10 Best Nu-Metal Albums Of The 90s

Coal Chamber by Coal Chamber is one of the earlier entries into the nu-metal phase which promoted just how powerful simplistic riffs can be. The chugging repetitive nature of songs like Loco and Big Truck have a niche quality ingrained within them making it almost impossible to not nod your head.

Led by frontman Dez Fafara, the band tried to add a level of humour to their lyrics not seen before in the metal industry. Covered in face paint and ridiculous neon orange hair, Dez eventually walked away from Coal Chamber to peruse a move into the more technically challenging groove metal expansion with Devildriver - one of the most under appreciated bands of the generation.

The pure simplicity behind Coal Chamber’s Coal Chamber album really packed a punch. The gothica-inspired designs and themes helped CC stand out in the early days and acted as nu-metal’s answer to industrial metal’s antichrist, Marilyn Manson.

Coal Chamber were right at the forefront of the movement and in essence acted as a stepping stone for the development of the genre, laying the fundamental head-banging beats needed for nu-metal to evolve towards its peak. The debut album can be seen as the inspiration behind many of the genre’s most popular records.