The nu-metal bubble didn’t burst per se, more like deflated. 9/11 wasn’t the end of everything heavy metal, it was more the fact that its time in the spotlight was coming to a natural close. If nu-metal’s rise and fall took place from 1994 to 2004 then 1999 was the apex, 2000 flattened out, then it was downhill. Not that it seemed like that in the moment. Hybrid Theory was moving insane units all over the world and would eventually handily outsell any nu-metal album released before or since. Had to be the vanguard of the new nu right? Not really. Hybrid Theory blew up off incredible pop genius more than opening doors, it created and filled a niche that the pop oriented nu-metal acts signed in its wake would find barely any space left and a record industry severely lacking in the patience to allow bands to figure how to fit. It was the kind of environment where a band like Incubus would have been on the street after S.C.I.E.N.C.E. failed to notch any hit singles instead of allowing them to reorient to a more anodyne alternative rock sound for Make Yourself. Today we’re covering three excellent debut albums from major label hopefuls that all got commercially stomped. The most successful here, 40 Below Summer’s Invitation to the Dance, moved around 100,000 units in an era of 10,000,000 sellers. That was not cutting it. These are the kind of records that are as important to spotlight as the major winners and for the unacquainted discovering quality nu-metal that did not break through to the big time always comes as something of a shock. Nu-metal’s cultural dominance was so total how could anything have flown under the radar? Well, pop open your streaming service of choice and dig the following:
Healing, Ünloco [Maverick, 2001]
In his contemporary one-and-a-half star pan of Unloco’s debut album Healing AllMusic’s Michael Gallucci writes “They thrash and tear with no purpose, spouting now-trite clichés of their own misery.” Despite my obvious disagreement it’s incredibly easy to understand how Gallucci came to this conclusion. Healing has nothing you could pick out as exceptional from a cursory glance and in 2001, with a hundred different nu-metal albums cluttering your desk every day, not only is it understandable for Healing to get lost in the shuffle that’s what happened as it proceeded to go down in flames on release, hardly cracking the five figure mark. So why does Healing reveal itself as a hidden gem now that the oppression of the era has gone? For one thing it sounds fantastic, Johnny K’s production is unexpectantly subtle and warm- guitars have a pleasingly full hum, the bass’ treble clatter strikes just the right section of the ear while small synth triggers and spring reverb texture the background. Atop this consistency Joey Dueñas’ boilerplate lyrics become another texture, something to build the total package rather than draw attention helped along with a compelling way around simple but effective melodies and a cathartic scream makes Healing a remarkably compelling listen, almost akin to nu-metal ambiance than the collar clenching intensity of their peers. It missed everyone in 2001, don’t pass it up now. A-
Invitation to the Dance, 40 Below Summer [London-Sire Records Inc., 2002]
The post-Hybrid Theory sea change in nu-metal effected even the bands that inspired Linkin Park. Korn’s once mighty record sales had started to slide and, in a bid to achieve the kind of pop chart success that always eluded them, wrote songs like “Thoughtless” which reduced their signature sounds into songwriting maneuvers to be deployed along a set grid palatable for radio. New Jersey outfit 40 Below Summer were doing something like the same thing but without the millions upon millions of dollars in Immortal/Epic money backing them up it was never going to catch. A shame since 40 Below Summer weren’t just synthesizing nu-metal’s tics into pop songwriting templates, they were doing it better too. Max Illiage’s beatbox breakdowns on “Rope” and “Wither Away” are carefully controlled explosions that spike the track’s energy levels without sending things out of control. But the songs aren’t just better the album is too as the gripping “Drown” shores up the closing run of a compact and replayable package. Invitation to the Dance was never going to be a hit, not in a market as burnt out as theirs, but that’s not for lack of trying either. A-
Waste of Skin, Spike 1000 [Columbia Records, 2001]
10 songs, 34 minutes; simple and true. Doesn’t miss once. 10 years of practice for this one major label shot found Spike 1000 game ready like they had been doing push ups in the mirror for hours on end just waiting to be given the keys to that recording studio. Waste of Skin delivers its punches so excellently that lingering on the backstory feels pointless. If you’re this far along in the article now you can fill in the blanks; market oversaturated, new rock struggling for a foothold on radio, blah blah blah. It hardly matters now. Waste of Skin is a nu-hard rock riot that rips the guts out of Godsmack’s mid-90s grunge pastiches, swapping its knuckle dragging lunk for a confident swagger and a lead singer way past taking shit and ready to start dishing it back out. That the fact of Spike 1000 lead singer Shannon Harris’ confident womanhood left their major label benefactors clueless on how to market their music is maddening. That the music is this great is a miracle. Hard fought and fucking invigorating, they were Spike 1000 and Waste of Skin is their prime. Don’t miss it. A
I look at the Billboard rock airplay charts in the early Aughts and the problem becomes abundantly clear that radio stations were very hesitant to slow their playing of surefire hits and let these smaller upstart bands get some airplay too. It's not an accomplishment for a single to spend 17 weeks at #1 for airplay, it's a symptom of the problem. Instead of putting "Rope" or "Nothing" into heavy rotation they'd rather just spin "It's Been Awhile" twice every hour