The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums - 10 -1

 

We have reached the top 10 of  our  Top 40 Nu-Metal albums,  harder choices were made as the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era was shed. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

10--Mudvayne- "LD 50" 

These mutants took everything that worked with nu-metal and infused it with actual metal, then dropped a bunch of acid and the result was this. The first time I heard this band was right when this album came out and they were opening up for Kittie. They blew Kittie off the stage, total annihilation so rather than put Kittie on this list it makes more sense to put the band who destroyed them.

   

9-Glassjaw- "Everything You Wanted to Know About Silence"  2000

This band fell closer to post -hardcore and had enough hooky emotional catharsis to cross over into nu-metal. The often spastic songs are sharpened by witty lyrics that might have gotten the band cancelled if they came out even five or six years ago. 

8- Slipknot -"All Hope is Gone" 2008 

You might be surprised these guys are not higher on the list, as well as surprised that it is not the album from this band that made it here, we can safely assume you thought it was going to be one of the first two albums here. I coming to my conclusion which album it should be I went back and reviewed all their earlier albums, and by clicking around you can find those reviews that will tell you why this is the album that belongs here, and it comes down to best songwriting.

   

7- Code Orange- "Underneath" 

 These guys did not come out and say they wanted to bring nu-metal back when they wrote this album. Instead they took industrial influence and wrote dark grooving heavy music which belongs in the same sonic zip-code as nu-metal but without any preconceived notions aside from catharsis which is what makes the album so great as well as belonging on this list.

   

6-Static X- "Wisconsin Death Trip" 1999

This album was original ranked lower on this list in earlier drafts, but when taking a hard look at what albums I find myself returning to consistently over the years this is one of them thanks to songs like "I'm With Stupid" and "Love Dump". It is just infectious writing which is why they are still dragging the remains of this band about on the road long after Wayne Static's death, because the music lives on. 

 

 5-Marilyn Manson - "the Golden Age of Grotesque" 2003

You might wonder why "Anti-Christ Superstar" is not the album on this list. To tell the truth it really did not do much for me, if felt like he leaned to heavily on Trent Reznor. This one has more explosive dynamics and thicker grooves, with lyrics that feel like the show who he is as a person rather than a role he is playing, I can respect that as I want my rock stars to be like post - apocalyptic pirates with nothing but pain and hedonism to give. 

 

4-System of a Down-"Toxicity" 2001

Yeah, I know "Sugar" is not on this album. Moving on, One of the few bands who transcended the confines of the genre to become something more lasting than trend involving big pants and eye liner. This album set that in motion, with grooves that stand shoulder to shoulder with any other metal album, no matter the sub-genre. 

   

3-Korn- "S/T"  1994

The album that set most of this in motion. They took the angst of grunge and gave it Freudian issues. When this album came out the low tuned thump of the guitar felt like if Primus was as angry as a hard core band, but with severe depression that was causing them to lash out like this. At the end of the day when you listen to the songs they hold up, and take me back to when this album came out which was a darker place as well. 

 

 2- deftones - "Around the Fur"1997

 This is the album where Chino really found his voice, that would go on to propel the rest of their career. "Adrenaline" played it closer to what Korn did and this album abandons the hip-hop influence, so that factors in when it comes to making it stand the test of time and sound less dated than their debut.

   

1- Faith No More -"Angel Dust" 1992  

If you posed the question of what is the best nu-metal album to any of the bands on this list, after the finished explaining that they were not nu-metal they would tell you it was "Angel Dust" , though this album came out before the label of nu-metal was a thing. It very clear where bands like Deftones , Slipknot, System of a Down and Korn all pulled inspiration from this if it is not clear by the second song "Caffeine" then you don't want to hear it .

The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums -20-11

As we continue to delve deeper into our list of the Top 40 Nu-Metal albums, things begin to require a more objective view in order to shed the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, in fact there is only one band that made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

20-Orgy - "Candyass" 1998

Signed to Korn's Elementree Records , this band called their sound death pop, the aggressive more metallic elements sometimes got overshadowed by the dense mix of synths. Johnathan Davis has a guest vocal spot on this album. The bass got thumped enough for them to share the stage other nu-metal bands of the time despite gaining radio traction with their cover of "Blue Monday". 

            

 19- 3teeth -"Metawar" 2019

Not only did this band take the industrial strength grooves of the 90s and polished them up with modern production value, but they made them darker and heavier. The lack of JNCOs and chain wallets, some how makes me able to take this more seriously. These songs bump where most metal today grinds. 

   

 18- Fear Factory- "Obsolete" 1998.

These are the top 40 nu metal albums, not the best albums of every artist represented careers, since "Demanufacture" would be Fear Factory's and many of their fans might wince at theme appearing here. However let me point out that Burton C Bell uses vocals that have an almost rapped cadence. They crossed over into a wider audience with this album  Given when this album was released the grooves went in a direction where metal was heading not against the grain. 

 

 17- Mindless Self Indulgence - "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy" 2000

Jimmy Urine's absurd delivery is accompanied by even more over the top instrumentation that takes punk, dark wave and hip-hop into an almost parodying blender that does what Limp Bizkit did but better and without the frat boy pandering. 

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16- Turnstile - ''Glow On" 2021

The third time prove to be the charm for this band that did what nu-metal had always attempted to achieve in the past, it was genre fluid. Like many nu-metal bands the hard core past of this band gave their dynamic range more punch, but they did not have to tune down to b in order to achieve this. If you stripped the 90s sound of nu-metal of it's Hot Topic trappings the results would be this album. 

   

 15-Strvngers - "Amor / Noir" 2018 

  This album is the antithesis of what Turnstile did on their 2021 album. Instead of stripping away the Hot Topic elements, this duo amplified those. More aggressive and organic than dark wave, the grooves of this album proved to be even more addictive than the heroin sex drenched anthems collected here. 

 

 

14- Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists - 2005 

Take away the mutant chimp sounds and yelling at Mrs. Drainman and you begin to get the idea that these guys were into Judas Priest more than Tool or Korn, but the record label wanted what the record label wanted. This album of anthemic metal bridged traditional metal to nu-metal, even more than Rob Halford did with his TWO side project. The riffs are more ripping for sure .

 

13-Sepultura- "Roots" 1996

The former death metal tinged thrash band was so inspired by where music was heading they infused nu-metal with ode to the tribal roots of the ancestral folk music. The result was something powerful and more gripping than anything that they would do after this. Guest spots from Mike Patton and Johnathan Davis solidified the spot here. 

 

 12- Rage Against the Machine - "Evil Empire"  1996

One of the band's this genre owes perhaps the most to, the created almost Zeppelin like grooves to pummel with their explosive enthusiasm. The most writing was more refined than their debut album and more matured in the expression of anger, with lyrics that make a little more sense, though years later the joke seems to be on their audience as these guys have always been raging for the machine. But the music is fun, so we can pretend they are not. 

 

 11-White Zombie - "Astro Creep 2000" 1995

The band's last album found all the pieces fall into place to create their final form. "La Sexorcisto" grooved but it was rooted in a more Metallica like form of thrash, a change from the band's sludged out crusty punk beginnings. A more  electronic pulse took those grooves to booty shaking new levels. 

The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums - 30 to 21

As we continue to delve deeper into our list of the Top 40 Nu-Metal albums, things begin to require a more objective view in order to shed the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, in fact there is only one band that made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

30-Nonpoint - "To the Pain" 2005

By the fourth album they had the formula dialed in airtight. Their songwriting managed to be pretty fucking working off syncopated guitars working off vocal repetition. Not fully as committed to the hip hop side of the equation that can be hear in the phrasing of Elias's verses, which in and of themselves work better than most band's choruses. By 2005 the transition into the era of Myspace had begun and these guys managed to be relevant in that context.

29-Papa Roach-"Infest' 2000

 Yeah ya know your life being cut into pieces , but there are also 11 other songs on this album. Which by the way is their second album. If you like this genre of music and have only heard the single then you need to do yourself a favor and give them whole thing a listen. It's infectious in the explosive energy it hits you with. Spitfire vocals are balanced with sung hooks, and has on of the most in your face mixes.

   

 28-Issues- "Beautiful Oblivion" 2019

 When you think about boy bands with guitars like Linkin Park that emerged from this scene, this band was much more honest in how they woven their pop leanings in with the metal side of their sound, into one sinewy beast that held deadly choruses which got stuck in your head. A prime example of a band that learned from those that came before them.

   

27-Sevendust-"Home" 1999

Many might be partial to their 1997 debut. The sophomore album is more polished where it counts , which is namely the songwriting. The vocals begin to explore more soulful places, along with both Chino and Skin contributing guest vocals .

   

 26 Bush -"The Art of Survival" 2022

Thanks to Chris Traynor the former guitarist of Orange 9 MM, a band who came close to making the list, this band gained a heavier edge that reached the point of near perfect songwriting with last year's release, not the grunge band you might remember from the 90s, but I guess divorce added the extra edge of anger Gavin needed.

   

25-In This Moment- "Blood" 2012

They started off in a much different place, trying to exceed their grasp in terms of heaviness. This album found them settling into a place that was a better fit. At times the album sounds like if Katy Perry was fronting KMFDM, but the blend of pop hooks and industrial strength metal made for effective grooves that pay homage to this era.

