Quit While You're Ahead

Recently on ACRN.com, we wrote a collaborative feature article about bands that should have quit while they were ahead. This week I’ve decided to write a metal version of that article.

To narrow it down to five choices, I eliminated all extraordinarily legendary bands and artists who should stay around even if it’s just for nostalgia’s sake. For example, even though Megadeth’s last few albums have been weak, they are such a renowned act that I couldn’t possibly put them on the list. Plus, they really only play a couple of their newer songs live, and are worth seeing just to hear the classics. 

I also eliminated any bands from the list that I really felt could bounce back. For example, Bullet for My Valentine seemed like an obvious choice for the list, since their last album was abysmal. However, all of their albums before it were relatively good, so I have to assume that the last record was a misstep. 

Additionally, the list below is fairly mainstream for a reason. I didn’t want my readers to have to look up every band on the list. That would be too much work. 

Now, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list:

1.       Avenged Sevenfold

When The Rev passed away, that should have been it for Avenged Sevenfold. The Rev was a good drummer, but his greatest contribution to the band was through his songwriting abilities. Sure, M. Shadows and Synyster Gates have proven themselves to be pretty good songwriters, but The Rev’s songs were always special treasures on each Avenged Sevenfold record. He wrote some of the band’s most creative and exciting songs, such as “Chapter Four,” “Almost Easy,” “Afterlife,” “A Little Piece of Heaven,” “Welcome to the Family” and “Fiction.” Even though M. Shadows’ songs were usually bigger hits (“Unholy Confessions” and “Beast and the Harlot”), The Rev’s songs were usually those that added depth to the band’s records. The Rev was never afraid to experiment and those experimentations almost always paid off in a big way for the band. The Rev’s songwriting, drumming, and backing vocals were essential to what made Avenged Sevenfold such a special metal group. The band’s newest album, Hail to the King, is evidence that the band faces a hard road ahead without The Rev. Personally, I think they should just give up now or at least change their name to preserve the legacy of those fantastic first five records.

 

2.      Korn

I haven’t seen a metal band struggle this much with identity confusion since Metallica popped (or should I say “pooped”) out St. Anger. I was one of the few people who actually dug Korn’s experimentation with dubstep, but then again I also enjoyed St. Anger to a degree. Still, Korn is a band that keeps needing to re-examine itself. The group did so successfully with Korn III: Remember Who You Are, after a spree of lackluster albums. Now the group needs to do so yet again because the band’s newest record, The Paradigm Shift, just sounds like a mess. Its combination of sounds and styles isn’t original. It’s just confusing and upsetting for longtime fans of the band. The band had some incredible early albums, but it might be time that the band members took a little break to explore their musical side interests without having them leak into Korn records. Then they could come back and play their older material again, and everyone would be happy.

3.      Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage basically invented melodic metalcore with its first four albums. The band was a monumental influence on so many bands that came after it. But now they are starting to lose their momentum. The band’s fifth album was a mess in so many ways, with melodies that made fans shudder and breakdowns that were much weaker than usual. Then Howard Jones left the band, and the group’s old singer, Jesse Leach, returned. Leach brought some energy and excitement back into the band, but the group’s newest album just sounds like a repeat of everything else it has done. Killswitch Engage had a good run, but they are running out of ideas, and it has become brutally obvious. Killswitch Engage isn’t going to be gaining many new fans nowadays, and no one is really talking about them anymore. Their style is becoming stale and dated, and it’s time for them to disappear for a little while, so they can preserve the integrity of a pretty memorable legacy of records.   

4.       In Flames

I have a difficult time talking about In Flames. I worship their first five records, and consider them to be some of melodic death metal’s finest achievements. However, with the change in style that first appeared on Reroute to Remain, the quality of the band’s music began to decline. I understand the band’s actions, though. They wanted a more mainstream American audience so they ditched the melodic death metal style in favor of a more alternative metal-based one. That would have been fine by me as long as the band didn’t stick with it for too long. Unfortunately, the band put out four alternative metal records, only one of which (Come Clarity) is worth listening to all the way through. Finally, in 2011, the band decided to acknowledge its melodic death metal fans again with Sounds of a Playground Fading, but the album is far from perfect. Anders Friden’s clean vocals are still pretty awful, and they take up most of the album. Plus, the electronic moments are weird and unwelcome. Fans of In Flames have been begging for a good, traditional melodic death metal record from their heroes. The band’s alternative metal output isn’t going to get better than Come Clarity, and if the band can’t do what its fans are requesting, then maybe it should just disband altogether. Jesper Stromblad at least knew when enough was enough. If only it was more obvious to the rest of the band members. 

5.      Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie’s stage shows are still phenomenal, however his music just isn’t. His best musical years are far behind him, and even though his new record was decent, he’s probably never going to put out another classic metal song again. If Zombie played some old tunes from his White Zombie days alongside songs from his first two solo records, fans would be very happy. He doesn’t even have to tour that often. He could just keep making movies (which he is clearly very good at), and whenever he’s in the mood, he could embark on a short tour playing his old music. That plan sounds much better than releasing an okay album every three to four years and regularly touring behind songs that don’t have much spark behind them. Zombie should just stop making records. He has enough great songs and is just ruining their legacy by continuing to make more. 

Nu Metal

Hello, metalheads! Last week we talked extensively about the alternative metal subgenre, and this week we are going to talk about its close cousin, nu metal. Nu metal was pioneered in the late 1990s, based on the roots laid in place by alternative metal. Its popularity continued into the early 2000s, until around 2005 when the subgenre lost its momentum.

Nu metal is a subgenre that was devised by bands who decided to experiment with heavy metal music by combining it with other genres such as hip-hop and grunge. This subgenre was different from anything else that had come before it because it really attempted to blend heavy metal with popular music. There are a lot of pop sensibilities to nu metal that make the subgenre more marketable to a larger group of young fans. 

Musically speaking, the subgenre involves the more frequent usage of seven-string guitars and five or six-string bass guitars. Music sampling, scratching and electronic sounds are very common features of nu metal music. Additionally, nu metal features a wide variety of vocal styles, but the subgenre is particularly notable for featuring rapping vocals, which is traditionally very uncommon in heavy metal music.  

Before I continue to talk about the major bands of nu metal, there is a common misconception that I would like to clear up. There is no such thing as “rap metal.” A lot of critics and heavy metal fans alike have used the term “rap metal” to describe metal bands that use rapping vocals. The truth is that most of these groups are just nu metal bands and alternative metal bands working within the confines of their subgenre. The term “rap metal” is an outdated way to describe these bands before the terms “alternative metal” and “nu metal” were actually coined. 

Moving on. The most important bands of nu metal are Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Deftones and Staind. Often lumped into the nu metal scene are Linkin Park, Disturbed, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down and Rob Zombie due to their musical similarities to many bands in the subgenre. Many of these bands have worked with producer Ross Robinson and because of that, he is often referred to as “The Godfather of Nu Metal.”

Korn is the first band to truly be labeled as a nu metal band, and is often credited with starting the scene of music. Korn’s first three albums pioneered the subgenre, with 1998’s Follow the Leader bringing nu metal to mainstream audiences. The band is known for their vulgar lyrics, with many of their songs being based off of traumatic personal experiences. Korn has continued to experience success even today, and are now experimenting with combining heavy metal and dubstep in order to reach a new generation of metalheads.

Limp Bizkit is particularly known for their unique combination of heavy metal, rap and hip-hop. The band experienced a great amount of success during the late 1990s and early 2000s, selling over 33 million albums worldwide. They were one of the first bands to really commercialize nu metal and they helped to develop the imagery of the subgenre.

Slipknot is one of the most iconic bands of the nu metal subgenre, featuring nine members. The group was heavier than most bands in the subgenre, though they still made use of many of nu metal’s signature qualities. Slipknot is notable for being instantly acclaimed by much of the heavy metal community, whereas many other nu metal bands received criticism. This was mostly due to the chaotic and intense live shows that the band thrives on. Additionally, the group is notable for their usage of masks and costumes during concerts, and many members of the band have rarely been seen without them. Slipknot continues to achieve great success today, however they recently lost their bassist due to a drug overdose, reducing the band from nine members to eight.

Deftones are another major nu metal band. Along with Slipknot, they were notable for their heavier nature than bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit. Deftones was well respected as they rose to popularity due to combining more traditional styles of heavy music with the nu metal template. Deftones have three platinum albums and have managed to achieve much critical acclaim, particularly for their most recent album, Diamond Eyes. The album was the first recorded without Chi Cheng due to his involvement in a terrible career-ending car accident, leaving him mentally impaired.

Staind is the final nu metal band which we must talk about. Staind is more of a hard rock-oriented nu metal band, often delving into post-grunge and alternative rock territories. Nonetheless, the group helped to transition the world from grunge to nu metal and has sold 15 million albums worldwide to date.

Nu metal was not initially well-received by many traditional metalheads and critics alike. Since then, many have accepted the subgenre as a part of history and heavy metal culture. Many older bands in the subgenre continue to experience success today, but the scene has greatly died down and now there aren’t many new acts experiencing success in nu metal. Still, the subgenre is a huge part of the history of heavy metal music, and it impacted the direction of genre to come.