Here are 11 essential nu-metal albums you should own on vinyl.
As with many popular music genres, determining which artists to include can be a challenging task.
There are the obvious ones, like Korn and Limp Bizkit, whose sound never seemed to stray too far from where they were at when the popularity of nu-metal first took hold in the ’90s. With each album, both of these nu-metal pioneers (?) mostly stayed true to form.
READ MORE: 11 Essential ’90s Metal Albums You Should Own on Vinyl
Then, there were the names in nu-metal from around that same time that eventually. found ways to evolve within their music. Deftones have kept a wall of guitars in most of their albums while also using it as a canvas for adding textures and layers to create something fresh.
Were they ever nu-metal to begin with or did nu-metal evolve with them?
There are metal bands like Slipknot and Disturbed who found success a short time after the ’90s boom that birthed other acts already mentioned in this article. How much of their rise can be credited to the heyday of nu-metal?
Interest in nu-metal has even seen a resurgence in recent years. Both Korn and Limp Bizkit have been festival headliners in the past two years. Deftones have been selling out arenas 30 years after the release of their debut album.
If you haven’t caught to latest wave of nu-metal popularity, here are 11 essential albums to help get you ready.
Korn, Korn (1994)
Key tracks: “Blind,” “Shoots and Ladders,” “Clown”
Deftones, Around the Fur (1997)
Key tracks: “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away),” “Mascara”
Korn, Follow the Leader (1998)
Korn, ‘Follow the Leader’ (1998)
Key tracks: “Freak On a Leash,” “Got the Life,” “All in the Family”
Limp Bizkit, Significant Other (1999)
Interscope Records
Key tracks: “Break Stuff,” “Nookie,” “N2 Gether Now,”
Static-X, Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)
Static-X, ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’ (1998)
Key tracks: “Push It,” “I’m With Stupid,” “Bled for Days”
Deftones, White Pony (2000)
Deftones ‘White Pony’ album cover
Key tracks: “Change (In the House of Flies), “Digital Bath,” “Passenger”
Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory (2000)
linkin park hybrid theory
Key tracks: “In the End,””One Step Closer,” “Crawling”
Papa Roach, Infest (2000)
papa roach, infest
Key tracks: “Last Resort,””Between Angels and Insects,” “Blood Brothers”
Slipknot, Iowa (2001)
Key tracks: “People = Shit,” “Left Behind,” “The Heretic Anthem”
System of a Down, Toxicity (2001)
toxicity album art
Key tracks: “Chop Suey!,” “Toxicity,” “Arials”
Disturbed, Ten Thousand Fists (2005)
Key tracks: “Stricken,” “Land of Confusion,” “Ten Thousand Fists”
Every ‘Big 4’ Nu-Metal Album, Ranked From Worst to Best
Between Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and System of a Down — indeed, the “Big 4” bands of nu-metal — how do all their albums stack up when ranked together? It’s no walk in the park pitting these discographies against each other. Read below to see every album by nu-metal’s “Big 4,” ranked from worst to best.
Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp + Chad Childers
Can You Guess the Nu-Metal Video From the Screenshot?
See if you can guess the nu-metal music video from the screenshots below. The answers are provided underneath. No cheating!
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner