10 Classic Music Albums That Will Make You Love Nu Metal
9. Make Yourself - Incubus
Throughout most of their career, Incubus always seemed to toe the line of nu metal with every album they released. While they did have a DJ in the band and had a few crunchy riffs here and there, they were never ones to go for full on anger at every chance they could. If you wanted a look at the beauty behind their stuff, Make Yourself is pretty much the safest bet you can make.
With a much more downtempo groove, there's a lot more melody on this album that what you'd find from the screaming set of nu metal vocalists, as Brandon Boyd gives us one lyrical hook after another on songs like Stellar and Pardon Me. One of the biggest strengths of the band at this point though has to be the turntables of Chris Kilmore, who chops up different bits of audio and makes for a disorienting experience whenever you put on the headphones.
Along with some fairly heavy rock tunes, there was also a vulnerability in here that you didn't find in nu metal at the time. If you go back and look at all of the songs that were pulled off of radio in the wake of 9/11, Drive wasn't one of them, having one of the most optimistic choruses to be associated with the genre. While Incubus may have only been on decent terms with the nu metal tag, this gives you a good introduction to the sound without being too overbearing yet.