NU METAL REVIVAL
nu AnD IMPROVED
Heavy metal’s most obnoxious movement is back. From its OG stars experiencing second winds to the young bands taking it forward, this is the story of nu metal’s unlikely resurrection
WORDS: DANNII LEIVERS
GETTY
You can always pinpoint the moment a rumble underfoot becomes a movement. This year, it happened on Saturday July 31, at 6.30pm, at Chicago’s Lollapalooza Festival.
“Let me make this clear,” drawled Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, addressing a huge crowd, dressed like an extra from Starsky & Hutch in 100% polyester, complete with red aviators, a grey mop and a handlebar moustache. “This is not Woodstock ’99.”
It wasn’t. But as a vitriolic Break Stuff kicked off a pit of moshers that probably weren’t even born when it was initially released, it might as well have been. The streamed set went viral with Fred’s ‘Dad Vibes’ look breaking the internet, causing the band’s song sales to double and brewing a feverish buzz around new album Still Sucks, their first since 2011’s Gold Cobra, which dropped on Halloween. For the first time in forever, a hype had descended on Bizkit that was heavier than mere nostalgia. It was solid proof that nu metal was back.
Really, it was inevitable. Here at Hammer we’ve been banging on about the nu metal revival for the last five years, as we watched bands such as Loathe, Northlane, Cane Hill and Vein tap into its swaggering bounce and downtuned aggression. But it’s only now it feels like we’re properly living in a renaissance, one where the genre’s past and present has coalesced into a new wave that is reconfiguring its legacy.
While stalwarts Korn, Papa Roach and Disturbed have continued to enjoy enduring success, in April 2021, veterans Mudvayne announced they were reforming after an 11-year hiatus and playing a slew of major US festivals. For better or worse, Y2K fashion has started making a comeback, with wallet chains, Matrix-style PVC trench coats and path-sweeping trousers appearing in mainstream stores. And most importantly, we can hear nu metal’s influence running rampant among young bands and artists.