining to really speak up. As for the statement made by bugsy "Shouldn't all you poor suckers be happy that at least more people can now say they're into metal? Isn't it good that at least now it's more popular?" No, it's not better because they're NOT into Metal and saying it as i said before makes real Metal look bad. It's mis-representation. Now if these kids were starting at this Nu-Metal level and using it as a springboard to find truely heavy music that would be fine, but instead they listen to this crap and cry in thier rooms about how life sucks. Metal isn't about feeling sorry for yourself. Metal is about this, life sucks...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, someone pisses you off...piss off your neighboors by blasting the most abusive sh** you can find to get out your aggression. It's about going to that next level musically, pushing forward breaking barriers. It's about skill and dedication not boring, catchy, repedative garbage. If I wanted to listen to that I'd listen to Hip-Hop, and yes it's okay to blend musical styles, but if you're going to do that and make something don't call it something it's not and don't pretend like it's as good as it gets. Cuz usually when you blend 2 styles neither half can completely do justice to either style it stemed from.
72. writes:
i also agree with that, but you defend the status of heavy metal in the nineties by saying that the black album is heavy metal, while most a$$holes back then and around here reject it as such. With the black album, metallica was greeted with the same response as 'nu-metal' bands are greeted with today. But now you're quick to put them in the metal genre. It'll be the same situation with nu-metal a decade down the track I reckon. I do agree that opinions and preferences are subjective, but the fact stands that this is what is marketed, this is what is selling and this is what packs the crowds and whatever the opinion around here is, it does constitute a minoriy.
74. writes:
God damnit! i have never seen such morons! first of all, marylin is shock rock, not industreal. second of all, why the hell do we even have to catagorize? all the metal, wetherheavy, speed or nu, falls along the same murky lines. it's all rock'n'roll! and koRns gonna be like the rolling stones. there past thebest of there days, but there'll never go away
Member
75. writes:
I only referred to record sales as an example of how people obviously gave a sh** about metal from the 80s through to now. The black album wasn't the best example I could've used, but most regard it as metal. (watered down or not, few, if any 'rock' bands could've written it) But yeah, it was just an example.
Anyone who rejects the black album as not being metal are people who would still agree with my basic point. Metal never went away, and it will never go away, no matter how much trendy types might try.
These are the same c***s who were also proclaiming 'rock is dead' before promptly bringing it back for the following year's trend. It's all just to make everything seem new and revitalised for naive little kiddies who have little chance of knowing better. Just to make a few more dollars. f*** 'em all, I say.
76. writes:
actually, linkin park is going in a metaller direction, but i still dont like them unless im not in the mood for nething hard at all. slipknot went metalcore on their last album, killswitch is heavy a$$hole, but mastodon, lamb of god, shadows fall, etc. are just harder. furthermore, korn was never mainstream, britney spears was mainstream, but compared to mordbid angel or slayer then yeah it was mainstream, but your viewing it from a very extreme angle.
79. writes:
Manson is scarey if you are afraid of posers, come on people what is good about this guy?? his music sucks, he trys his best to be contraversial when he just ends up looking like an a$$hole, and there are people out there that actualy belive he always dresses like that and is the 'anticrist' look at twiggy now! is he a cross dresser?? NO!!! for f***s sake!!! i hope this type of music burns and stays the f*** away from metal fans!!! but will that ever happen?
84. writes:
If you're fed up with nu-metal (of course you are), have any of you checked out the Norwegian and the Swedish metal-scenes? Metallica and Slayer created the essence of all agressive metal styles with their first albums. Though many great bands made their impact on metal, they all walked through doors opened by Slayer and Metallica. Today, however, to find bands that open the doors of today, and shape the talents of the next generation of true metal hearts, you will find several in Scandinavia. This is where agressive metal evolves today. Spare us from degenerates like nu-metal, industrial, and grunge (Whatever happened?), to mention but a few.
- Sworn to the black .
Senior News Correspondent
Member
87. writes:
Nu-metal, sucked when it started. I remember When Korn Just came out, I was like 11 or 12 and after Limp Biz\kit came out and other bands started following this trendy bull sh** I thought that if metal was gonna go in this direction, I'm gonna have to go underground. So I picked up a issue of "Pit" and got a Diecide CD and then I just went Ape-sh** over Death metal, and continue to descover new bands. What I thought was Underground at that point was bands that aren't played on the radio, now I know that Bands that are truely underground, you will never read about in a Magizine, on a Fanzine and Especially on MTV (M2 and headbangers ball included) and Radio.
88. writes:
Nu-Metal is extreemly boring and repetative, proberbly the only metal band that is closer to this genre that are any good are Disturbed and that is because David Draiman has such an insane voice.
There have been so many new albums in recent years that have no required "rap" sections or the same simple powerchord non-progressions in them.
Manson succeds in my mind for have some of the most intelligently written albums of the popular scene, the whole of Holywood is a masterpiece of a concept album and despite the music being subpar the lyrics define what he set out to be.
I agree with Fjellulv, if you want true metal check the suff coming through the underground from Scandinavia, Finland and Germany. If you believe speed died with Slayer & Megadeth then you need to get hold of some Children of Bodom albums, the new one "Hate Crew Deathroll" has one the fastest paces of any album in the past 5 years, the guitaring is perfect and the lack of obvious solos are not missed at all. If you like more inotive and dark stuff then look towards Dimmu Borgir, think cradle of filth but good, they colaberated with the 45 piece prague orchestra for their 2003 offering. Then of course if you want truely technical music you can look towards Dream Theater, their ;latest album has some musicmanship to be scared by, the solos of the last 2 songs will blow away any amateur guitarist and make some more seasoned guitarists weep with fear of the skill. There is so much metal that you can be guarenteed to never hear unless it is recomended, in my advice look around for bands that are coming out of europe and you can't go wrong.
90. writes:
lemme tell you something - all (well ok 99%) of these scandinavian bands ain't sh**. I'm telling yall - they're complete p***ies - i wish u guys get to know the people and culture of these countries and see how that impacts on your perception of their music.
Out of the scandinavian scene Meshuggah, Arcturus and Opeth I must say are great bands, but all the rest i would say is basically garbage - recyclable material. (u guys aware of the popularity and influence of pop in Norway and Sweden??) I can't understand the fascination with the b/d metal here that you say is so hard when you guys got bands like Morbid Angel Deicide Cannibal Corpse and even better moshable material like Lamb of God, Chimaira, Devildriver etc...
US has much harder and more real bands than any of these whipped cream black metal bands and believe me i still listen to black metal once in a while, but some of these bands outta the US are truly great like Chimaira and Lamb of God- I don't know but i'm starting to get annoyed with all the anti americanism here and despite what people say i still think US bands have definitely more drive!!!
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1. Muffy writes:
one can only pray to the metal gods that ken is right.