Nu-Metal's Cockroaches Scurry From The Light

By: Brett Hickman

Tuesday April 04, 2006

It may be awhile yet before Nu-Metal's progenitors are laid to rest for good, and it's doubtful much truly transcendent material is due to come from the Mooks of old, but if the occasional song or two or live performance shows some promise as this Korn stadium gig did, perhaps it wasn't all bad after all.
Thankfully, Nu-Metal has ceased to be a viable, commercial entity. With the bombing of Limp Bizkit's recent EP (a paltry 88,000 copies sold) and Wes Borland's final exodus from the nightmare world of Fred Durst; Brian "Head" Welch's exiting Korn for the Lord; P.O.D.'s ride with said Lord running out of gas on their latest, Testify; Static-X, Orgy, Godsmack, Cold, Mudvayne, Marilyn Manson and many more simply dying on the vine, the stink of being a Nu-Metal band in this day and age is hard to shake. Like dog shit on a carpet in front of a window where the sun beats down upon it all day, heating it up and filling the house with a rank, disgusting smell. Yeah, like that.

Last week found two bands that have ties to the Nu-Metal tagline performing in Chicago. Both Blue October and Korn are at opposing ends on the ladder of success. Blue October played to a 3/4ths full crowd at Metro (capacity 1,100) while Korn played a near-capacity show at the Allstate Arena (somewhere around 20,000).

The Static Music Staff was out in force for the Blue October show, as writer Carrie J. Sullivan was there interviewing the opening band, Welsh-alternative rockers People In Planes (oddly enough, PIP are on Wind-Up Records, a label that once was exclusively home to Nu-Metal artists such as Creed, Seether and Evanescence). The devilishly delightful Jennifer Wagner was my guest to the gig (sadly, Carrie's plus one, Jade, bowed out due to illness) and we all watched in horror as Blue October laid great shame to the grand stage of the Metro.

It wasn't just that the band's music was insipid and uninspired. That's a damning enough offense, right? It was the severe lack of chemistry onstage that ends up grating one's nerves most. Any band that at least has some fun onstage can be tolerated even if they haven't a single, solitary musical clue. But Blue October lack everything, the tunes, the hooks, the stage presence and the joy of performance, that would make for an enjoyable evening out.

Singer Justin Furstenfeld is a bloated, sweaty bore of a frontman, aggressive, testosterone-fueld, knuckle-headed one moment and then all dripping emo pussy-boy the next. That's one aspect of Nu-Metal that never quite jibed with me. The disturbing mashing of alternative rock's emotional enlightenment with the worst thuggish, cro-magnon aspects of hip-hop and 80s hair metal. What's obvious once you've seen them live is that Blue October are a band in transition. The older material they ran through was deeply rooted in Nu-Metal aggravation, while the new songs searched for something less inciting (in turn less exciting as well) and more emotionally grounded. Sensitive strings were strummed and bowed, with a cacophony of synthesizer notes plinking and plunking about to certify that the band had changed, "matured" actually.

One minute Furstenfeld is acting sappy about a chick and the next he's screaming about some other one that did him wrong. That in itself isn't so much a problem, but when you add the fascist-leaning response of the band's fervent followers, right-minded people in attendance have reason to begin feeling a sense of discomfort. I don't want to belabor this point, because there's nothing in the band's music, nor the fan's behavior that would truly indicate any sort of criminally violent behavior, but there were moments during Blue October's performance that conjured images of that Neo-Nazi concert at the end of American History X starring Edward Norton. "Wake up white people," indeed.

What's funny about Blue October is that their new album, Foiled, out today, is actually a moderately enjoyable release. There's nothing spectacular about it, mind you, and the band more than wears their influences on their sleeves, but it has its moments, nonetheless. Combining the alternative rock of Shudder To Think, especially on the opening track, "You Make Me Smile," where they appropriate a riff or two from the alternative rocker's work on the Velvet Goldmine film soundtrack, the goth-metal of A Perfect Circle (violinist Ryan Delahoussaye is a goof-nuisance live quite honestly, but he's still no Paz Lenchantin on record by a mile), mixed in with Blink-182's wretched take on The Cure.

While Foiled leaves little of the bad taste that the band's live show does, overall it is still rather unremarkable and lacking in any sort of necessity for being. Blue October are a band of musicians who know how to play their instruments but know little to nothing of performing together as a band to create music that transcends the narrow confines of their reach. This in itself would not be a bad thing if they offered some form of charisma or charm. They don't.

As for Nu-Metal forefathers Korn, while their latest release, See You On The Other Side, is a mixed-bag quality-wise, their live show was nothing short of a welcome surprise. Korn have also changed up their approach, mostly by hiring mega pop producers The Matrix (last seen laying Liz Phair's career to waste) to assist on the new album, and by expanding their live sound to include more instrumentation in the wake of "Head's" leaving. Instead of running away from their old sound however, Korn embrace the new and marry it with the old in a way that results in more impressive dividends than was to be expected.

Coming onstage blasting, the band's mix may have been off, but their intensity was dead-on. Once the red curtains lowered to reveal a group of backing musicians in rabbit masks, the sound problems ceased and the energy became even more intense to witness.

Singer Jonathan Davis in particular was in fine form that night. Seeing as how my only previous experience with Korn live was on TV and each of those times Davis was the weak link, this was quite a surprise. Oddly enough, drummer David Sylveria, normally the lynchpin of the band, was the least compelling in concert. Both Fieldy on bass and Munky on guitar whipped the crowd into a frenzy. One over-excited fan even threw their shoe at Fieldy, nearly hitting the bassist as his back was turned.

"Falling Away From Me" proved to be the highlight of the night, as the masked musicians programmed synths, pounded on percussion and helped Davis' vocals reach the growling point missed on those TV performances.

Unlike Blue October's gig's implied threat of violence, Korn had some real aggression play out three rows above where my son and I sat. All I know is that this one guy definitely had some stitches coming his way judging by the giant gash in his head that spurted blood like a teenager in a slasher film.

Also of interesting note was the abundance of non-whites at the Korn show. The band's multi-ethnic membership and their numerous Family Values tours with rap/hip-hop acts on the bills definitely gives Korn the upper hand in rock as unifiers. All are welcome to storm the pit and take out your aggression on your fellow fan.

It may be awhile yet before Nu-Metal's progenitors are laid to rest for good, and it's doubtful much truly transcendent material is due to come from the Mooks of old, but if the occasional song or two or live performance shows some promise as this Korn stadium gig did, perhaps it wasn't all bad after all. Then again, shit always seems to stink less as time passes, so maybe we're all just getting used to the smell?