10 Most Underrated Nu Metal Albums

Going all in on high concept science fiction, Fear Factory examined the fusion of man and machine in their fourth LP. It's the grand finale in a conceptual trilogy that started with 1995's 'Demanufacture' and continued in 1998's 'Obsolete'.

Released in 2001, the final year of nu metal's chart-topping dominance, the album saw the normally industrial crew take a stab at the new urban craze. Unfortunately, they left their nu metal entry a little too late in the game and the album failed to secure major commercial success.

Lead single 'Linchpin', a disturbing, hot-tempered track about a narrator terrified of their transhumanist setting, did garner the group some notice. However, the rest of the album, while thrilling, felt like a step backwards at the time for a group who'd been so instrumental in the rise of industrial metal in the '90s.

As was so often the case with nu metal at the time, Fear Factory even teamed up with a rapper, B-Real from Cypress Hill, for 'Back the F**k Up'. It's not a a bad song by any means but it's a vast departure from what fans of the group were hoping for at the time.

Despite being considered a step back from the stylings Fear Factory were best known for, this is a fun and engaging entry in the nu metal genre.