Online Encyclopedia
Nu metal
Nu metal (or aggro metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically combines aggressive, hip hop influenced, angst-ridden vocals, samples, rap-style beats and drum set patterns, and/or DJ techniques.
The genre is occasionally called "nü-metal," using the traditional heavy metal umlaut.
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Definition
Beyond the pronouced hip-hop influence, nu metal has--like most forms of heavy metal music--proven somewhat difficult to define. Some fans and musicians have a firm concept of genre and subgenre, but others reject such categorization as unnecessary, limiting or useless. There is often significant crossover from one category to another, and often the influence of non-metal music.
Some heavy metal fans do not consider nu metal a form of heavy metal music at all, arguing the genre is too diluted from what they consider "true" heavy metal, further noting that nu metal guitarists typically forgo traditional metal guitar technique, including both soloing and the riff style most associated with the older styles of metal. Other heavy metal fans, however, reject these arguments, citing rock music's long history of incorporating disparate elements--including jazz, experimental music and world music--out of curiosity or genuine appreciation for other musical genres.
While Deftones and Korn are typically cited as the genre's instigators, bands like Faith No More, Rage Against The Machine and Cubanate are cited as progenitors. Some fans have noted the influence of even earlier artists, such as Prong and Tool. Producer Ross Robinson was labelled by some as "The Godfather of Nu-Metal" due his producing of several notable Nu-Metal albums.
The stage acts and video clips of some of the more commercially successful of these groups owe much to some of metal's more pompous traditions, without much of the menace that such stylings used to represent. This fact, combined with the commercialization of nu-metal music, means that the style is often derided by other metal fans.
Backlash
By the late 1990s, there was, from some music fans, a significant backlash against nu metal, charging that many associated perfomers were uninspired or derivative. This caused some bands such as the Deftones, who were among the first of the genre, to break free and distance themselves from the term.
The derisive term aluminium has been used by some to describe the genre, since they consider it less "hard" than "true" metal and largely "recycled" from other material.
Those most commonly assosiated with the movement against nu metal are fans of "true" metal.
Style
Vocals
In the 1990s, many bands began to mix rapping and other new techniques with traditional heavy metal guitar and drum sounds. As a result, fans and music journalists needed to differentiate between the more traditional heavy metal music and this "new breed" of bands who were using samples, DJs, raps and drum machines in a way that made their music distinct. "New metal" evolved into the trendier spelling "nu metal," and a genre was vaguely defined.
Nevertheless, some distinction is usually maintained between rap metal, rapcore and nu metal. Rap metal is normally considered to be metal with primarily rap vocals -- with a minimum of other styles. Rapcore and nu metal are basically the same thing: distorted guitars and drums with rap influenced vocals. This means that it can sound somewhat like traditional metal vocals, with a varying amount of rap -- some bands more than others.
Nu-metal vocals can include rapping, clean singing, hardcore-like barking, and various forms of screaming, sometimes all in the same song.
Guitar
While traditional heavy metal was very much guitar-based, with intricate guitar solos and complex riffs forming an important part of most songs, nu metal generally emphasizes the guitar as a rhythmic instrument. The riffs often consist of only a few different notes or power chords played in rhythmic, syncopated patterns. To emphasize this rhythmic "pulse," nu metal guitarists generally make liberal use of palm muting, a technique which itself blurs the boundary between melodic note and rhythmic attack. Another common tactic is the use of de-tuned strings (in drop-D or lower, sometimes adding a seventh string) whose lower pitch creates a thicker, more resonant sound. Finally, many nu metal guitarists seem to be fond of natural harmonics. The opening riff of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer" is a representative example of almost all of the above techniques. A few nu metal bands have done some guitar solos.
Bass
Traditionally, metal bass lines tend to be quite simple, often following the root note of the guitar riff. (There have been a few notable exceptions, such as Cliff Burton of Metallica and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, whose bass lines tended to be much more complicated, and in general the complexity of bass part varies with the style of each given band.) In nu metal, however, bassists tend to use more complex lines, often influenced by jazz. Limp Bizkit's Sam Rivers, for example, comes from a jazz background, as does their drummer, John Otto. Another notable bass influence is funk. This is best shown with the bassist for the band Mudvayne, Ryan "Ryknow" Martinie .
Drums
Nu-metal drumming is often influenced by the complex breakbeats of hip-hop. In fact, many notable nu-metal bands feature a DJ who provides sampled "beats" and other effects. The most famous of these are DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit and Joe Hahn of Linkin Park. Linkin Park could be considered rapcore or nu-metal, and often jumps between. As a reference for genre classification; if the band uses drum machines, DJ's or Sampled beats it usually is nu-metal, as opposed to rapcore.
True nu-metal drums are usually more interesting than "traditional" metal, as they incorporate less predictable rhythms and require a good sense of beat. The typically more complex drumming is countered by typically less complex guitar work.
Notable nu-metal bands
- Deftones
- End7
- Godsmack
- (Hed) Planet Earth
- Incubus
- Korn
- Limp Bizkit
- Linkin Park
- Lostprophets
- Papa Roach
- P.O.D
- Quarashi
- Sevendust
- Slipknot
- System of a Down
- Taproot