10 Most Important Metal Bands Of All Time

It was not a very healthy time to be a metalhead during the mid-'90s. Though the genre had one hell of a first impression with the thrash scene rising to the forefront, the coming wave of grunge left most hopeful metal acts dead in the water on a mainstream level. Once the alternative scene blossomed though, a few misfit kids from California earned their stripes by taking their heaviness to the nth degree.

When Korn first came on the scene, most metal fans weren't really sure what to make of them. The songs were definitely heavy, but the tunings were far lower than anything that had previously been heard in metal music. Alongside the strange guitar sounds was Jonathan Davis, whose vocal delivery was percussive and biting, almost as if he was trying to talk to the more primal side of your brain.

It may have been a different sound for the time, but what Korn started helped kickstart what became known as nu-metal at the tail end of the decade. As soon as Korn broke on the scene, it was clear that there would be life for metal after the alternative wave. You weren't going to mistake Korn for any other metal band, but the mark they left on future generations of metal bands cannot be overstated.