The Top 40 Nu-Metal Songs Of All Time

By Stephen Hill

July 5, 2017

It’s involved fights both in a metaphorical and literal sense, and we’re still figuring out how Apartment 26 didn’t get included, but here are the Top 40 nu-metal songs of all time!

40) Ill Niño – What Comes Around

There was a large amount of Latino influence in metal around the time and Ill Niño certainly had those elements in their songs, but on What Comes Around they shaved the rough edges down to create a sleek anthem of big riffs, DJ scratching and skyscraper vocals.

39) A – Nothing

A UK pop-punk band crashing onto a ‘best of nu metal’ list? Oh yes! The thick grooves and aggressive stomp of Nothing has much more in common with the mighty Limp Bizkit than to Blink 182.

38) Orgy – Blue Monday

Where would this list be without a nu-metal '80s cover version? The gender-bending Jonathan Davis-approved mob got in there first by cranking up the riffage on this New Order classic. This paved the way for Godhead’s Eleanor Rigby. Cheers for that.

37) One Minute Silence – South Central

Ultra-political rap rockers of Irish, Gibraltan and English descent singing about downtown LA really shouldn’t have worked, but South Central was an instant mosh‑ready anthem for the masses.

36) Issues – Hooligans

The newest of the nu. Let’s examine the facts then – purists hate them, kids love them and you’ll be dancing to them for a long time to come. Some 10 years on, nu metal’s corpse has been reanimated in fine style.

35) Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove It)

Deftones were nu-metal’s most scathing and yet fragile band. On My Own Summer (Shove It), they stretched their musical dynamics to breaking point. The ethereal verses brilliantly accentuate the paint-stripping roar of the chorus.

34) Incubus – Drive

On the verge of becoming MTV darlings, Incubus flexed their mainstream muscles with this laid-back, lovelorn, semi-acoustic effort that showcased Brandon Boyd’s vocal prowess, rather than just his six-pack.

33) Linkin Park – One Step Closer

One minute a bunch of unknowns burst onto MTV, performing in a sewer, surrounded by midget ninjas, the next minute you’re looking at the biggest band in the world. It’s all thanks to this irrepressible anthem.

32) Union Underground – Turn Me On "Mr Deadman"

Turn Me On Mr Deadman" is definitely a nu-metal anthem. With that amount of bounce, how could it not be? But this rager certainly owes more to Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson’s industrial stomp than it does to Limp Bizkit’s big-shorted shenanigans.

31) Static-X – Push It

Ol’ crazy hair Wayne Static actually looked a lot more sensible than he sounded on this, the opening track on Static-X’s debut album Wisconsin Death Drip. It’s two minutes of staccato riffs, electro pulses and crazed barks and yelps. That’s a good thing, FYI!

30) Spinshank – New Disease

They came up through the industrial metal scene but New Disease is not the sound of clunking machines. It’s catchier than bird flu, bouncier than a helium-filled Mr Blobby and should have made Spineshank stars.

29) Evanescence – Bring Me To Life

A huge goth-tinged floor-filler that turned little Amy Lee into the biggest female rock star of the 21st century (at least until Hayley Williams showed up). What happened to the rapping bloke? No idea. Tough break, bro.

28) Saliva – Click Click Boom

You can blame America for this one. While in jolly ol’ England we largely ignored Saliva, this song still ignites nostalgia-fuelled mayhem on dancefloors across the States. Those wacky Americans, eh?

27) Soulfly – Bleed

What happens when a thrash legend ropes in the most recognisable figurehead in rap-rock for the lead single on his long-awaited new band? Answer: all of the shit gets lost.

26) Snot – Snot

Yeah, the funky wah-wah guitars and punk rhythms are great, but it’s the energy of late frontman Lynn Strait that really made Snot something special.

25) NERD – Lapdance

In an era of rockers going rap, it was refreshing to see some rappers doing rock. Frankly, if they do it as well as Pharrell and co. did on this classic track, we’re bang up for hearing Tinie Tempah’s nu-metal side project.

24) Machine Head – From This Day

Did you listen to the songs or was your judgement blinded by the neon orange tracksuit and the mental video for From This Day? Nu metal Machine Head ruled. This tune slams. Get over it.

23) Incubus – Certain Shade Of Green

Before they became Red Hot Chili Peppers-aping hippies, Incubus were an eclectic mix of funk, punk, thrash and dub. Listen to this rager and despair of what became of them.

22) Hed PE – Bartender

A ragtag collection of skaters, stoners and freaks, Hed PE excelled in celebrating nu-metal’s excesses with this gangster-strutting romp about hard partying, sweet loving and heavy rocking. Not a straight-edge anthem.

21) Taproot – Again And Again

Taproot bucked the trend of macho chest‑beating with a slightly more restrained and thoughtful approach to rap‑infused metal. Again And Again is as big in chorus as it is in brain and musical invention.

20) Adema – Giving In

Adema frontman Marky Chavez was vaguely related to Jonathan Davis and suffered with Korn comparisons for years. In truth, though, Giving In actually bears more resemblance to an angrier, depressed Linkin Park than it does the Bakersfield boys.

Read the rest of the list at TeamRock.com