Nu metal was a huge back in the day and Deftones were on that bandwagon, but Limp Bizkit guitar Wes Borland think they were wise to jump ship.
Remember the late 90s to early 2000s period when nu metal was briefly the genre of music that everyone was crazy about? I certainly do, for better or worse.
Nu metal hasn’t quite had the same appeal since and it’s perhaps not to inaccurate to say that the pioneers of the genre – your Limp Bizkits and Korns – no longer occupy the same space in what’s popular at the moment in music.
Well all except Deftones, who more or less ditched nu metal in favour of doing their own thing, and that’s something that Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland has respect for.
Appearing on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk podcast (via Consequence Of Sound), Borland was asked where Limp Bizkit fit in during that brief but crazy period of nu metal and the guitarist says it all developed at once but Deftones have managed to have a long career because they abandoned the genre.
“A lot of it sort of all developed at once — Korn, and the Deftones,” says Borland. “The Deftones really tried to separate themselves from everything, which was the right move, for sure. Because they were able to maintain longevity.”
Borland isn’t wrong there as Deftones made a conscious decision not to tour with nu metal groups like Limp Bizkit and Korn. In remaking their image and sound, Deftones have achieved a new wave of acclaim for being alt-metal faves while still being respectful about their nu metal roots.
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As for where Limp Bizkit goes from here and whether they can become as popular as they once were, Borland isn’t sure.
“I can’t imagine [we] would. I don’t really have any expectations of it because I’ve found that I have no idea what people like and don’t,” says the guitarist. “Where I am right now is — play a few Limp Bizkit shows every year; there’s a record that has been in the works for a long time and not at a place where I don’t think it’s going to get finished anytime soon. Maybe it will, but I’m not sure.”
Check out ‘Ohms’ by Deftones:
