Three decades of nu-metal in 10 songs, from Korn and Limp Bizkit to the Nova Twins


Saeed Saeed
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Thirty years ago this week a song was released that would go on to kick start a new music genre in the US.

Neidermeyer's Mind, now out of print and released as a demo-tape by fledgling US band Korn, brought a new element to metal music.

There are low-tuned guitars, heavy bass lines and a vocal style by singer Jonathan Davis that combines singing, rapping, metal growling and screaming.

With potent lyrics touching on mental health and alienation, the dark and fiercely vulnerable subject matter was a new element to the metal landscape, one that largely favoured visceral aggression over self-therapy.

The song went on to become the harbinger of a sound called nu-metal, and while it’s unclear who coined the name, it was undeniably one of the most popular genres at the turn of the century.

Here are 10 songs tracking its journey.

1. Blind by Korn (1994)

The lead single from Korn's debut album, Blind is viewed as the first official track to kick off nu-metal.

With all the signature elements refined since that first scratchy demo-tape and the songwriting more pronounced and dynamic, Blind is powerful and utterly cathartic.

2. Wait and Bleed by Slipknot (1999)

US band Slipknot embodied nu-metal visual aesthetics. Photo: Redferns
US band Slipknot embodied nu-metal visual aesthetics. Photo: Redferns

The controversial group are a great distillation of nu-metal's visual aesthetics.

The striking jumpsuits and trainers are tied to the genre’s hip-hop influences, while the dark and at times gory clown masks and visuals recall the likes of gloomy metal masters Black Sabbath and Slayer.

On the music front, Slipknot are totally their own.

Wait and Bleed epitomises nu-metal’s mix-and-match approach, taking elements from rock, metal and hip-hop through heavily distorted guitars and guttural vocals in the verse, contrasted with a clean and radio friendly chorus.

It’s as thrilling as it is chaotic, thus underscoring nu-metal’s exciting potential.

3. Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit (2000)

The year 2000 will go down as the one where nu-metal went from a proudly independent movement to a commercial juggernaut.

Leading the charge was Limp Bizkit with their caustic yet exuberant Break Stuff, which would go on to become one of the genre’s defining anthems.

The song’s success is down to the genre-bending the group does so effectively.

Musically led by inventive guitarist and riff-machine Wes Borland and with hip-hop turntablist DJ Lethal on the decks, the band conjure up a sonic fury matching the nihilism of the lyrics.

Then, of course, there is the front man, Fred Durst.

The baseball-cap-wearing singer would go on to epitomise the best and worst qualities of the genre during its heyday, in that he is full of brio, but ultimately has nothing to say.

4. Down with the Sickness by Disturbed (2000)

Where Limp Bizkit were often all about dialling up the energy, nu-metal brethren Disturbed have flair.

Signature hit Down with the Sickness launches with singer David Draiman's guttural chant and the band’s riffs, the drama is then skilfully directed towards an anthemic chorus.

Topping the mainstream rock charts in the US, Down with the Sickness demonstrates how the genre can feature high-quality songwriting.

5. Butterfly by Crazy Town (2000)

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny just how ubiquitous this song was at the time.

While it did go on to render Crazy Town as a one-hit wonder, Butterfly is the nu-metal equivalent of a power ballad.

Hardcore fans cringed at how sappy it was, with some even denying that it was even nu-metal, but Butterfly ticks off all of the genre's core elements, with hip-hop-inspired rapping and sampling, and tasteful rock guitar riffs and bass grooves.

Butterfly shows that the genre is equally adept at speaking about love, as it is about breaking things.

6. One Step Closer by Linkin Park (2000)

A big question and a sour point for fans and artists is, why did Linkin Park take off so immediately?

Was it a matter of timing and their boyband look, or was it down to the pristinely radio-friendly songs and the major record label backing them?

The answer is a bit of everything.

Amid the encroaching saturation of the scene, Linkin Park cherry-picked the best sonic elements of nu-metal and presented them in a non-threatening manner.

One Step Closer is a case in point. Play it loud and it’s a seriously heavy rocker, but it was late singer Chester Bennington's emotional and dynamic delivery that made it appeal to the masses.

