I'd take nearly all these bands over, oh, Animal Collective. I'd take it over the hipster bullshit of the week. And I'd definitely take em over whatever is popular in the mainstream right now.
But anyway... KITTIE fucking rules. Oracle is an amazing album. And yeah, System of a Down are "nu-metal"; just because you like a band doesn't mean they don't fall under "nu-metal"; it's the same exact formula! Tuned-to-mud-sharp, Ozzfestcore, guitarsololess (aside from "Soil"), shouty shit. They're a hell of a lot more creative and interesting than the other bands, but come on. I mean, I don't like to put Amen and Glassjaw under the nu-metal tag, but I mean, they ARE, basically. SOAD might have had some punk flavors, so did Amen; and Glassjaw had some post-hardcore stuff going on, but it's all the same kind of stuff if you break it down to its core. But, hey, nu-metal is NOT an insult, unless a person is closeminded enough to think none of those bands have any quality. Going back to the brilliant Kittie, they're definitely nu-metal, but they're also big death metal AND Melvins fans, and they even have a Melvins tribute song on Oracle (Pink Lemonade)! But yeah, even Slayer, Sepultura, Machine Head, Metallica's "St. Anger", etc. bear a lot of similarities with the "Nu metal sound" (if there is a "real" sound -- the actual sound is pretty diverse, if you really think about it). Really, I think most people really hate rap-rock more than numetal. Nu-metal was actually quite good, the "rap" stuff was what was terrible.
I was getting into nu-metal at the same time I was getting into Melt Banana, The Locust, Merzbow, Atari Teenage Riot, Dillinger Escape Plan, etc. (age 12-13) I was buying grindcore cd's at the same time I was buying digital hardcore cd's at the same time I was buying "nu-metal" cd's. It's not some "nostalgia" thing, I think a lot of those bands still hold up under scrutiny, even if I don't listen to them much anymore. I just like music, and things that sound good, I know that's weird, but I like what I like. I am going to re-download 13 Ways to Bleed Onstage by Cold right now!
Haha, DOPE! I FORGOT DOPE!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggHpZE2W-rs
you have to watch dope - everything sucks. BRILLIANT!
This list is indispensable!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nu_metal_bands
Though it's missing quite a few. NO SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY? FUCK!
OH SHIT! FORGOT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KFV9_pM2c0
METHODS OF MAYHEM - GET NAKED
I remember buying this cd the day it came out and it was the worst thing I'd ever heard... Haha.
Anyone remember Reveille and Deadlights?!