The Rise of Nu Metal: How Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park Shaped Rock Music of the ’90s

Nu metal burst onto the scene in the late 1990s as one of rock's most talked about subgenres. It took heavy metal and mixed it with hip-hop beats, grunge attitude, and funk grooves. Bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park led this charge, selling millions of records and filling stadiums with fans nationwide. Yet from the start, nu metal faced pushback from purists who saw it as a sellout act.

In the following sections, we'll trace how nu metal began, what made its sound and style unique, how it rose to the top of the charts, the controversies it stoked, and the legacy of its brief but potent reign.

Nu metal grew out of the alternative metal scene in California in the early 1990s. Bands such as Faith No More and Rage Against the Machine had already been blending heavy guitar riffs with rap vocals and funk bass lines, paving the way for a new sound. It was Korn's 1994 self-titled debut that crystallized the style. Formed in Bakersfield in 1993, Korn played down-tuned seven-string guitars and fiercely syncopated rhythms that felt at once brutal and danceable.

Where traditional metal had often focused on technical guitar solos and soaring vocals, nu metal turned inward. Guitarists played in lower registers to create a darker tone. Vocalists shifted between melodic singing, rapping, harsh screams, and occasional growls. Guitar solos were rare, replaced by chugging riffs and pauses that let the beat breathe. DJs sometimes joined onstage, adding scratches and samples to the mix.

At its core, nu metal was about rhythm and mood rather than showy musicianship. The guitars were tuned low, often with seven strings, so that every chord hit felt like a gut punch. 

Nu metal built its sound on heavy, syncopated riffs (sharp hits followed by space, then another slam), giving fans a solid beat to nod along to or throw themselves into a mosh pit. Vocalists didn't stick to one style. They'd switch from singing to rapping to raw, emotional screams, all tied to lyrics that wrestled with pain, anger, alienation, and disillusionment.

The style wasn't just in the music. It showed up in the fashion, too. Nu metal bands and fans ditched the long hair and leather for a streetwear-inspired look. Think oversized everything and a mix of skater and hip-hop vibes. You'd see baggy jeans or cargo pants — often JNCOs — Adidas tracksuits, sports jerseys, and oversized hoodies. Add in wallet chains, tattoos, and facial piercings, and you have a look that feels just as intense as the music itself.

By the late 1990s, nu metal wasn't just an underground scene anymore. Bands were climbing both the rock and pop charts, pulling in fans from all over, and shaking up what mainstream music sounded like. 

Korn's second album, Follow the Leader (1998), went five times Platinum. Limp Bizkit rode MTV's heavy rotation of “Nookie” and “Break Stuff” to GRAMMY nods and arena tours. Then came Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (2000), which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and sold 4.8 million copies in the United States in 2001 alone, making it the year's top-selling album. Today, Hybrid Theory stands as the best-selling rock debut of the 21st century, with over 27 million copies sold worldwide.

MTV and other music channels played a key part in nu metal's growth, giving visually striking videos constant airtime. The genre also dominated rock festivals such as Ozzfest and Lollapalooza, where pit-ready songs and high-energy shows cemented its crossover appeal. Fans of both rap and metal found common ground, and nu metal's cultural reach even touched film soundtracks, video games, and sports arenas.

Despite its success, nu metal drew harsh words from metal traditionalists and critics. Some accused it of cultural appropriation for borrowing hip-hop elements without respecting their origins. Others derided its focus on emotional pain as self-indulgent or juvenile.

The scene's darkest moment came at Woodstock '99. Held from July 21 to July 26 at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, the festival descended into chaos marked by violence, arson, sexual assaults, and three deaths, including heat-related illness and a vehicular accident. Limp Bizkit's performance of “Break Stuff” is often cited as the spark that ignited the crowd's fury. In the aftermath, many questioned whether nu metal's aggressive energy had crossed a line.

By the mid-2000s, nu metal's shelves felt overstocked. Countless copycats diluted the scene, and several high-profile releases failed to deliver hits. Meanwhile, emo, pop-punk, and metalcore gained momentum, drawing listeners away. Bands that had defined the genre evolved. Linkin Park embraced electronic textures on Minutes to Midnight, and Korn explored other forms of metal and industrial rock. Some groups disbanded, while others simply faded from view.

Yet nu metal never vanished entirely. In the 2010s, a quiet revival took shape underground. Metalcore and deathcore acts such as Suicide Silence and Issues wove nu metal riffs and rhythms into their own sound, creating a fusion scene sometimes dubbed “nu metalcore." Major acts such as Bring Me the Horizon and Poppy later drew on nu metal tropes in albums that topped charts and landed GRAMMY nominations. This blending of styles showed that the genre's DNA still had life in it.

Though its reign was brief, nu metal reshaped the rock landscape, bringing rap flows and DJ culture into mosh pits, addressing mental anguish, and laying the groundwork for emo rap and trap metal. Today, nu metal tracks reappear on streaming platforms and TikTok, exposing a new generation to their punchy riffs and raw emotion.

Nu metal challenged conventions, proving that heavy music could be hard-hitting and accessible. As debates over its authenticity persist, nu metal's influence on subsequent artists and genres is undeniable. Nu metal lights the path for those seeking to blend beats, breakdowns, vulnerability, and fury.