00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most dynamic and interesting
00:12bands from the alternative sides of heavy metal.
00:2310.
00:24Korn
00:30It can be difficult to pin down exactly which band was at the forefront of the new metal
00:37movements that emerged during the 90s and thrived during the early 2000s. One thing's certain,
00:43however, Korn remains one of that genre's biggest names and most notable success stories.
00:4810.
00:59This California group balanced a thick, low-end musical groove with the vocals of Jonathan
01:04Davis, which could vacillate between emotional crooning and death metal growls.
01:09Meanwhile, Korn's visual aesthetics spoke to Generation X's near-constant need for edginess,
01:15while also retaining their substance as an alternative metal act with something to say,
01:20and the talents to back it up.
01:2210.
01:27The art of bringing together shocking visual elements to a rock band is nothing new,
01:42but Des Moines, Iowa's Slipknot certainly upped the proverbial ante when their debut album dropped
01:47back in 1999.
01:56The new metal movement was already in full swing during this point,
01:59yet Slipknot dared to get heavier and darker than even their most capable forebears.
02:04The group's masked image didn't feel disingenuous in the slightest, and this sincerity spoke to
02:18their growing legions of fans. Even members of the extreme metal underground could often find
02:23something to praise within Slipknot's work, which only became more uncompromising as their
02:28alt-metal star began to rise.
02:428.
02:43Helmet
02:49There was a punchy physicality to the riffing of NYC's Helmet that felt fresh and invigorating
02:55during the group's early 90s heyday. Bands as diverse as Snapcase and Papa Roach
03:01seemed to jump on Helmet's crunchy, uncategorizably metallic sound.
03:13Was it punk, hardcore, heavy rock and roll? The correct answer was… of course, yes,
03:19on all of these fronts. The major label world would soon come calling for Helmet as well,
03:23meaning that LPs such as Betty and Meantime were exposed to more youthful ears than ever before
03:29in the band's career. All of the flowers deserved to be laid at the feet of Paige Hamilton,
03:35whose guitar style felt leagues away from anything else going on around this time.
03:40The musical roots of Primus actually dwell within the underground thrash and death metal scenes of
03:58the 1980s. Bassist Les Claypool kicked around with Bay Area band Blind Illusion while guitarist Larry
04:04Lalonde was part of the incredibly influential possessed around the same time.
04:16These old-school influences were largely eschewed when fast-forwarding to the Primus era, however,
04:21since Claypool and Lalonde's new band was a far funkier, more progressive, and out-there affair.
04:27Sure, Primus has always embraced some heaviness on classic tunes like Jerry was a race car driver,
04:33but most commercial alt-fans are probably more aware of their music video weirdness,
04:38a la Winona's Big Brown Beaver. To us, however, it's all great.
04:42It's really interesting to navigate just how far the conceptual ideas for White Zombie grew as this
05:02New York City-based band achieved their mainstream success. Early efforts from the group were harsh,
05:07noisy, and uncompromising affairs, although glimpses of their strangeness still felt clearly evident.
05:19It took until albums number three and four for major label stardom to come calling,
05:23and it was here where White Zombie's B-movie would grab onto the imaginations of fans.
05:29It was heavy metal for a new generation, and it doesn't sound like hyperbole to state that White
05:56Zombie truly seemed to hit onto something special.
06:085. Rage Against the Machine
06:17It was probably the varied influences within LA's Rage Against the Machine that enabled this rap-rock
06:24group to escape the cliched and hackneyed puddles that often served as stumbling blocks for lesser
06:30acts from the genre. Fiery and political punk rock fury fueled their lyrics, while guitarist Tom
06:36Morello utilized a percussive approach to his guitar that practically felt futuristic back in the early
06:42nineties. Elsewhere, Zack de la Rocha's rapping and screaming approach to his vocals felt explosive,
06:48spouting off messages amidst Rage Against the Machine's relentless, heavy groove.
07:00It all came together in a way that helped make Rage's rock music feel just a bit more than escapist
07:06entertainment. 4. Tool
07:23One needs only to look at the fanatical devotion afforded to this group to know just how much Los
07:28Angeles' Tool has meant to so many over the years. The heaviness of Tool isn't so much created from
07:34guitar pyrotechnics or vocal caterwauling as it is a slow-building lurch of a groove.
07:49Smoldering percussive moves that always feel like they're building up to something.
07:53Serpentine bass lines that wind their way through walls of guitar and Maynard James Keenan's
07:59uniquely idiosyncratic vocals. The word groove doesn't even feel properly in place here,
08:06since fans would likely compare the musical works of Tool more like some kind of obelisk,
08:11an ancient thing that holds secrets for those willing to dive into the band's deep and dark discography.
08:18It's refreshing now and then to come across a band that simply defies categorization. System of a Down
08:42have incorporated seemingly every bit of musical knowledge they have into a sound that loves jumping
08:47from one sonic palette into another. If there was one anchoring aspect of the band, it's probably the
08:54vocal interplay between Serge Tonkian and Darren Malakian, with the former strong,
09:04soaring melodies being juxtaposed against Malakian's frenzied screaming. Elements of black metal even rear
09:11their ferocious heads, as System of a Down blends in the folk influences from their native Armenia
09:17into a sound that's gloriously strange… and unique.
09:272. Deftones
09:293. Deftones
09:39Fans can often be devoted to certain musical eras from their favorite bands. The Deftones' early work
09:45was one that felt heavier, a new metal alternative to the grunge sound of the mid-90s. Time saw this
09:51California group becoming more experimental, however, utilizing elements from the trip-hop and
09:56shoegaze genres to draw upon a sound that felt smoother, some might even say sexual in nature.
10:09Meanwhile, the vocals of Chino Moreno have always felt like a defining factor for the Deftones,
10:16a cult of personality that's enabled the group to stay relevant over the course of their decades-long
10:21career. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Fear Factory,
10:35Death Metal origins belie an industrial future. Living Color, not just a cult of personality.
10:56Jane's Addiction, odd, strange, and impossible to categorize.
11:00Yeah, my girl, she's one, too. She's gonna get her skirt. She's digging her in a shirt.
11:07Alice in Chains, godfathers of moody grunge.
11:19Prong, heavy, groovy modern metal.
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11:45Number 1. Faith No More
11:48Fans can either celebrate or demonize Faith No More for essentially being one of the progenitors
11:59of rap rock. This can definitely be seen within their early work with vocalist Chuck Mosley,
12:04although the band never stayed in one place creatively for very long.
12:08Number 2. What inheritance? The salt and the cleat.
12:16Subsequent LPs, like The Real Thing, saw Faith No More's career with ex-Mr. Bungle singer Mike Patton
12:22actually achieve mainstream success with singles like Epic.
12:26Afraid, a lie, afraid, it's magic, it's just a kiss, it's a loss of the win.
12:30Future creative pivots felt inevitable, however,
12:33as Faith No More became further distanced from rap metal and became far more experimental in nature.
12:46Through it all, they cultivated a rabid fan following,
12:50that always anticipated what they were going to do next.
12:56What2U defines an alternative metal band?
12:59Let us know your classifications in the comments!
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