The 40 Greatest Nu-Metal Songs Of All Time #20-1 Jul 06 '06    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1 by The Prodigy From $11 Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 The Bottom Line [Find the most depressing catchphrase in the standout lines] I don’t know anything (well, something very limited) about the 80s, so I’ve made this list on the scene I do know. When the emo genre is confined to a smaller, much more talented number in a few years, I’ll be there too. Welcome to the second half of nu-metals finest three and a half hours, thus the best 20 Earth has ever seen, which, depending how you see it, might not be saying much. Nevertheless, there are some great moments in here which you have to uphold without prejudice, which is really the point of this project in the end. If you haven’t read my blurb at the start of 40-21, it might help you digest it a little better. Enjoy! 20. Youth of the Nation - P.O.D. (2001) Satellite This is the second song to feature school in some way – further proof for the skeptics of the ultimate juvenile targets. P.O.D.’s most well-known hit, though, puts a more mature spin on it, or at least pretends it – it’s dedicated to the shooting at Santee High School, which makes Payable On Death that much closer to their aspirations of being the next U2. Also on cameo are the schoolchildren leftover from Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall - while the bulk of the chants in Youth of the Nation are essentially faceless, at least it’s memorable. And remember this: P.O.D. were doing the rap rock shtick half a decade before Limp Bizkit picked up the mic. Standout Line: We are, we are (We are), the youth of the nation... 19. Blurry - Puddle of Mudd (2001) Come Clean Puddle of Mudd are another of those bands that got their boost from happy-go-merry frontman Fred Durst, but it thankfully doesn’t really show in their music, which is ironic, as Durst had a good ear for picking decent proteges yet was unable to make too much of the good stuff himself. Ok, I just lied. She Fu*kin’ Hates Me is tacky and not half as smooth and catchy as people say it is and Heel Over Head is an aimless hate mission. Blurry is exempt, a slick post-grunge recollection from the boys with twice as much mudd as everyone else. If it isn’t exactly the most emotional song to come out of this list, it’s instead a one-finger salute to those who call the band ‘musical diarrhoea’ for prejudice’s sake, or at least a valuable contribution for a band that try to sing... over the sludge. Standout Line: Everything’s so blurry And everyone’s so fake And everybody’s empty And everything is so messed-up... 18. Mudshovel - Staind (1999) Dysfunction It really is unfair to link Staind with Freddy anymore. Not only are they in a completely different league, but they unleash enough relevance on Mudshovel to blow breaking stuff away. It was veritably the band’s breakout hit in 1999, and correctly remains one of their most iconic pieces of work, armed with an unforgettable arpeggio slide riff and bassline. And then Aaron rumbles the part of the tortured clown in the chorus: You can’t feel my anger, You can’t feel my pain. The only funny thing about it is, it makes you feel both his anger and his pain. While it’s possible not to like the direction they’ve gone in since, throwing in more alt-rock ballads to even the balancing act, Mudshovel is undeniably an outfit at their mosh-worthy peak. Fast fact: Mushovel is colloquial for anal sex (it never mentions it in the actual song). Standout Line: You can’t feel my anger, you can’t feel my pain 17. I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace (2004) Three Days Grace Canadian act Three Days Grace add their own unique spite to this list. They’re relatively new to the genre (not that it takes a lot of experience), and I Hate Everything About You is drearily repetitive, but it’s got a whole new face to winning radio appeal. In the case of this one, you can hear the simple, twangy riffs and soft-loud melody of the song before you realize that you don’t. want. to hear it any more. It’s a runaway hit in it’s own right, and a superficial one on the wing of sour, done-before breakup, but it knows how to keep the pace. As for TDG’s future, look for their new single Animal I Have Become; it may be even better than this one. Standout Line: I! Hate! Everything About You / Why! Do! I, Love You? 16. The Last Song - Sevendust (2005) Next While Seasons was a better album for me, Next had more standout songs. That fact gets its due here, as Sevendust’s music on album has the tendency to mix into verbal albeit melodic animosity (pun intended). The Last Song is a barely veiled stab in the back for the person it’s addressed to, but an exception to the rule – despite the fact that it’s never seen the light of day as a CDS release, it’s a choppy machine-gun throbber with genuine anger as its driving force. The story? Guitarist leaves band. This makes vocallist Lajon Witherspoon so fuming that he spits rather than sings, meanwhile populating the words with frequent, jarring ‘fucks.’ It’s one of Sevendust’s heaviest songs since their debut. By all means, look on in awe – but make sure you also pick up some of the beautiful singing Witherspoon does outside of this petty rage can. Standout Line: (This won’t) be the first time, (I ever) wrote a song, (Without) you but it will be the last time I ever write about you... 15. Blind - KoRn (1994) KoRn Ok, I can’t say anything on the opening roar of ‘Are you ready?’ that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. But let Blind serve not only as KoRn’s first single (thus theoretically the origin of nu-metal) but as a commentary to KoRn’s self-titled. The latter is an open-ended calendar of abuse, sweat and tears, not a disc geared up to run traditionally, so you’d be mad to assess the debut track by track. Blind has shown itself the only number really worthy of singular repeat value. While others from the KoRn Kollection were so much more successful, Blind is established as an amorphous, knee-dropping slam on cloudy drug addictions. Standout Line: ARRE YOU READY? 14. Between Angels And Insects - Papa Roach (2000) Infest Ah, Papa Roach, someone needs to tell you that you are soo overrated. Scars was one of the worst (and most overplayed) rock hits of last year. Then, what that doesn’t speak for, there’s the joyless whore Last Resort. Dude, you just don’t write songs about suicide! It’s just unwritten law! Anyway, pretty much their only good song is Between Angels And Insects. It’s just one of those songs that has a sound message behind it, like when a band wants to make believe they’re political trouble-stirrers and reporters on the woes of humanity. Overall, it’s a lot like Rage Against the Machine, only it manages to sum up its theme a little more succinctly than Rage ever did. Oh, I’m not going to repeat it – read the lines below. Standout Line: There’s no money / There’s no possessions / Only obession / I don’t need that shit... 13. Headstrong - Trapt (2003) Trapt Trapt cop way too much flak in the music industry. Not that that’s an excuse – most of the material here does – sometimes unfairly. So let’s remove Headstrong from the sympathy vote and render it one of those hard-hitting street brawl songs you’ll also never get sick of. While the weak lyrics leave something to be desired, Trapt powered ahead in 2004 to show that nu-metal flavored hard rock wasn’t dead on the crest of their grandiose melody lines. Standout Line: Back off, we’ll take you on / Headstrong, we’ll take on anyone 12. Ten Thousand Fists - Disturbed (2005) Ten Thousand Fists The trash-worthy Disturbed’s other charting jingles don’t have a lot of appeal for me. While there is undoubtedly energy (though derivative at that) in the guitar, for the most part David Draiman sounds monotonous, unless it’s live, in which case, I take that back double - Ten Thousand Fists is above-par, though – sharp and adrenalized yet not beyond belief so that when the pounding chorus drops you can pick up the insightful quips. There’s lots of ideas floating around about what the Disturbed’s songs are actually about; until Draiman ‘fesses up, you can enjoy this Middle-Eastern-styled punchline. Standout Line: People can no longer cover their eyes If this disturbs you, then walk away... 11. Just Got Wicked - Cold (2001) 13 Ways to Bleed Onstage Just ask Cold on whether being in the shadow of a band is ever fun. Lead singer Scooter War is the virtual twin of Staind’s Aaron Lewis, except that Cold, who have sadly broken up, adding to their legacy, make bleaker, more hostile music. It’s a definite example of a downhill slide in direction and texture after this album was completed, and not necessarily for all the right reasons, but Just Got Wicked is the perfect, creepy testimony to the pinnacle of the band. It’s a rant against their record label, an issue the Jacksonville foursome had no troubles speaking subtly and unsubtly about. Their record company finally dumped them into nowhereville after tears were shed on both sides, but that’s not the point. Just Got Wicked is twisted, wounded, glum, and too unheralded. Standout Line: Everyone got twisted up, All your friends got behind my back and broke it, ‘cause it’s MY WORLD! 10. Happy? - Mudvayne (2005) Lost & Found In this case, the band’s biggest hit is also their best. Mudvayne, who were once creatures of masks and make-up, usually get lost under the weight of loyalty to Slipknot, only with Happy? does the authentic desire to be grotesque fortunately mix with something real. This comes out of the classic soft-loud alt metal tension, nothing new but manipulated well in the hands of the band, where Chad Grey is an even better gravelly psycho-snorter than Corey Taylor. A clashing, surprisingly recent 'metal' song with impact. If Mudvayne wants to extend their shelf life past their 15 minutes of fame, it’d be a good idea to go down this alley a little more. Standout Line: Tear me from the bone, Tear me from myself, Are you feeling happy now? 9. Cold - Crossfade (2004) Crossfade The highest charting song from last year (even though it was released in 2004). Crappy lyrics and 70s haircuts don’t usually go together particularly well in music, but you have to hand it to