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Throughout this series, it’s become evident that Sam Dunn is a traditionalist when it comes to metal, for lack of a better term. A purist, if you will. He hails from a very distinct camp of metal appreciation; one that values the pioneering sounds of the genre and not so much the various species it spawned over time.

Just like the grunge episode, this edition of Metal Evolution (which you can watch HERE) begins by questioning whether the nu metal genre even belongs in the story at all. Did nu metal really have any lasting impact on the genre or is it collectively agreed to be an embarrassing, ugly sore spot in the family’s history that everyone ignores until someone awkwardly brings it up?

As a hip-hop head, it’s hard for me not to take this episode personally. On the surface, the negativity portrayed towards nu metal seems to only convey the following: rap music came along and tainted metal forever. It assumes that these musicians were simply throwing one popular genre on top of another for no other reason than to capitalize on the commercial viability of both. But this attitude largely discounts the power and relevance of hip-hop and the social, political and cultural environment of the early-to-mid-90s, when rap music was reaching its own peak as a genre.

The roots of nu metal are anything but embarrassing. The crossover track that is most widely credited with sparking the nu metal movement is “Bring The Noise” by Anthrax and Public Enemy. But one can’t help but think the two genres were meteors on an inevitable crash course due to their rising popularity and the essence of rebellion they shared. Anthrax was formed in Queens, NY – an epicenter for hip-hop. As Scott Ian notes, they had a deep appreciation for the genre and so “Bring The Noise” was simply a dream come true: getting to collaborate with one of their favourite groups at the time, despite the vast differences in their music.

Around the same time, funk and R&B influenced grooves were also finding their way into heavier music thanks to bands like Faith No More. But the band who perfected the blend between groove and heaviness was undoubtedly Rage Against the Machine. The band’s incomparable guitarist Tom Morello took his love of 70s riffs and filtered it through his love of punk and hip-hop to push the idea of what a guitar could sound like past any point your ear was previously accustomed to. This blend of sonic styles, combined with Zack de la Rocha’s rap-infused vocals that were laced with highly political dissidence, made Rage one of the most unique bands the decade had seen yet. Pantera emerged as another pioneering band skirting along the edges of traditional metal, with a new rhythmic dynamic that was (and still is) virtually impossible to categorize. Bands began to add the word “DJ” to their lineup, introducing the turntable as a bona fide heavy metal instrument while continuing to push traditional instruments to innovative new heights. This emerging genre was combining rhythm with the rebellious nature of both hip-hop and metal, and turning it into a Molotov cocktail of extremity and accessibility.

The first band to be bestowed with the label of “nu metal” was Korn. Building off of an admiration for bands like Faith No More and Pantera, Korn created their own groove-based sound that was punctuated by the raw and revealing lyrics of front man Jonathan Davis. His personal struggles were revealed via haunting whispering vocals, contrasted by deep and guttural screams. Davis was seemingly using Korn’s music as a form of therapy, which captivated their audience. Further adding to the nu metal roster was the Sacramento band Deftones. A true product of their environment, Deftones blended heavy metal with the inescapable riffs of early rap music that had taken over the west coast of the United States. With a handful of bands that were quickly becoming household names, nu metal was ready to evolve into its very own sub-genre of the heavy metal family tree and the catalyst for that would be “Roots” – the sixth album from the influential Brazilian heavy metal group Sepultura.

What made Nu metal different was that it captivated the attention of a teenage generation who felt the same rebellious energy that comes with the territory of pubescence but who were also growing up alongside hip-hop: a radical new genre of music that was breaking barriers of race and class, not just sound. With multiple audiences engaged, it’s no surprise that the genre blew up as quickly as it did. Nu metal was an underground movement, a sub-genre that appealed to the metal, goth AND hip-hop communities. This is what made it both prolific and ripe for the mainstream. And mainstream it went…

In the late 90s, Limp Bizkit was everything that traditional metal fans hated (Sam Dunn thoroughly included). In contrast to the innovative, musical mash-up that Rage Against the Machine and Sepultura had developed, they were a more structured and compartmentalized combination of the two genres. Their music appealed to those who had never given metal a chance before, and told existing metal fans that the genre could be a party while still being aggressive. And if you try to tell me that you don’t know all of the words to at least the first verse of “Nookie” I will call you a liar. Limp Bizkit hit their commercial stride with this song and their second album “Significant Other” and at this point nu metal as a whole had been launched into a musical phenomenon. And then Woodstock ’99 happened.

Among other acts, Woodstock ’99 featured the biggest names in nu metal: Rage Against the Machine, Korn and Limp Bizkit. It also featured an unfortunate amount of violence, rape fire and destruction. During Limp Bizkit’s set (specifically during the performance of their hit song “Break Stuff”) the crowd turned ugly, tearing off pieces of plywood from the walls and setting fire to anything in sight.

In this episode of Metal Evolution (and in popular opinion, overall) the blame for this turn of events is placed on Limp Bizkit and more specifically – on Fred Durst. Many claim that he incited the violence and continually encouraged the crowd to, well, break stuff. And although the violence did indeed began during Limp Bizkit’s set, this episode doesn’t touch on any other factors that may have contributed to the situation, nor does it acknowledge the fact that the violence and destruction escalated the night after Limp Bizkit’s performance as well, during a set by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It’s easy to vilify Fred Durst and it’s easy to point the finger at the nu metal. This genre was born out of two groups of outcasts and therefore set up to be hated from the beginning. And suddenly, the genre was directly linked to destruction and disrespect as if this was the first time a small group of idiots had tainted an event for hundreds of thousands of people. But despite the vilification of nu metal, whether justified or not, the genre continued to evolve and even influenced a few traditional thrash metal bands like Slayer into adapting their sound on their album Diabolus in Musica.

A second generation of nu metal bands appeared in the early 2000s after the initial wave of nu metal subdued, including bands like Papa Roach and Disturbed but spearheaded by the biggest band the genre has seen to date: Linkin Park.

Whether you like this diluted, gentle version of nu metal or whether you despise it, there is no debating its success. This is what I feel was largely ignored during this episode of Metal Evolution – really digging deep into what it was about this genre that spoke to the captivated audience, besides asking a few inarticulate people in line to see Linkin Park why they like the band. Nu metal was more than two genres cross-polluting each other, it was a collision of two cultural movements. Not everyone likes the end result, and that’s (more than) fair. But to dismiss the importance of this genre as it relates to music history as a whole is to do both the metal and the rap genres a disservice but as Sam Dunn states at the end of this episode, perhaps nu metal’s lasting legacy is the way it polarized the metal community – for better or worse.

Watch an all-new episode of Metal Evolution, Friday at 10ET/7PT.

- Sarah Dawley

When it comes to the heavy metal family tree, grunge would best be described as the moody, distant, possibly illegitimate cousin who shows up to family reunions in ripped jeans and heavily intoxicated. Who is this guy, anyways? Is he even a part of the family? Does anyone even know where he came from? I’m really wearing this metaphor out, but you get the picture. The question is: Does grunge have a place in the heavy metal family tree? Welcome to episode seven of Metal Evolution and welcome, to Seattle. Hope you like rain.

(Watch this episode of Metal Evolution HERE, if you missed it.)

There are a few parallels between heavy metal and grunge that are undeniable: both are, well, heavy and both contain an element of aggression. But heavy metal has always been known for its musical and visual spectacle and virtuosity. Grunge, on the other hand, is all about stripped down, functional musicianship. No fuss, no glitz, no glamour – just raw emotion and loud noises.

This disassociation from the “metal” label was especially important for grunge when it first began to emerge from the Pacific Northwest in the mid 1980s, a time when the word “metal” evoked images of leather platform boots, eyeliner and hairspray. As DJ and journalist Jeff Gilbert notes, being left out of this group was probably in grunge’s best interests because at the time, the genre of metal came with goofy connotations and was seen as a joke to many of those outside the L.A. scene. In fact, anyone Sam Dunn interviews within the first ten minutes of this episode seems to vehemently deny any connection between grunge and metal whatsoever. But is there really no connection?

