Nu metal is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos or other displays of musical technique, and emphasizes rhythm with instrumentation that is heavily syncopated. Nu metal guitarists typically use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to produce a heavier sound. Vocal styles are often rhythmic and influenced by hip hop, and include singing, rapping, screaming and sometimes growling. DJs are occasionally featured to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic background music. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan, former vocalist Anders Colsefni and bassist Paul Gray. After several lineup changes in its early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: Crahan, Gray, Joey Jordison, Craig Jones, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Chris Fehn, and Jim Root. Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows.
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado joining the line-up in 1990 and 1999, respectively. The band's experimental nature has led some critics to describe them as "the Radiohead of metal".
The Sickness is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released on March 7, 2000, by Giant and Reprise Records. The album peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard 200, and spent a total of 106 weeks on the chart. It was Disturbed's only album to not hit number one on the US Billboard 200 until their seventh album Evolution debuted at number 4 in 2018. In 2018, The Sickness was certified five times platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over five million copies in the US, making it the band's most successful album.
Dysfunction is the second studio album by American rock band Staind, released on April 13, 1999, by Flip Records and Elektra Records. It is the band's first studio album released on a record label.
Shadow Zone is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on October 7, 2003. Marked by many personnel and stylistic changes, the album sports a much more melodic sound than any other work in their catalog, while still staying in the confines of their industrial metal and nu metal sound. It was the first of two albums to feature guitarist Tripp Eisen, and is the band's only album to not feature an official drummer, due to the departure of Ken Jay just prior to the album's recording sessions; drumming duties were subsequently handled by Josh Freese.
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two live albums, two compilation albums, one video album, and sixteen singles and music videos.
Nothingface was an American nu metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1994. Their best-known and most prolific line-up consisted of Matt Holt (vocals), Tom Maxwell (guitar), Bill Gaal (bass) and Chris Houck (drums). They disbanded in 2004, only to reform the following year, reuniting with Gaal and Houck, and then disband four years later. In 2017, Holt died from a degenerative disease.
Metalcore is a fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy guitar riffs often utilizing percussive pedal tones and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, the group consists of bassist John Campbell, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and drummer Art Cruz. The band is considered a significant member of the new wave of American heavy metal movement.
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joined the group. Following a few name changes, the members settled on the name Sevendust and released their self-titled debut album on April 15, 1997, which sold only 310 copies in its first week but ultimately achieved gold certification through touring and support from their label, TVT Records.
Through the Ashes of Empires is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. On this album, the band returned to their groove/thrash metal sound that was featured on their debut album Burn My Eyes (1994) and their second album The More Things Change... (1997) after experimenting with the nu metal genre featured on their previous two albums. It was released in the UK, Europe and Australia on the Roadrunner Records International label on October 27, 2003. At this stage, Machine Head still did not have an American record deal, having parted ways with Roadrunner Records US after the Supercharger album was released. Through The Ashes of Empires was such a success that Roadrunner Records US, in an unprecedented move, quickly offered Machine Head a new contract and the album finally reached North America on April 20, 2004. This album was also the first album to feature guitarist Phil Demmel, who would stay with the band until his departure in 2018.
Mushroomhead is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in the Cleveland Warehouse District, the band is known for their avant-garde sound and horror film-inspired imagery which features masks and costumes as well as their unique live shows usually performed at smaller venues. They have sold over two million media units worldwide, and have released eight full-length albums and 35 music videos.
Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released on September 20, 2005 by Reprise Records and became Disturbed's second consecutive number 1 debut on the Billboard 200 in the United States, shipping around 239,000 copies in its opening week. It has been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA and was also the band's second number 1 release in New Zealand. It is also the first Disturbed album to not have the Parental Advisory label.
XX is a compilation album by American metal band Mushroomhead, released in 2001. It was originally released through Eclipse Records, where Mushroomhead took classic tracks and remixed them. XX was re-released on Universal Records in December of the same year. XX contains tracks from the band's three independently released albums: Mushroomhead, Superbuick, and M3.
The War of Art is the second studio album by industrial metal band American Head Charge, released on August 28, 2001 through American Recordings. It was produced by Rick Rubin. Several songs on the album were re-recorded from the band's self-released debut album Trepanation (1999).
Savior Sorrow is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Mushroomhead. It is their first release through Megaforce Records. This is the first Mushroomhead recording to not feature original vocalist Jason "J Mann" Popson and guitarist Bronson, who left the band in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The former is replaced by Waylon Reavis.
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, and vocals that range from aggressive screaming and death growls to clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.
The Righteous & the Butterfly is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Mushroomhead. It was released on May 13, 2014.
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