Crossfade all the same for rolling out a who’s who of the nu-metal genre with their everlasting hit Cold. If you injected the band with truth serum, they’d have to admit that they’re as hella unoriginal as the unimaginitive title suggests, but there must be something to be said for piling all those influences, dodgy or not, into a serviceable song. While Crossfade itself would fit right in with other candidates on rock radio and not make a spark in the process, Cold definitely stood out in it’s own right once it took it’s own sweet time to become one of the biggest hits of last year. Like it or not, that’s because their lead singer was able to capture that jumpy, stung singing style from local rotation favorites and project it into the mainstream. As for the dumb block of text, well, that’s just pop. Nothing wrong with that. Standout Line: What I really meant to say / Is I’m sorry for the way I am I never meant to be so cold... 8. Drive - Incubus (1999) Make Yourself Probably the only acoustic song on the countdown. With Drive, Incubus made defiant but inoffensive inner conversations into a song that everyone could enjoy – just look at its prominent position on the Billboard Hot 100 once upon a time. Outside of it, they’re a one hit wonder in the mainstream world. By any means this slice of soft-funk-rock was a risk for Incubus before the turn of the century – they had to find a way not to lose fans, abide by nu-metal’s law of self-righteousness and so-called rebellion, include the inevitable Dj scratchy-scratch after every phrase, and still get their freakin’ heart-on-sleeve ballad. That’s what literally drives Drive’s easy pace and promise – it’s sprinkled with hints of being your own individual person, but could be about anything. Brandon Boyd has no problem belting it out, and looks ready to join the Backstreet Boys should they need a replacement. Surprising, seeing as he was the growler second only to Jonathan Davis on their previous album S.C.I.E.N.C.E.. And, see Megalomaniac. Standout Line: Whatever tomorrow may bring, I’ll be there... With open arms and open eyes 7. Falling Away From Me - KoRn (1999) Issues KoRn’s other mega-hit wisely picked up where Freak On A Leash (no peeking) left off: but instead of continuing the waily, high-pitched guitar strings that were introduced in the former for the first time, Falling Away From Me experimented with it as it’s main focus. Thus it became their first Billboard Hot 100 cracker, and the signature sound of ‘that album with the broken teddy on it.’ It wasn’t the first time of course that their fans cried ‘sell out,’ but the issue is, it’s too excellent to be ‘beaten down’ by that. Issues was one of KoRn’s best albums, one that embraced many different melodic directions simultaneously, and Falling Away From Me, a note from Jonathan Davis to his neglected teen fans, was the yardstick by which it goes by and is still placed. If it’s not KoRn’s very best tune, it’s certainly one of them, and even (*gasp*) catchy. Love them or hate them, it’s still impossible not to see why Falling Away From Me made such a brief grasp on rock radio. Standout Line: Beating me down, beating me, beating me down, down, into the ground... 6. Blue Monday - Orgy (1998) Candy A$$ In truth, Orgy might be more industrial than nu-metal, but they are / were a signee of KoRn’s record company and did the Family Values Tour (a key word in nu-metal’s history) with the rest of the crew, so it’s obvious they should get credited with the rest of them. That’s not a worry, though, as many of Orgy’s songs rise above the rest of their brethren, even if it’s malice over beats directly descended from Nine Inch Nails. Particularly Blue Monday, which epitomizes the candy part of the album it’s extracted from. Mixing techno with downtuned power chords for ultimate swampy riffage, then pairing that with the constant rhetorical question over the toil. Safe to say, it’s a trick that, if not entirely new, will never wear off its effectiveness if it keeps being done right like this. Standout Line: How does it feel? How should I feel? How does it feel – to treat me like you do? 5. Prison Song - System Of A Down (2001) Toxicity At the start, I wasn’t going to include System Of A Down as nu-metal on the basis that they’re ‘above that’ (that isn’t necessarily a good thing), yet, blame Prison Song, politically alert freak-rock, for coming my way at the wrong time. If you’ve ever wondered where the genius in these Armenian-Americans is hidden, and can’t see it in the ridiculously overhyped doubles from last year, most of it must be here. Prison song is just divine in so many ways – vocally diverse and capable, not over bearing on the other instruments, and Daron Malakian keeps his squeaky helium-voice to a suited pre-hook. Even Serj gets to do more than his usual range of shouting. This track happens to be the opener to the band’s 2001 sophomore: Toxicity is looking really good for me right now. Standout Line: They’re trying to build a prison! For you and me to live in! 4. Change (In the House of Flies) - The Deftones (2000) White Pony Outside of Change, White Pony is overloaded with