This is what the so-called new metal refers to in a narrow sense. It is also the most controversial and commercial faction in the new metal family. As early as the 1980s, many bands began to try to combine metal/hard rock with Hip-hop, including Beastie Boy, Faith no More, Anthrax, Areosmith and other artists from different fields, but these initial attempts did not become a big trend. . It should be Rage Against The Machine who really promoted rap metal. The band's self-titled album in 1992 is definitely a technically excellent record. Tom's extremely creative and subversive guitar playing on the album made him one of the top 100 metal guitarists, and also gave a thumbs up to those who accused nu-metal of poor technology. Remember the loud slap in the face (actually, Rage Against the Machine does not have the characteristics of Hip-Hop music except for using rap techniques, so in a sense they are not rap metal). The level reached by this album cannot be achieved by any younger band in the future, and even they themselves cannot surpass it in subsequent albums. After the album was released, the rap metal wave began to sweep the world. The entire 1990s was dominated by rap metal. While millions of sales made each band an absolute superstar, it also forced traditional heavy metal and thrash metal to retreat behind the scenes and be left out. As a result, rap metal was criticized. Curses from countless die-hard music fans. At the end of the 1990s, rap metal showed signs of fatigue. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was led by new generations such as Linkin Park and made its final struggle, eventually fading out of people's sight. When the new wave hit, rap metal was in the most embarrassing situation. Most bands chose to disband (Rage Against The Machine) or transform (most turned to post-grunge, such as Adema), and the rest were still hanging on. , helpless.

Important bands: Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park, Limb Bizkit, Korn, Kid Rock, Papa Roach, (HED)pe, POD, 3rd Strike, Adema, Tommy Lee, Reveille, Crazy Town... This faction actually has nothing to do with rap, and some bands also show a certain degree of distaste for rap metal (Slipknot once expressed dissatisfaction with LB). They follow the path of their predecessors such as Pantera, Fear Factory, and Machine Head, while also incorporating other musical elements, such as alternative metal, thrash metal, and even death metal. But because most bands omit solos, have simpler arrangements, and use a lot of electronic sounds, they are not particularly metal and still appear trendy and fashionable; this can also be called Metalcore like those in NWOAHM later. Bands are different. Who was the first Metalcore to be classified as new metal? Maybe it's Slipknot - the most successful band in the lineup. Slipknot's Slipknot record announced the birth of a new force. The band combines various elements such as Metalcore, Industry, Thrash, Death-Metal, etc. in the album, and the special costumes and 9-member lineup have become the band's trademark. The band was immediately criticized for becoming one of the most commercially successful bands, but at least the record was great - if you boycotted it just because it was commercial, you'd be wrong - it's as good as rap metal Completely two different things. In fact, this type of new metal bands became popular in the mid-to-late 1990s. Perhaps rap metal could no longer satisfy the taste of music fans, so this style became "rich" overnight and became a new force in new metal. Bar.

Roadrunner has become an important label for bands in this genre (and the company has gained a bad reputation among die-hard music fans because of this). The bands it signed are all worth listening to, except for Slipknot mentioned above. , I also particularly recommend Soulfly (full of death metal textures and South American ethnic characteristics) and Coal Chamber. In addition, Mudayne is also a very good band. Its first album L.D.50 is an album that takes time to digest and has a certain depth. If you want to criticize the technology and arrangement of new metal, you might as well taste this album carefully first. This lineup is closer to traditional heavy metal. Therefore, in the era of the new wave, bands of this genre can be said to be the most flexible. They have added elements of thrash and melody death, completing the transformation to Nu-Thrash, and from New Metal to Nu-Thrash. The remnant soldiers became the pioneers of the new wave. In addition, I have always believed that if this group of bands did not make young fans have a heavier taste than just rap and metal, it would be difficult for the subsequent new wave movement to become popular. Although these bands are considered new metal, they have the same foundation as many subsequent NWOAHM bands. In a sense, they also paved the way for the resurgence of heavy metal.