Hiro Yamamoto from Soundgarden describes both genres as heavy music, complete with loud guitars, powerful drums and wild kicking and screaming on stage and Brian Slagel from Metal Blade Records agrees: “It sounded like metal to me. I liked it.” Many grunge musicians grew up listening to metal and appreciating that school of thought, but it was an equal love for the raw and gritty grassroots attitude of punk that also helped grunge begin to evolve into a unique and distinct style. Grunge picked up where the heavy metal of the 1970s left off, but it wove a punk ethos into the equation.

All genres of music are shaped by the cities they exist in. From the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to the superficial glamour of the Sunset Strip, we’ve seen the way geography influences sound. So what was it about Seattle, Washington – a tertiary U.S. market that’s closer to Canada than basically anything else – that fostered the development of this highly influential genre of music? Combine the weather (bleak and rainy) with the economy at the time (crappy) and there really wasn’t a whole lot to do besides drink booze and play music.

Very few major tours came through the Pacific Northwest at the time so in Seattle, live shows were basically just big neighbourhood parties. You began to care more about your friend’s band than any mainstream act making waves on the national scene. But when Black Flag made a stop in Seattle in 1984 and people were exposed to their slow, hauntingly heavy sound, the city took notice and grunge began to find its sound.

When grunge began to emerge, Seattle was an interesting blend between a traditional blue collar mentality and an emerging yuppie community. These two contrasting groups and attitudes created the perfect environment for a gritty music scene to form that combined small town communal idealism with the rebellious punk ethos and the heavy sound of metal. Bands began to emerge like The Melvins, who are credited with introducing grunge to the Drop D tuning that would become the defining sound of the genre.

The first record company to recognize the opportunities presented by the new Seattle sound was Sub Pop Records, who turned it into a hype machine via legendary bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden. Of course, no one seems to agree on whether these bands should be classified as grunge, metal or something else entirely. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was well versed in metal but drew from all genres and all influences as a songwriter. This is what made him so prolific; Kurt Cobain was unapologetically full of nothing but raw emotion at a time when the hard rock scene was constantly trying to define itself as larger than life. As Deena Weinstein from DePaul University puts it, “Kurt had pain in his voice that metal didn’t have.” Men in hard rock and metal up until this point were supposed to be king of the world, with contained aggression measured out in perfect portions. Not this.

Along with Nirvana, Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam brought something contrary to what metal had long been known for: introspective, angst-ridden songwriting. This is what made grunge a different beast than what heavy metal was traditionally known for being. Naturally, Sam Dunn begins to question his decision to include grunge in the heavy metal family portrait at all.

But if there’s any band whose sound features undertones of an undeniable metal influence, it’s Soundgarden. Their early recordings were a hypnotizing and complex set of melodies, reminiscent of heavy metal’s mythological grandiosity. Although they’ve never self-identified as metal, their work with legendary metal producer Terry Date gave their sound an unmistakable heavy metal feel which some critics labeled as being too “slick” or sonically grandiose to be grunge.

But if there’s one band under this Seattle umbrella that would identify as metal, it would be Alice in Chains, right? I mean, there were on the damn Clash of the Titans tour! In this episode, they are referred to as the “missing link” between metal and grunge which may explain why hardcore metal fans pelted them with crap during their Clash of the Titans tour appearance. But they took it like champs, threw up their middle fingers and played on. We could probably look at this moment as the genesis of grunge. Or maybe I’m just being dramatic.

As quickly as grunge became a full-fledged musical movement, Marc Jacobs began putting flannel on the runway and charging $100 for the torn up shirt your dad wears when he does home renovations. Grunge became a commodity. The genre was dealt another heavy blow when Kurt Cobain was found dead of an apparent suicide in 1994. Then Soundgarden announced their (first) retirement after twelve years together. Then Pearl Jam took a hiatus. By the late 90s it seemed grunge was fading as quickly as it had appeared, but as the next crop of bands to emerge would demonstrate, it wasn’t fading – it was evolving.