In One Step Closer he displays the dynamism that would prove to be the template for future Linkin Park hits like In The End and Numb, with verses sung with the vulnerability of an Nsync record and a snarling chorus recalling the likes of Pantera and Metallica.

Is it all a bit too calculated? Perhaps, but fundamentally it’s just good songwriting and Linkin Park would go on to be the genre’s commercial leaders for years to come.

7. Youth of the Nation by POD (2001)

For a genre grounded in youth culture, it is surprising how most of nu-metal's biggest tracks were often limited to expressions of internal rage and anguish.

POD (full name Payment on Death) shows it can provide a macro look at youth alienation as well as spinning a fine narrative.

Each verse touches on different tragic elements of American youth culture.

Gun violence is highlighted through the story of a teenager skating to school only to be shot by a classmate.

A 12-year-old girl named Suzie finds "love in all the wrong places" due to growing up in a broken home, while peer pressure and loneliness pushes another teen, "Johnny boy", to take his own life.

The sober lyrics, augmented by a subdued musical backdrop and some forceful rapping by frontman Sonny Sandoval, challenged perceptions of what makes nu-metal.

8. Chop Suey! by System of a Down (2001)

While nu-metal’s commercial clout resulted in an avalanche of bands getting signed to major record labels, the genre’s appeal would begin to plateau with its lack of distinctive voices.

Enter System of a Down with their blistering break-out single.

It almost sounds derivative to ascribe their name to a genre, such is their dizzying approach in genre blending and panache for creating memorable melodies over schizoid instrumentation.

Chop Suey is both bonkers and brilliant.

A hip-hop song with a heavy metal heart and vice versa.

It sounds like a riot in a music store but displays the songwriting craftsmanship of seasoned hands and went on to launch the careers of one of rock’s most experimental bands.

9. Bring Me to Life by Evanescence (2003)

Evanescence is another group adding much-needed vibrancy to the increasingly turgid-sounding genre.

At the time, nu-metal was in permanent decline.

Former kings Limp Bizkit’s latest album Results May Vary tanked and Take a Look in the Mirror by originators Korn also disappointed.

At the same time a growing cavalry of garage rockers like The Strokes and White Stripes were on their way to taking over the rock world.

That said, Evanescence showed there was still some life yet in nu-metal with the dramatic Bring Me to Life, which pairs Amy Lee’s operatic vocals with tough staccato riffs and some inane rapping.

Despite scoring a global hit, the band sensed the winds of change and abandoned the genre with future releases.

10. Choose your Fighter by the Nova Twins (2022)

So is nu-metal dead? Well, not so fast.

The genre is making a revival, albeit in a different form and looks.

Where it originally took shape in urban US cities before spreading to Middle America, the nu-metal genre-defying spirit has been channelled by a new generation of artists who grew up on streaming and playlists.

The best of the bunch, which includes the US groups Code Orange and Orthodox, are the Nova Twins.

The UK duo are one of the most exciting rock bands today and have played at most of this year’s major rock festivals including Glastonbury in the UK and Japan’s Fuji Rock.

While their forebears took their cues from graffiti culture and punk, the Nova Twins (whose members Amy Love and Georgia South are both not yet 30) take their influences from social media, gaming and Y2K-era artists No Doubt, Pharrell Williams and Rage Against the Machine.

Choose Your Fighter is an exciting reminder of where nu-metal came from and where it could go.

The distance learning plan

Spring break will be from March 8 - 19

Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm

Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19

Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning

Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Wonka
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'The Lost Daughter'

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: Dh898,000

On sale: now

Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Crazy Rich Asians

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan

Four stars

Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term). 

• On the protection component, there is a cap  of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated. 

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

MATCH INFO

Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')

Chelsea 0

RACE CARD

4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m

5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m

5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m

6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m

6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m

7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m

RESULTS

5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)

5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash

6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri

7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson

THE SPECS

Engine: 3-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 424hp

Torque: 580 Nm

Price: From Dh399,000

On sale: Now

ABU DHABI TRIATHLON

For more information, and to enter the race, please visit www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

Overview

Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Haircare resolutions 2021

From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.

1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'

You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.

2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'

Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.

3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’

Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.

Pad Man

Dir: R Balki

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte

Three-and-a-half stars

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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Updated: October 21, 2023, 6:42 AM`