Important bands: bullet for my valentine, Slipknot, MushroomHead, Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, Spineshank, Soulfly, Kittie, Down the sun, Flaw, Ultraspak... This is also a very important faction in new metal. , its influence continues to this day. It is this group of bands that combines industry and metal more closely. I have always thought that bands such as Marilyn Manson, Spooky Kids, and Rammstein can also be classified as nu-metal, because the boundaries between post-industrial metal and nu-metal in the 1990s were very blurred - some industrial metal bands were labeled nu-metal, And some don't, but the music of those bands that wear this hat is not much different from those without (such as Marilyn Mansonamp; Spooky Kids is called industrial/gothic metal, while Dope, which has a very similar style) called new metal). These bands are mainly influenced by NIN, Rob Zombie and Fear Factory. Of course, there are also quite a few with Metalcore elements, such as Static-X (their first album in 1999 perfectly combined industrial metal with thrash, hardcore and other elements Combination has always been the most outstanding record in this field in my mind, but later they became inferior to each other), American Head Charge; some other bands more followed the route of NIN and became lighter and more dance-oriented, For example, Apartment-26 (this British band was once regarded as the successor of NIN), and others show a dark gothic temperament, such as Godhead and Dope (this is also a band that I highly recommend, similar to Manson but surpassing Manson). This lineup also emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s, but for some reason there are not as many bands in this type of band that have truly become famous as there are in the first two groups, and most of them are in a semi-famous state. Under the impact of the new wave, the bands in this lineup seemed not to be affected too much. A few of them tried to add new wave elements (such as American Head Charge's 2005 album) and maintained a good level.

Important bands: Static-X, Dope, Apartment-26, Powerman 5000, American Head Charge, Orgy, Godhead, Gravity Kills, Marilyn Mansonamp; Spooky Kids... (Alternative Rock/ Alternative Metal)

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In fact, most new metal can also be called alternative metal, but some bands do not fit the characteristics of the above lineups, so I discuss them separately and generally give them the name of "alternative". The so-called alternative metal/rock category is also quite broad and can include many different categories. The more representative ones are Deftones, who have inherited Tool's depth and obscurity and added a lot of electronic sounds (it may not be easy to accept their music when you first listen to it, but each of their albums is worth savoring slowly), from Funk to Transformed into nu-metal, more popular and lighter Incubus, with punk/hardcore roots, highly aggressive Murderdolls (another offshoot of Slipknot), Snot (not well-known, a short-lived band that disbanded after the death of the lead singer) , has only one official album), Disturbed prefers old-school, and has a sophisticated style (a talented band with all the above styles, so I have to put it here. The song "Down with the sickness" is undoubtedly the most popular song in nu-metal) Classic; I personally think the second album was a failure, full of Post-Grunge passages and losing a lot of its features; however, the new album in 2005 once again returned to its true nature and added thrash elements, proving the band's strength) etc. . There are several bands in this category that specialize in ethnic music. Among them, System Of A Down is the first. The band incorporates Middle Eastern characteristics and has very unique melody and rhythm. Time and performance have proven that they are already the ace in nu metal. , the band that saw the decline of nu-metal in 2005 shocked the music world with a set of double albums, which was enough to make it go from "good" to "great"; there are also Soulfly and Ill Nino, who perfectly combine metal and Latin music, of course from From another perspective, these two bands are also Metalcore. Their music style is heavier, which is also proved by their later turn to new wave. There is also a second-tier band called Skindred that is also trying to incorporate ethnic elements into metal. The lead singer can sing English like some kind of dialect, which is comparable to System of a Down in many aspects. Under the impact of the new wave, these bands survived well relying on their national characteristics. Bands such as Deftones and Disturbed were not greatly affected and still released new works with good sales and reviews.

Important bands: Papa Roach, Deftones, Linkin Park, Murderdolls, Snot, Incubus, From Zero, Disturbed, System Of a Down, Ill Nino, Soulfly, Nothingface, Taproot, Lostprophets, Sevendust, Trust Company, the GazettE (Japan)……