The next wave of grunge ushered in a group of polarizing bands like Days of New, Creed and Nickelback. Although some disgruntled music fans would scoff at referring to these bands as grunge, the fact of the matter is that they emerged out of the dust that grunge had left behind. Whether that constitutes as being explicitly derived from the genre or not is up for debate. There is a consensus among virtually every band interviewed in this episode; no one wants to take responsibility for this second generation, what they refer to as “grunge light.” But naturally, this less angst-ridden melodic music tickled the fancy of every major label looking for radio-friendly hits. One of the most recognizable traits of this new grunge generation is the vocal style of “yarling” derived from heavy, baritone voices like Eddie Vedder and Layne Staley. (Cue: Hilarious attempts by multiple interviewees at replicating this “yarl.”) While Eddie’s came out of a real and honest place, it seems it was only a redundant pre-requisite for the grunge light generation, a trademark of this new diluted version of alternative music.

The best – and most surprising – part of this episode is that Sam Dunn actually interviews members of Creed and Nickelback. I don’t know why this came as such a shock to me. Maybe because it’s so easy to sh*t on these bands, I figured that’s all we’d be doing. But like a good documentary should, Metal Evolution allows both sides to have their say. And it turns out Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp from Creed don’t even consider the band to be grunge – just the product of a music scene that had no identity. Chad Kroeger, frontman of Nickelback, explains that at the time (the late 90s) any music that was coming out was deemed as “post-grunge” no matter what it was. No one knew what was supposed to happen next.

By the dawn of the 2000s, the new wave of grunge had turned the genre into a stadium spectacle with “real” grunge icons like Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains joining bands like Nickelback on stage. An entirely new audience are identifying with this music, enjoying the spectacle of jam-packed live shows and having life-changing experiences that will turn into memories they will never forget. And this really got me thinking. Grunge burned out for a number of reasons, but what becomes evident during this episode is that none of those reasons were named Creed or Nickelback. So who’s to say that these bands are rip-offs or are in any way less authentic than their predecessors? How unfair and elitist is it of us to badmouth these bands simply because they aren’t the bands that came before them? I guess what I’m saying is: I’m sorry, Nickelback.

Oh, Metal Evolution. How you make me rethink… well, everything.

Catch new episodes of Metal Evolution every Friday at 10ET/7PT.

- Sarah Dawley

From the backseat of a leopard print limo cruising the streets of Los Angeles, Sam Dunn does his due diligence as a director in this episode of Metal Evolution and makes his personal bias against glam metal known from the very beginning. Although glam metal lacks the intensity and aggression that resonates with him as a metal fan, Dunn still recognizes the fact that the rise and fall of glam metal is an important branch in the heavy metal family tree. After all, just because a piece of history happens to wear more makeup than your sister doesn’t mean it’s any less important than the other siblings. (Watch this episode of Metal Evolution HERE, if you haven’t already.)

Honestly, we should all be thankful that Dunn took the time to explore this chapter of metal’s history because it’s FASCINATING. Glam metal (or “hair metal” as it’s also referred to) exploded from a Sunset Strip phenomenon into a global movement in the 80s, but its peroxide-blonde roots can be traced back to the late 70s. At the time, Los Angeles was vibing to the sounds of David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust. Along came Van Halen, a rock band that incorporated an elaborate visual aesthetic with their sound (aka huge, feathered hair and mass sex appeal), laying the foundation on Sunset Strip upon which glam metal would begin to build.

Inspired by Van Halen, and fueled by a friendship between Vince Neil and David Lee Roth, it was Mötley Crüe who sent the glam metal movement into high gear. Vince Neil (vocals), Nikki Six (bass) and Tommy Lee (drums) were the essence of glam metal in its early stages. All living together in L.A. and struggling for money, they would use their boyish good looks and rock star potential to get cash from girls.

Nikki Six believed that the music itself wasn’t enough, that the band needed an unforgettable visual presentation as well. He conceptualized a theatrical, no holds barred image that translated onto the stage as a pyrotechnic spectacle complete with over-the-knee leather platform boots. When Mötley Crüe landed a spot playing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans at the 1983 US Festival, they stole the spotlight along with fellow glam metal band Quiet Riot. The music industry smelled money and began to pay attention. After Quiet Riot hit the number one spot on the Billboard chart with their album “Metal Health” the L.A. glam metal scene on Sunset Strip went spiraling into a blur of sex, drugs and decadence.