   

 

 24- Guano Apes - "Proud Like a God" 1997

 

This German band did not get the recognition they deserved back in the day. Front by the diminutive Sandra Nasic, who larger than life voice amped up the impact of the slapped bass groove and dynamic anthems. They might be the least metal band on this list, but they packed enough punch in the pit to belong on this list . 

   

 23-Scars on Broadway- "S/T" -2008

 the guitarist and drummer from System of a Down, created this side project that leans into System of a Down's more traditional metal influences. When this album came out it seemed like a more logical progression. It has held up well over the years, and rooted enough in System's sound to belong on this list. 

   

 22 Chevelle-"Wonder What's Next" 2002

It's like these guys could not decide if they wanted to be Helmet or Tool, so they just decided to split the difference and try to do both at the same time. Not the most original band on this list, but the are damn fine songwriters. That goes a long ways in my books. 

 

21- Coal Chamber - "S/T"1997

This album pretty much encompasses every aspect of nu-metal. The creepy window dressing, the down-tuned grooves, as the chanted chorus that build into pumped up bouncing. Slapped bass provided the back bone, and really the only reason this album did not rank higher is I feel like Dez's vocal prowess was somewhat limited, but his delivery is also a part of this album's charm , so it's a both a blessing and a curse. 

The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums - 40 to 31

Ironically “nu-metal” was never new. It picked up where the alternative metal bands of the previous years left off and took it in a darker, more grooving direction. Most of these bands listened to Metallica and Depeche Mode in equal measure. Many came from the hard-core scene but drugs and mommy issues got the best of them. Thus they crawled out from under trailer parks in Huntington Beach in fish-net shirts and oversized black jeans. Anthrax had already been rapping since 1987, so the hip hop influence was nothing new. The nu-metal scene took the brooding of grunge and turned the anger inward, until it exploded in a breakdown with the rage of a school shooting. 

 I am shedding the sense of nostalgia you might carry for certain albums from this era and presenting the forty best that stood the test of time, while not leaning too heavily on any one band, in fact there is only one band that I feel made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. So don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

40-Hed Pe - "S/t" -1997

This dub inflected band from Huntington beach , brought a collision of sounds which incorporated the chaos of Bad Brains , with a more confrontation hip hop hooks.  Once you get past some of the craziness coming at you in this sonic riot the refrains are catchy enough to bring you back for more

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39- Jimmy's Chicken Shack- "Pushing the Salmonella Envelope" 1997

If stoner nu-metal was going to be a sub-genre, then this band would have been the poster boys. Some of their grooves held a more angular Primus like bounce. Their bing single "High" drove the album sales, but they were far from one hit wonders, as the deeper cuts were very well written and hold up today. 

 

 38-Alien Weaponry - "Tangaroa"  - 2021

New Zealand's answer Gojira, brings in a touch of  Sepultura , and a penchant for grooving riff, that at times bring Pantera to find. They are more melodic and left of center to be thrash, as their songs have more of the 90s bounce to them. Their rubbery bass lines further cement their place here. 

                       

37-Lollipop Lust Kill- "My So Called Knife"  2002

Powered by a great baritone croon, when not barking out anguished lyrics, this band took a creepy horror motif and made it more believable through the dark and heavy onslaught they hit you with on this album. Nu-metal gave birth to grown men finding cathartic release in complaining about their mommy issues, these guys took it further and allowed those issues to give them a more aggressive serial killer worshipping slant.

   

36-Human Waste Project -"E-lux"  1997

Another Huntington Beach band who emerged from 1997. This under rated band was set aside from the pack by the charismatic voice of front woman Aimee Echo, who went on to form the Start. She took the sugary punk coo made popular at the time by Gwen Stefani, and made it more aggressive. Her band shifts under her melodies with stunning ease.

   

34-Finger Eleven - "Tip" - 1997

This Canadian band became more well known thanks to albums that would followed, but let us not forget album sales do not equate better. These songs have a more powerful emotional urgency to them. They never carried this balance of brooding and punching grooves as well after this .

                              

33-Flaw- "Through the Eyes" -2001

By the time this album came out in 2001 nu-metal was starting to see signs of decline. Sure it might be easy to write these guys off as a Dollar Store version of Disturbed , but Chris Volz had an impressive and expressive voice, that played to the strength of the songs.

   

32 - New Years Day - "Unbreakable"- 2019 

Like most musical trends to keep the sound alive it must change. This California band is at the top of the food chain when it comes to the current wave of Female fronted American metal bands. Their fourth album finds the formula dialed in perfectly with pop sensibilities of radio vixens, while wielding a sledgehammer.

    

31- Filter - "Short Bus" 1995

Sure Richard Patrick was the touring guitarist for Nine Inch Nails, but that did not make his band industrial. The took a great deal of the spit and vinegar that genre offered and gave it enough heroin and pills to feel more like a grunge band at times.  He was a few years ahead of curve, but right on time.