10 Most Underrated Nu Metal Songs

It wasn’t quite clear after Mer De Noms that A Perfect Circle was anything more than just a side project for Maynard James Keenan. This band formed in the mind of Billy Howerdel though, and he was willing to capitalize on the heavy sounds of Judith in whatever way he knew how. And while Thirteenth Step did give us some angsty songs like the Outsider, the best moments on the record are when things are brought down a little bit.

Starting off with a smooth as hell bassline, Weak and Powerless feels like it’s tapping into something truly disturbed, as Maynard slithers across the track sounding like a madman. Playing into the idea of addiction that coats this entire record, the lyrics almost read like a man that has become completely dependent on his vices, willing to sacrifice his body and even his own sanity if it means that it will feed into his habit in some way.

With new faces like James Iha contributing to the band as well, this almost goes outside of the traditional sounds of nu metal, feeling closer to some of the more gothic sounds that came out a few decades earlier from acts like the Cure and New Order. Nu metal’s tone was starting to change in the next few years, and this was a look at what the next phase of the genre could look like. The guitars may have taken a back seat some of the time, but we haven’t lost an ounce of that darkness during the transition.