Sensing the opportunities available to them in California, Brett Michaels and friends packed up (into an old ambulance, of all things) and headed west from Pennsylvania to the Sunset Strip and unleashed Poison upon the glam metal scene. They were the kings of promotion, coercing large crowds to follow them with the age-old tactics of free beer and hot chicks. And this is the moment in the episode where the realization dawns on you, that it wasn’t the men in the bands who controlled the glam metal scene: it was the women.

Girls loved “hair metal” because the guys in the bands acted just like them, according to Deena Weinstein, a professor from DePaul University. And she’s right. They spent hours on their hair, meticulously put on their makeup and agonized over outfit choices. So if your boyfriend was into glam metal, the two of you could get ready for a show together. How cool is that? Women began flocking to shows on Sunset Strip and we all know that where the women go, the men are sure to follow, regardless of whether they liked the music or not. As Rikki Rockett (drums) from Poison articulately states: “People either wanted to f*** us or fight us. And we were proud of that.” Even Scott Ian from the legendary trash metal band Anthrax admits that they saw the “headbands” as their nemesis but they still went to glam metal shows all the time because “the girls were there.”

Glam metal was taking over the music scene in America partly because its upbeat sound and flamboyant visual aesthetic appealed to the female demographic that heavy metal had previously left relatively untouched. But the rise of a new medium would also play a pivotal part in take glam metal from Sunset Strip and sending it out across the globe: the music video had arrived. MTV and glam metal were a match made in heaven. The genre inherently blended the senses of sound and sight, which was a perfect fit for the visual medium of television. MTV was becoming the defining voice of pop culture, rewarding anything that was a spectacle, so it’s a no-brainer that the station would embrace the mass appeal of glam metal. It was pop dressed as metal, family-friendly power ballads that captured both male and female audiences. For the first time there was a genuine crossover between the genres of pop and rock and the experience of sound and sight but most importantly, it was now available to audiences worldwide.

In the late 80s, glam metal reached its tipping point. Both the music and the look became over-the-top and sensationalized, widening the gap between substance and style. From the depths of this void, the Seattle grunge scene began to trickle down from the northwest to the rest of the country, as a band from within L.A. emerged from the glittery smoke and hairspray fumes of the glam metal scene and changed everything. Amongst the saturated glam metal scene, Guns N’ Roses were a down-to-earth and authentic breath of fresh air with a stripped-down sensibility and a focus on music rather than image. Along with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam to name a few, Guns N’ Roses were leaders in the new wave of hard rock and grunge that would ultimately send the glam metal movement out to sea.

So what’s a former glam metal god to do in the early 90s? Some got out of music entirely, opting to buy businesses and fill vending machines (seriously), while others slid into emotional and financial difficulties. But we also meet up with other former glam metal stars from Warrant and Poison who stayed true to their passion for music and have found other outlets for their craft: working in high-end guitar shops and running drum workshops. Still, watching this episode, one can’t help but feel sorry for some of them. They were simply young dudes who were capitalizing on an opportunity of circumstance and timing, only to be chewed up and spit out by record labels and the public in the backlash of the genre’s downfall. That hasn’t stopped many of them, though. Nostalgic glam metal festivals are continuing to provide paycheques and since television has always been a natural fit for the extravagance of glam metal, reality shows have proven to be a goldmine for stars such as Brett Michaels (Rock of Love). Call it the second life of a rock star.

This episode of Metal Evolution may be one of my favourites so far. Towards the end of this episode, Sam Dunn has a bit of a personal revelation. Although he was dismissive of the glam metal genre in the past, he now recognizes that many of these bands weren’t just in it for the look and the lifestyle, they had a vision. It just happened to wear eyeliner. After meeting these musicians, he admits to gaining a new respect for the genre and the role it played in the evolution of metal. And I have a new respect for you, Sam.

But let’s not get too mushy. Thrash metal is up next. Catch the next episode of Metal Evolution on Friday at 10ET/7PT.

- Sarah Dawley