nu metal, subgenre of heavy metal music represented by a fusion of heavy metal instrumentation and hip-hop conventions such as rapped lyrics and “turntabling.” Nu metal is related to rap metal.
Nu metal built on rap metal’s foundation of rock and rap collaboration, but it emphasized some of the more aggressive elements of its musical forebears. Intense and angry lyrics, off-pitch guitars, and heavily amplified beats were typical of nu metal songs. The genre was represented most popularly by the bands Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, the Deftones, Evanescence, and Linkin Park. American music producer Ross Robinson is often credited with helping bring nu metal into the mainstream and onto radio station playlists.