4 Nu-Metal Songs You Forgot You Loved to Scream To

Nu-metal’s golden era hit in the late 90s and early 2000s, when erratic movements, aggressive vocals, and baggy jorts were all the rage. For those of you who have forgotten, here are four nu-metal classics that were always great for a cathartic scream.

“Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit

“Break Stuff” appeared on Limp Bizkit’s second album, Significant Other, released in 1999. The song on its own is an angry, violent, aggressive warning, while also serving as a soundtrack for cathartic destruction. The sonic equivalent of throwing a bunch of dishes around when you’re majorly pissed off. But paired with the music video, this song kind of loses its teeth. Not really in a bad way. It’s just that the music video, filmed at a skate park and featuring several obscure cameos, seems like it was really fun to film. It’s an aggressive nu-metal classic, but the music video is kind of goofy when removed from its historical context.

“From the Inside” by Linkin Park

Linkin Park released “From the Inside” on their 2003 album Meteora, and it served as one of their heavier tracks. Even then, it starts off pretty unassuming, almost soft. But by the time the chorus hits, it slams into you with all its nu-metal power. It was a great song to scream to because of that, paired with the roaring anguish in Chester Bennington’s vocals. Meteora was made during a dark time for Bennington, as he publicly revealed years later. By 2007, he had turned over a new leaf, giving their third album, Minutes to Midnight, a drastically different sound. Despite the darkness of the first two albums, or maybe because that was so relatable, early Linkin Park made some of the most cathartic tracks.

“Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed

There aren’t many nu-metal fans who can resist the iconic “Ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah” at the beginning of Disturbed’s “Down with the Sickness”. Even if you’re not familiar with the genre, you probably know that part at least. Since its release on Disturbed’s 2000 debut album The Sickness, it has become an iconic song in nu-metal history, essentially launching the band’s career. Still, many critics felt that the rest of the song paled in comparison to the opening vocalization, especially the controversial spoken breakdown near the end. But that seems to be of no concern for fans who are still screaming this song two decades later.

“Click Click Boom” by Saliva

Saliva released “Click Click Boom” in 2001 on their second album, Every Six Seconds. It was banned from radio as part of the post-9/11 Clear Channel memorandum, but that didn’t stop nu-metal fans from sinking their teeth into it. It had some brief success on the Billboard charts, hitting No. 15 on the Mainstream Rock chart. But its popularity came more from its perfect use as action movie montage music. In 2001, it had a spot in The Fast and the Furious, then in The New Guy in 2002. It was also featured during a race scene in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby from 2006. This song for that scene was a bit tongue-in-cheek, possibly recalling its Fast and Furious origins. But it’s still one of the best nu-metal tracks to come out of the 2000s.

Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns