Nu Metal

About the Nu Metal genre

Nu metal emerged from the late 1980s and early 1990s when groove metal and alternative metal bands like Pantera, Helmet, and Faith No More started emphasizing rhythmic intensity over technical display. Korn crystallized the template with their self-titled debut in the mid-1990s, introducing down-tuned guitars paired with vocal variety spanning singing, rapping, and screaming. The subgenre exploded commercially in the late 1990s and early 2000s through releases by Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Papa Roach, Staind, and P.O.D., with Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory reaching diamond certification in 2001.

Market saturation and declining commercial returns for major releases caused nu metal's prominence to fade by the mid-2000s, coinciding with metalcore's rise and leading many bands to disband or shift directions. The 2010s brought a resurgence as acts like Of Mice & Men, Emmure, Issues, and Bring Me the Horizon merged nu metal with metalcore and deathcore elements. Simultaneously, electronic pop artists including Grimes, Poppy, and Rina Sawayama integrated nu metal textures into their work, triggering renewed collector interest in the genre through the early 2020s.