Dave Mustaine Slams Nu-Metal: “Thank God That Genre Went Away”
When Dave Mustaine has something to say, best believe he isn’t going to sugarcoat it. In a new interview with LifeMinute TV, the Megadeth frontman shared his opinions about the nu-metal scene, and let’s just say, they aren’t exactly positive.
Founding Megadeth in the early ’80s, it’s fair to say Mustaine’s taste for metal leans a lot more to the old-school and thrashier side of things. So it makes complete sense that the nu-metal era isn’t exactly his favorite. During the interview with LifeMinute TV, Mustaine spoke rather candidly about nu-metal, slamming the genre for seemingly moving away from the typical guitar style.
“They didn’t do any solos? They couldn’t do solos, and thank god that genre went away. People started to learn how to do solos. I would say you know, if you’re in a ‘nu-metal’ band, you probably would be challenged even playing [Chuck Berry’s] ‘Johnny B. Goode’ so, I’m glad that [nu-metal] went away.”
Mustaine has a track record of bashing this scene. In 2022, he told an interviewer at WSOU 89.5 FM:
“I can’t tell you how much we laugh about the bands that we were forced to take out on tour with us. Especially during the true/ nu-metal period that we went through several years ago. All these bands that wouldn’t play solos.”
Despite this, Megadeth has previously toured with some of the biggest bands in this scene, including Korn, Static-X and Coal Chamber.
Typically, nu-metal is a genre that most heavy metal heads dislike. Its usual blend of hip-hop, trap, and conventional pop/rock puts it at a slightly lower standard for those experimenting with heavier music. But likely much to Mustaine’s surprise, so many bands are reshaping the way we see and interpret metal that nu-metal is having a rebirth in recent years, with bands such as Code Orange, Drain and Vended carrying that mantle.
