They say that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. But what if the history in question was awesome? It was just a quarter-century ago that angsty 20-somethings in tracksuits, creatively dyed hair, and enough eyebrow piercings to install a zipper onto ruled not just the rock charts, but the pop charts. Korn’s Jonathan Davis was on MTV’s Total Request Live. Staind albums sold millions of copies. Things were so crazy that even a band like Trapt could be taken seriously. For what might’ve been the last time, heavy metal ruled the airwaves.
And then, just as quickly as they came into the spotlight, the nu-metal bands were out in the cold. A select few, like Linkin Park and Slipknot, adapted. Others, too numerous to time, became punchlines.
But movements, from bell-bottom jeans to disco to even the fluorescent nightmare that was the Eighties, have a way of coming back. Tetrarch remembers those heady days of angsty metal climbing the charts all too well.
“When we were growing up, our favorite bands were from that era. The Disturbeds and Linkin Parks and Slipknots and Korns were bands that could be very heavy but also very melodically driven. Their fans could sing along with the songs but still be in the pits. That resonates with me a lot,” says lead guitarist Diamond Rowe. “We’re never going to be the heaviest band in the room. We’re never going to be the softest band in the room. But we want to write songs that connect with people, that are heavy and you can bang your head to it but you can also sing along to it and you can relate to it.”
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Guitar World.
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This story is from the June 2021 edition of Guitar World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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