Nu Metal

Nu metal blends downtuned, groove-heavy metal riffing with hip-hop rhythms, funk basslines, and electronics, usually swapping guitar solos for texture and mood. It broke in the mid-1990s with Korn’s 1994 debut, often built around seven-string guitars, DJ scratches or samples, and vocals that veer between rapping, singing, and screaming. Tempos sit in a mid-paced, syncopated groove, and lyrics tend toward raw personal pain, alienation, and angst. Korn, Slipknot, Deftones, and Linkin Park carried it to massive mainstream success.