When the average metalhead pictures nu-metal in their mind, they think of the top dogs. Korn. Limp Bizkit. Slipknot. Linkin Park. Deftones. System of a Down.
But what about the bands who never attained festival headliner status? The groups who were signed to major labels, had friends in high places, appeared on huge tours, but are destined to be recalled with a "remember them?" when they come up in conversation all these years later.
We asked our readers to pick the nu-metal contenders that should've been bigger, and the top five vote-getters are ranked accordingly below.
5. American Head Charge
Nu-industrial freakshow American Head Charge had all the makings of a breakout: the backing of a scene leader (System of a Down's Shavo Odadjian) and a powerhouse producer (Rick Rubin, who helmed 2001's The War of Art), slots on major tours (Ozzfest, Slipknot's Pledge of Allegiance, Slayer's God Hates Us All run) and some catchy-ass songs (particularly, the Alice in Chains-esque "Just So You Know"). But drugs and tragedy — including the deaths of two members, guitarist Bryan Ottoson and bassist Chad Hanks — ultimately doomed them.
4. Taproot
Taproot are best known for the 2002 single "Poem" (and possibly for the profanity-laced voicemail that an irate Fred Durst left them after they decided not to sign with his Interscope imprint, Flawless). But the Michigan band — whose sound falls on the Deftones/Incubus side of the nu-metal equation — had so much more to offer. Indeed, Taproot are currently on the comeback trail, with their first album in over a decade, SC\SSRS.
3. Nothingface
Nothingface formed in 1993 and dropped their first album in 1995, so they were actually on the cutting edge of nu-metal's development. Unfortunately, whether it was their D.C. location across the country from nu-metal's L.A. nexus, or because their sound always leaned on the artier, TOOL-if-they-weren't-proggy end of the spectrum, Nothingface never leveled up.
Guitarist Tom Maxwell later found greater success playing in HELLYEAH with Pantera's Vinnie Paul and Mudvayne's Chad Gray, and sadly, because singer Matt Holt died in 2017, Nothingface won't be able to get their long-awaited flowers amid nu-metal's current renaissance.
2. Spineshank
Spineshank were right on the cusp of a major breakthrough that never quite came. Coming out of the gates like the twisted offspring of Deftones and Fear Factory, the L.A. band fronted by Jonny Santos had a hooky driving, industrialized sound with all the right ingredients to appeal to fans of Static-X and Coal Chamber, but never attained household status the way those aforementioned peers did.
That's too bad. 1998's Strictly Diesel and 2000's Height of Callousness are underratedly fun — especially their unexpectedly brilliant cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
1. Snot
Snot just has to be the No. 1. Not only because they deserved to blow up based on merit, but because it more than likely would've happened if frontman Lynn Strait didn't tragically die in 1998, one year after their celebrated debut, Get Some. The Santa Barbara band were managed by Sharon Osbourne, at the right place at the right time (California in the late Nineties), had a charismatic frontman and possessed a unique sound that fused splashes of funk-rock and hardcore punk with Limp Bizkit-ish nu-metal.
Above all, the nu-metal scene they were a part of loved them. Their 2000 tribute album to their fallen frontman, Strait Up, features Serj Tankian, Corey Taylor, Jonathan Davis, Fred Durst, Brandon Boyd — all the big players. Snot's legacy is a bittersweet one. They were the nu-metal superstars that should've been.
