For many, the early 2000s stand as one of the worst periods in music history. You basically had a choice between manufactured boy bands, pop princesses, or if you were looking for something with a bit of a harder edge, nu-metal.
At the forefront of the latter, ahem, movement, was Fred Durst-led outfit Limp Bizkit. The band was something of an anomaly – hated by absolutely everybody and yet hugely successful to the point that their albums charted high and gigs sold out.
The band gained popularity with a radio-friendly fusion of rap and metal, an irresistible concoction first pioneered by bands like Faith No More, Urban Dance Squad, and Rage Against The Machine, and it’s the latter to whom Bizkit owe their careers.
The band frequently pay homage to the rap-rock pioneers by covering their classic single ‘Killing in the Name’ during live performances, and as Consequence of Sound reports, they’ve even been quoted as saying that the song changed their lives.
And take it from RATM bassist Tim Commerford, he is truly, deeply sorry for that. “I do apologize for Limp Bizkit,” Commerford told Rolling Stone in a yet-unpublished interview. “I really do. I feel really bad that we inspired such bullshit.”
It’s not the first time that Commerford has lashed out at the Bizkit. When Rage’s ‘Sleep Now In The Fire’ video lost to Bizkit’s ‘Break Stuff’ at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Commerford made headlines by attempting to break the stage setup.
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“I wish I would’ve swung on that thing and brought it to the ground and just destroyed it,” he told RS. “If I could do it all over again, I would’ve ripped that thing to the ground and shredded it.”
Commerford said the moment has “aged like wine. What was uncomfortable and a little back in 2000, now I savour it”. The outspoken bassist is also apparently under the impression that the band have broken up.
“They’re gone now,” he went on. “That’s the beautiful thing. There’s only one left, and that’s Rage, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re the only one that matters.” And we’re probably inclined to agree, Tim.
