Of all themusicgenres out there,metal’s audience is as loyal as it is enormous. Rob Zombie’s excellent quote that he “never met the guy who was into Slayer for one summer” pretty much sums up the adoration and loyalty that comes with metal’s undying support (and spiteful comment sections).
Taking all of this into account, there are far fewer metal one-hit wonders than you might think. Thankfully, nu metal provided a bunch of them, but there are plenty more one-hit wonders beyond baggy pants and backwards red baseball caps.
10Trapt - Headstrong
Everyone’s Least Favorite Social Media Users Are Known For One Song
Having such a penchant for pop hooks and led by Linkin Park’s success,nu metal is responsible for a stack of metal one-hit wonders. As fun as it was and as much great music as it produced, nu metal always felt like a fad and so it proved to be (despite numerous attempts to revive the genre in recent years).
“Headstrong” by Trapt has a clichéd riff and an equally hacky chorusabout being stronger than your opposition. For a genre that was called “sports metal”, this also checks out. The band is best known now for regularly embarrassing themselves on social media, in an attempt to put off the handful of their fans that still remain.
9Black Tide - Shockwave
These Thrash Metal Teens Were Tipped For The Top
In fairness to this band,Black Tide’s one hit was an absolute blast. All the power and attitude of early Skid Row and Appetite-era Guns N' Roses with a nod to Dave Mustaine-style riffing, it was even more impressive that Black Tide were just teens as this rager was written.
Black Tide bassist Zakk Sandler now plays in Falling In Reverse.
As is so often the case,too much attention was put on Black Tide too quickly. Signing to Interscope while singer Gabriel Garcia was just 15 years old, the band played Ozzfest, had a late-night performance onJimmy Kimmel…Live!, and opened for some of the biggest names in metal before taking over four years on their debut album’s follow-up.
It killed their momentum and eventually killed the band.
8Alien Weaponry - Kai Tangata
Māori-Influenced Bruisers Produce A Moment Of Real Quality
Another group of noisy teenagers, this time from New Zealand,Alien Weaponry proved themselves with this world music-influenced banger. Digging into the same concept that made Sepultura legends, the Māori haka-style chants were a breath of fresh air to metal.
Alien Weaponry’s Māori connections are with the Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Raukawa tribes.
If we are to be fair to Alien Weaponry, they are a band still in their infancy. Even bearing that in mind,their latest album’s streams on Spotify don’t add up to Kai Tangata when combined. The future doesn’t look so hot, but we’ll always have this stomping hit.
7Powerman 5000 - When Worlds Collide
More Known For Their Relations Than Their Music
As is commonly known,Powerman 5000 is fronted by Rob Zombie’s band, Spider. “When Worlds Collide” is a sh**-kicker of a tune that has all the backwater boogie that latter-day Rob Zombie has made his forte, as this club floor-filler bumps and grinds with fun and groove in equal measure.
Spider One has directed and written three horror movies to date, the latest being 2024’s Little Bites.
Despite the sheer volume of opportunities afforded to your band when your surname is Zombie, Powerman 5000 failed to ever capture the imagination of the public. They celebrate 35 years of mediocrity next year, but “When Worlds Collide” was the only moment metal ever fell in love with these self-confessed freaks.
6Kittie - Brackish
Nu Metal Revivalists Made Their Mark On Their Debut Album
Nu metal had a real problem with misogyny. Its lyrical content and general attitude towards women have always been tough to defend, soit’s to Kittie’s credit that they made a dent in the early 2000s. “Brackish” is a bratty slice of explosive riffing and electric vocal melodies from the band’s career-high, debut album.
Kittie performed “Brackish” on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in 2000.
After being a small fish in a big pond during the nu metal explosion,recent history has been very kind to Kittie. They reformed in 2022, and their comeback has been met with more positivity than the band received the first time around. Audience reactions at the likes of Sick New World festival have been heartwarming.
5Five Pointe O - Double X Minus
One Of Nu Metal’s Best Moments Came From Out Of Nowhere
It should not be a source of embarrassment to have not heard their name before, because Five Pointe O were largely ignored beyond this excellent track. “Double X Minus” hasall the hallmarks of a nu metal anthem. It has a gimmicky mosh call to usher in the vocals, bags of energy and youthful exuberance, and is perfect for sports packages.
What is surprising about this band not staying the course or capturing people’s attention again is that Five Pointe O were perfectly poised to be part of metal’s next big fad.
When emo and screamo bands like Glassjaw and Every TIme I Die took over, their quirky vocals and livewire riffing felt like a natural fit for that scene. Instead, singer Daniel Struble and guitarist Sharon Grzelinski left the band, and they disbanded in 2002.
Rick Rubin-Approved Metal Superstars Enjoyed Temporary Success
Without wishing to get into hyperbole,American Head Charge were one of the smartest bands of the early 2000s. Inspired by the gothic heaviness of Faith No More’s late ’90s output and the industrialized heaviness of the debut Slipknot record, “Just So You Know” was a hit, but the wholeThe War Of Artalbum is a masterpiece.
Impressively,American Head Charge were given their big break by Rick Rubin. However, members within the band struggled with addiction, and it cost the band their chance at making an impact. Singer Cameron Heacock was arrested for having a stolen van full of stolen items. COVID put an end to their 2020 reunion plans, and they never resurfaced again.
3Soil - Halo
Bringing A Little Bit Of Tradition Back To Nu Metal
While everyone was rapping and adding DJs to make their metal fit the zeitgeist as much as possible,Soil brought an old-school vibe to nu metal. Inspired by the likes of Black Label Society and White Zombie, there was something a little more palatable about them to metal fans who felt disenfranchised and everyone who was sick of the sight of Fred Durst.
“Halo” excels with its irrepressible stomp leading the charge. The gruff vocals of Ryan McCombs were one of Soil’s biggest selling points, but he would leave Soil for Drowning Pool and vice versa several times. It killed Soil’s identity, and he never really worked as the correct replacement for Dave Williams, either.
2Prong - Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
A Very Mid-’90s Anthem From New York City
Fear Factory, Sepultura, Type O Negative, and so many other bands in this period were changing the face of metal. Post-Metallica’s Black Albumand post-Cobain,metal needed a new sound and new anthems in the early-to-mid ’90s. Prong’s “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” is one of the most beloved metal songs of the mid-90s, and with good reason.
Prong vocalist Tommy Victor has been a guitarist in Danzig’s touring band since 2008.
The production and tone of the song might date it to that particular period, butProng was cutting edge but never really caught the wave of popularity. This song was a staple of compilations and remains their only hit, but their doggedness and resiliency has meant that they have only been inactive for five years (1997-2002) since forming in 1986.
1Drowning Pool - Bodies
Iconic From Its First Second To Its Last, This Is A Nu Metal Masterpiece
One of the biggest staples of the nu metal era,Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” is one of metal’s most recognizable songs. As unlikely as it is that an audience won’t have heard this song, crowd participation is guaranteed because everyone can count to four. Add “let the bodies hit the floor”, and that’s essentially the whole song.
Celebrating 600 million streams and counting on Spotify,“Bodies” is still regularly used in pop cultureand destructive cat memes to this day. Drowning Pool singer Dave Williams tragically passed away while on Ozzfest in 2002. The band’s subsequent albums failed to recapture that moment of magic, with Drowning Pool releasing a further 5 albums and still touring today.
