System Of A Down, etc. bassist Shavo Odadjian recently had some more thoughts to share on the nü-metal scene and his band’s proximity to it. While System Of A Down came up during the height of nü-metal and are often seen as one of the pillars of the more eclectic side of the genre, it’s a classification fellow members of his group have wrestled with.
Speaking to Revolver earlier this fall, his bandmate in vocalist Serj Tankian said while naming Korn‘s self-titled debut the best nü-metal album, “I actually think people don’t think of System Of A Down as nü-metal.”
Conversely, System Of A Down guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian told Metal Hammer this fall he was “proud” of coming up in that scene, offering, “All these bands like us, Korn and whoever were getting played on mainstream radio and really helped put metal back in a good place.”
For this latest chat, Odadjian found himself in conversation with someone who possesses a certain level of expertise when it comes to nü-metal in Matt Pinfield. With a resume that boasts stints as an MTV VJ, a record exec, a ‘Farmclub.com‘ host, plus a lengthy career in radio and TV, Pinfield spent years alongside nü-metal’s biggest bands during the late 90s/early 00s height of their fame.
Odadjian once again weighed in on the aforementioned genre during an appearance on 95.5 KLOS‘ ‘New & Approved‘. He stated of the genre looking back now:
“Someone asked me recently about being a nü-metal’ band. And I have a different outlook on nü-metal. It’s not a style. It was an era where bands played heavy music, but did it in another way.
They didn’t do the basic ’80s heavy. They mixed rock-metal with something different, whether it be hip-hop, punk rock, eclectic stuff, complicated, progressive stuff, psychedelic prog.
People did different things. For example, Deftones had that Portishead vibe that they brought into metal. It’s so freaking cool. There’s a whole style now — there’s a whole Deftones-style music right now popping off on TikTok.”
However, as with many scenes before it, nü-metal’s popularity grew thin as its impact was increasingly diluted by cash-in’s, copycat artists and bitter personnel blowouts. After riding high for several years, the output of many of the leading artists in the genre also began to falter as the meteoric success and demands of touring fostered not only clashing egos, but a culture of substance abuse that extracted a heavy toll.
The longevity of the genre was further stifled somewhat by the phenomenal breakout success of the likes of Linkin Park, Evanescence, Kid Rock and more. With major labels snapping up bands in a subsequent signing spree, the pressure was on to deliver.
This led to many artists altering their sound with commercial intent, while up and coming artists were rarely given the chance past a first album — if even a few singles — to land a hit or face the axe.
Ultimately the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, metalcore and indie rock scenes soon took over, leaving nü-metal to be mocked much like glam metal was by grunge. However, recent years have seen audiences both young and old return to the genre. That change in tastes has been exhibited by the slew of successful tours and festivals carried by some of the genre’s original brightest stars.
Odadjian is aware of weathering the post-nü-metal boom too, telling Pinfield:
“If you think about it, bro, even though we got villainized a little bit — the nü-metal thing was cheesy for a while because every era comes out and it’s cool. Then some bands come up that ruined that cool vibe… Heavy metal was great in the ’80s. Then these bands came out that kind of ruined it, the cheesier glam metal bands came out. I don’t wanna name ’em, but some cheesy bands came out.”
While System Of A Down seem relegated to a legacy live act amid their lengthy creative impasse, Odadjian has for his part served as the nucleus for a new, more modern metal venture, Seven Hours After Violet. That supergroup finds him joined by members of Left To Suffer, Winds Of Plague and more. Their self-titled debut album was released this past October.
