Why do people seem to hate on nu-metal?

For me, it seems like nu-metal is one of the most disliked subgenres within metal, and some dont even consider it "real metal." However, it's probably my favorite...

A lot of it has to do with being critical of the sub-culture of nu-metal and being annoyed at certain aspects of the genre. It's sort of in the same boat as emo, it has sort of been a victim of it's own sucess. For example, I think a lot of the more elitistic metalheads that have qualms with nu-metal has a lot to do with the culture, commericialization etc. Back in it's hey-day and when nu-metal hit the airwaves it sort of got out of control, became a very phad based genre abd sort of garnered a bad reputation for itself. Obnixious bands like Limp Bizkit really pissed a lot of people off. The problems with nu-metal and what followed it such as metalcore, deathcore, etc. and if you want to go farther back hair metal is that it became a commerical tool. Those genres racked in large ammounts of followers, while the more underground genres of thrash metal death metal, black metal, etc. sort of being an indpendent entity that was moreso (like indie rock) about building it;s own scene (which in many ways is positive). Yet, like with anything, you have the hard-liners, the self proclaimed genre elitists, etc. that go out of their way to set up a societial hierarchy, etc. Amongst other things certain attitudes are encouraged, and the herd instinct takes over (in other words going with the group, looking out for your buddies, doing what is cool, ironically like the mainstream audience, their worst enemy. There are perhaps musical athestic differences as well. For example nu-metal took a different direction musically away from the typical metal song structure, and was essentially more simplistic adding more influences from rap, hardcore, etc. Nu-metal is just stylistically different, and I suppose certain metalheads take qualm with it. There are also those, like with anything else, who don't sincerely like it. Each to their own I say. A lot of metalheads don't realize that there is more depth to nu-metal than they realize. For example a buddy of mine might like Deftones or Sevendust while an other listens to Flaw, Ultraspank, or Darwin's Waiting Room. Without even realizing it they like nu-metal, being to them they figured it was all about Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and a bunch of scene kids, with attitudes that don't know a lot about metal. I'll give them that one point a portion of nu-metal listeners aren't as educated as they should be on traditional metal. They don't understand the roots, or other genres like thrash, death, black, doom, power, etc. Yet again this isn't always true, I know quite a bit about all of the genres, and still enjoy nu-metal. So like I said I'd say there are a lot of misconceptions, disdain for what the sub-cultre was at some point, some stylistic disagreements, and perhaps in some cases hatred of certain bands (that I feel don't properly represent the genre). All genres have their elitists (belive it or not nu-metal too), so don't let it bother you and listen to what you want to. Just be open to studying all genres in their entirety.

sh_5t0rM said:
Well said Oblivion_Within. This is just how I see Nu Metal scene. If you look at my charts you'll find huge varieties, from Glam to Black (yes I listen Black Metal, but only to underground Bosnian bands)
It took me awhile to read all of this last post and I can say that it's masterpiece. My favorite part is: "I'll give them that one point a portion of nu-metal listeners aren't as educated as they should be on traditional metal. They don't understand the roots, or other genres like thrash, death, black, doom, power, etc. Yet again this isn't always true, I know quite a bit about all of the genres, and still enjoy nu-metal."
I couldn't said it better myself.
Great work and contribution to Nu Metal ;) Keep on with good work.

Thanks bro. I do what I can to fight the good fight, as you do. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and I hope that it helps others in their search of knowledge or helps provide an understanding to the roots of the stigmas in the metal sub-culture, etc. Feel free to hook me up with some of those undergound Bosnian black metal bands, I'm always open to new stuff, speaking of open-mindenesss. :)

Thanks for the interesting viewpoint Kerwin. It's always cool to hear imput by the older nu-metal fans. I can see what you're saying. Ironically a good ammount of the self proclaimed elitists or music purists (who were around back in the day), got their start in nu-metal or I'd wager fell in love with music in general due to the genre, and opened their eyes from a lot of the medicore trash that was out there following the collapse of the grunge movment. Nu-metal was a truly unique movment, which I think really helped add a spark to the era musically To this day I'm still addicted by the uniqness of a lot of the bands, within the genre, posess and innovated in their art. It's unfortunate that it's sort of faded into obscurity (or rather that it is misunderstood, in certain musical pretexts), but yet again I feel the fans and bands that are still around are more loyal and dedicated to the music and simply do there own thing without regarding sceneism, etc., which is cool. It may not be 1999 anymore, but times change, for both better and for worse. Back on topic, I doubt that for example most of those who are into solely the "true" metal, progressive rock, classic rock, indie, etc. started off listening to that by itself. In fact I'm sure a good ammount have nu-metal to thank for, getting them into music. In fact I'd wager that a good ammount of the nu-metal haters don't hate nu-metal as much as they claim to, a lot of it is a mask they put on for acceptance or music street cred. Back when I was 12-13 I first got into metal through metalcore, back when metalcore was the new trend in metal, back in 04-05 (similar to how nu-metal was 99-02). Yet I was soon enough enticed into becoming an elitist and began doing what I could to fit in or be "cool". For example forcing myself to only like the real obscure bands, and come up with reasons in my mind to dislike some bands I thoroughly enjoyed, and forcing myself to talk about matters I didn't understand at the time. Then one day I came to realize, yes, while there are other genres, and some bands/styles not as recongnized as others it doesn't mean I should be forced to think a certain way, or to limit myself musically and that a lot of these attitudes people have are stupid. Ironically, I came to nu-metal, outside of Korn (who was there since the begging, and a little Slipknot here and there) suprisingly later. I had become more imersed with other more extreme metal genres and at various other genres (crust punk/old hardcore, post-rock, shoegaze, progressive rock, classic rock, and the more indie rock bands) being I sort of made a jump to those off the bat, as opposed to getting started in nu-metal) but I found myself going back to the other genres I over-looked including nu-metal and found that there was more than meets the eye, or at least I was initally led to believe. I didn't listen to specific genres, artists for the silliest of reasons, which all stem in the disease known as elitistsm.

I do sincerely wish I could've been apart or old enough to appreicate the emergence of nu-metal. I do think it would've been something to experience the atmosphere and such of the time. I was pretty young at the time, and only remember bits of pieces of it. I do think I over-looked or forgot to mention one band that had quite an impact on me musically. Back in 2000, I believe it was, I got really into Linkin Park's first CD, and it was really my intoduction into modern music. The exposure I had to music before hand was pop music I heard on the radio and my dad's old Def Leppard and Van Halen cassettes. Now while I down talked LP a bit, in my first post, I do think it would be wrong to write off the huge impact Hybrid Theory had on me. That really opened up the doors, that took me to Metallica, Korn, and following those two bands metalcore. I can recall a bit of the atmosphere, small things, like looking at magazines and thinking to myself about how awesome the covers of the new Korn, Coal Chamber, Limp Bizkit, and Papa Roach albums were. I also remember a couple of instances where I'd be blasting Papa Roach and Powerman 5000 tunes, and getting wierd looks from my parents. It was pretty awesome times, and I could imagine how being part of the scene back in the day was really something awesome. So I suppose the scene had both it's positive and negative. Positivly great bands at their primes, fellowship of fans, a greater acceptance of the style, on the negative I suppose the over-flooding of phads, trends, and the eventual commerical over-running and inner self-destruction of the genre that eventually happened. I really would have loved to see the original Korn line-up live back in their prime, I've seen some great live videos of them, but no question that actually being there is much more significant. I still enjoy Korn now, but it's obvious that they simply aren't the same band anymore, and have gone off in a different direction. So Korn now and Korn back then are two different experiences. Well on the subject of hed PE, they are still around they actually have come out with an album recently called New World Orphans in 09. In 08 they released a live album last year, they are still around have released a couple of albums, I think have done a bit of touring. Sort of in the same boat as the remaining nu-metal bands, who haven't changed there style, still around surving and hanging with there loyal fanbases (outside of the spotlight). Zach La Rocha hasn't done much musically lately (outside of some touring) or RATM either. They haven't release an studio album since 00, last release a live one in 03. Tom Morello (the guitarist) I hear released a solo album, at some point, which is something I've yet to check out. Zach has always been very political and has been at the center of a number of protests political iniatives. I would call RATM moreso rapcore mixed with funk (as you mentioned) than nu-metal though, but great band regardless. I'm not familar with Filter and will check more into them, thanks for the reccomendations, and sending me over some suggested songs to start with. As far as Machine Head goes I'm familar with the band, but haven't really checked anything out by them I did here that one of their albums was moreso nu-metalish, and that they have flucuated between styles for awhile.

