Season 1 of Sonic Subcultures looks at 9 records that represent the range of musical styles that fall under the nu metal banner. Each record represents an aspect of nu metal that has surprising relevance today as nu metal has become a strangely resurgent genre. How is nu metal back? Why? To find some answers, Safa Hachi and Marc Lajeunesse look back at each record from our unique perspectives: Marc was there when nu metal began but Safa got into it twenty years later. We do a deep dive on each record, consider their form, lyrics, and impact when they were released, and piece together what each record means now in the present day.
Season 1 of Sonic Subcultures looks at 9 records that represent the range of musical styles that fall under the nu metal banner. Each record represents an aspect of nu metal that has surprising relevance today as nu metal has become a strangely resurgent genre. How is nu metal back? Why? To find some answers, Safa Hachi and Marc Lajeunesse look back at each record from our unique perspectives: Marc was there when nu metal began but Safa got into it twenty years later. We do a deep dive on each record, consider their form, lyrics, and impact when they were released, and piece together what each record means now in the present day.
Dallas-based band UnityTX blends rap, hardocre, and nu metal into a chaotic, genre-blurring sound that challenges everything we thought nu metal was. But their identity as an all-POC band also reveals the deep-rooted racial gatekeeping in alt spaces.
In this episode, Marc Lajeunesse and Safa Hachi explore UnityTX’s 2020 MadBoy EP and how it fits into a broader conversation about nu metal’s legacy. From its whitewashed roots to its revival through fusion and experimentation, we ask: where does nu metal go from here? And who gets to define it?