Nu Metal- The Best of Both Worlds

A few years ago, at a camp I go to every summer, some of buddies and I were hanging out in our cabin. As is my habit, I put some music on, DragonForce (speed metal) to be specific. Immediately one of my friends got up and changed it to hip-hop. As we started to argue about what type of music to put on, all of our got involved. Soon we realized one of our major dilemmas. Half of us were metal heads and the other half were into hip-hop. This was problematic because music is extremely important to all of us, and we want to be able to listen to our favorite type. That’s when someone suggested nu metal. Nu metal is a mix of hip-hop and metal, which makes it the best of both worlds.

            Nu metal really started in the 1990’s and combined every popular type of music around at that time. The guitar sound is inspired mostly by heavy metal and grunge. This creates a truly hardcore sound that any metal enthusiast will enjoy. The vocals are a combination of many types, however. Most nu metal songs combine screaming vocals, often found in hardcore music, and rapping. Some really good bands incorporate pop-like singing as well. This creates a sound that nearly any music listener can enjoy. Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory and KoRn’s Follow the Leader were the first main nu metal albums. Nu metal is a great combination of metal, hip-hop, punk, grunge, and pop. It is, indeed, the best of both worlds, and will forever be the common ground between the rivaling hip-hopsters and the metalheads.