this is going to be short and I am not going to be pointing at people but what I have been noticing with some of my friends at school. I'm a full on Nu-metal fan and other metals and every other type of music (rap, country classical). There are these people i hang out with that hate Nu-metal because of some people. They like some of the songs by KoRn, Mudvayne and SOAD but they hate the fact that they are Nu-Metal so they hide the fact they listen to it. But some of the people that listen to it are a bunch of whiny emo kids. and I have also been noticing that with some people that worship slipknot. and I have noticed that most of the people that listen to Nu-metal I can not stand cause they are to annoying to be around and that I think is the problem the new generation of Nu-metal fans are a bunch of little kids. (like i said this was not aimed at anyone)

The thing that really sucks about a LOT of nu-metal, and that accounts for a lot of the hate, is the attitude. I know that not all nu-metal revolves around pointless aggression and whining - P.O.D. seems to have a pretty positive vibe, even if it is couched in religious preachiness - but a lot of the bands that kickstarted and really popularized the style back in the '90s were just unbearably angsty.

KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Disturbed, Slipknot, Staind... they all just reeked of the kind of "nobody understands me, I hate everything, fuck you Dad!" attitude that makes so many teenagers such a pain in the ass to talk to. Nu-metal in the '90s combined the poutiness of grunge with the pointless hostility of metal, and expressed it in the language of the back of a disaffected 8th-grader's notebook. Fuck that.

i remember hearing shoots and ladders by korn in 1994 and at the time it was almost too much for me. those guys were crazy! now i listen to death metal and grindcore and such and i can see it from both sides. most of the time when people hate a particular style of music or band, it mostly stems from the fans of said style/band and the scene that develops around them. in the case of nu metal, there are many uneducated fans out there that know nothing of metal's roots. i remember thinking korn was so angsty and hard, little did i know that bands like deicide and cannibal corpse were already around and WAY harder and angrier than the stuff i was listening to. this makes fans of those sub-genres think nu metal fans are posers or whatever.

Sorry, I don't like bashing or something but I just joined the group to be able to answer to your statement. Because you are really really retarted. I can't tell you how stupid you are. Really, I can't. I hate Nu-Metal. Yes, I do. It's not even metal anymore in my eyes and by far not listenable. But if anybody likes it, it's okay, I don't care. But why the fuck are you telling me that I listen to Club music? I mean WTF? I listen to real metal by far (sorry sounds stupid, can't find another word for it and trve sounds even more stupid). Nu-Metal has always been a childish genre for me. Most people who listen to it aren't even 16. And hell yeah, it sounds like the last posers on earth combined with non-talented band members.Lyrics suck too. Anyways, I'm out.

@Ottah94
I think you're just a big cry baby. The real poser is you!

cause some dumb cunt thought limp bizkit and those faggot rapcore bands are new metal guess what they arent true nu metal didnt sell well in the us cause they didnt rap like limpbizkit. those bands like korn coal chamber slipknot mushroomhead machine head deftones stayed true to metal not selling out and runnig off and rapping like a snoop dogg wanna be. fuck rapcore long live nu metal

Because people think Linkin Park is Nu-metall!! duh, they are alternative rock!