bombastic, loud songs, brimming on the energy. You’ve got to hand it to the Deftones for turning it down with this first single from back then. In many ways the band aren’t ever that angry, more reflective in a kind of sadistic way. This one, their best yet I daresay, is infested with undulating moans. It’s a highlight in many ways, or a transitional period, not that the Deftones have changed much; the most lasting thing about this five-minute croon is the deadpan interlude, where Chino Moreno mopily namedrops the crucifix and a suicide. That just seems to stand out more than anything else; not that the band don’t have aeons more control over their sound and their emotions than many of their companions, making their music harder to properly digest. It’ll be interesting to test the theory at this year’s Family Values. Standout Line: I’ve watched you change... 3. Outside - Staind (2001) Break the Cycle One guy singing live with a rap-metal star on a guitar. That was all it took to confirm that nu-metal’s boundaries were being pushed into more sensitive, melodic, Alice In Chains-based singing therapy. Of course, Staind’s first two records were writhing and angry (see above), citing the typical Pantera / Helmet handbook. But Outside is one of the most underrated rock songs of the new milennium. Everything about it was a change of style... it’s a personal soul-search to find the ideal childhood that you can pick up along the way, it’s an ambiguous rallying of the troops. But this is was what brought Staind widespread airplay, though It’s Been Awhile was the bigger of the hits – anything after Outside was definitely not nu-metal, if the band even were from the start, nor was it a cheery dedication for a sunny day – a teenager hung himself to it. But that if nothing else demonstrates the great power, the great pain, and the great emotion behind lead singer Aaron Lewis’s voice – there’s hardly a grunge-flavored rock ballad you’ll find these days without a trace of Outside in it. That makes it essential listening. Standout Line: But I’m on the outside I’m looking in, I can see through you See your true colors... 2. In The End - Linkin Park (2001) Hybrid Theory Some say they breathed a whole new life into a decaying fad, while managing to shell an astouding 35 million copies out of only two studio albums. On the other, they’re listed frequently as the very bottom rung in a derivative, whiney mindfuck. I suppose that Linkin Park aren’t exactly original, and they try way too hard, while lead singer Chester Bennington needs vocal maturity and Mike Shinoda sounds so much better as his own man, but the band didn’t get all the way to number two by being slackers. So, what’s the deal? It’s a misfortune that Linkin Park can’t bear not to write the same song twice, and populate the exact same structure over both their records. That prevented their influence from reaching into two songs on this countdown. In the End is where the meat of their sound lies – it was either the first song they ever wrote or the time when everything came together. Playing out the words about broken hearts and broken homes just sounds so much better when it’s in the hands of two rhymers and a haunting keyboard. It’s delivered several other gift-wrapped hits into their mega-rich laps. Standout Line: I tried so hard, and got so far / In the end, it doesn’t even matter No big excruciating buildups. No nu-metal style gimmicks. Let’s reveal nu-metals number 1 song before you get too anxious. ---------------------------- 1. Freak On A Leash - KoRn (1998) Follow the Leader The definitive nu-metal song. I didn’t know whether to include this as nu-metals number 1 song because it’s so cliche-angry or because it features those bizarre scats near it’s end unlike anything ever seen before. Technically of course, Freak On A Leash was the breakout song that showed that KoRn and the subgenre they commandeered at the time were for real – allmusic.com lists it as one of the downright maddest highlights of all time. Musically it needs no comparisons, because not only is it’s texture different to what the band had accomplished with their first two albums, but it functions and cements KoRn’s figure in history as a standalone band. Consequently, it won a Grammy, and is still requested today on a number of other interactive countdowns and radio stations. Correct, both inside and outside of the narrow, short hole that was nu-metal’s peak lifespan, Freak On A Leash owns the ball game nearly ten years after it’s animated video was released. If you were hoping for some obscure, up-and-coming band to take out the gold, sorry – but seeing as KoRn rightfully created nu-metal, it’s appropriate that they should come in at number one for all time, don’t you agree? Standout Line: Boom na da MMM dum na ema! And thass’it! As with last time, feel free to drop by for a comment to slam or praise me on the inclusion of your ‘favorite nu-metal band,’ or write your own list. I promise I won’t get too jealous. This list was tested for accuracy using certain rodents. Ha ha. The Top 40 Nu-Metal Songs Of All Time #40-21

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