Deftones are absolutely a nu-metal band and frankly, I've always thought one of the reasons for the collapse of that scene circa 2003 is because so many bands refused to see themselves as part of that scene.
I will admit that 2000's stigma of Nu-Metal being uncool, especially if you were into punk/scene/indie/metalcore stuff was so pervasive that even still to this day in my mid 30's I sometimes irrationally feel it and have to remind myself it's stupid lol
I remember " ... well except for SOAD and Deftones " being a very common phrase when discussing nu-metal back then. Those were the two you were given a pass for. God forbid you admit you liked Korn or Slipknot in 2006 or someone might associate you with the bondage pants kids
The way I view Nu Metal is the way I see Emo, it's more of a "movement" than a musical genre. You don't have to have a DJ or rapping in order to be "Nu Metal". It's less about the actual music and more about that era and style. That's my opinion, at least.
I agree. I think another problem is no one could really decide what nu-metal was. People wanted to drill it down to bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, but even though bands like Disturbed and Godsmack were more hard rock and Static-X was industrial, I think they and similar bands were still very much part of that scene. So you had bands that didn't want to be nu-metal, and you had people not being able to agree what nu-metal was supposed to be, and I think those facts made it impossible for it to coalesce into anything approaching a concrete movement. The fact that we're experiencing a revival of that sound in the present day is miraculous.
Idk those first couple Disturbed records were extremely nu-metal. Groove based, lots of rapped vocals, they had the aesthetic nailed down. Godsmack was maybe closer to straight up radio rock but they had enough in common to get lumped in.
See, I don't even think of it like an aethestic or whatever. I feel like nu-metal is really just any heavy commerical rock that came out around late 90s to early 00s. It's a vibe. Godsmack, Staind, Sevendust, throw them all in, you don't need rap, you don't need a DJ, you don't need whatever, if you're loud, angry, and marketable, then you're nu-metal, baby!
Limp Bizkit, Korn (first 3 albums), Deftones, Linkin Park (first 3 albums), SOAD are all solid as fuck and have been for over 2 decades. IMO lol
Honestly, there are some great fucking new bands carrying the "nu metal" or whatever you call it torch (honestly who cares). Orthodox recently got endorsed by JNCO jeans.
Wargasm and Bloodywood are great, and there's this band Voice Of Baceprot that is very good and has a strong message.
I don't know if a lot of nu-metal was just a time and place thing for me, but I feel like the few songs I’ve heard from nu-metal revival bands have the aggression and the aesthetic but are too glossy and lack the hooks of the OG bands.
Doesn't matter how much I try, I can't get the feeling I'm getting from older songs out of new music. Might be just nostalgia, might be the fact that I'm 40 and it's not as easy for me to devote myself to new music these days. I feel like a lot of newer bands are trying to do Nu Metal "with a twist" (mixing with metalcore, for example) but all I want is a generic sounding band with cringe lyrics and stupid haircuts. Same goes for pop-rock bands from 20 years ago (today's "dad rock"). I can't find any new bands that sound like that. Edit: From the newer stuff I do like Ded, Moodring and Zonezero
Ded is great stuff. Gonna also give a shoutout to Silent Theory and Project Theory, and yes, those are two different bands.