Do you find yourself thinking ‘music was better back in my day’? Well, you’re not the only one.
There has been a resurgence of bands from the late ‘90s/’00s era of nu metal, punk rock and stoner rock over the past few years.
Deftones are arguably more popular than ever, in part thanks to TikTok. Limp Bizkit’s popularity has been a constant rollercoaster but now they’re headlining Download Festival for the first time in their 31-year career.
Bands like Korn, Evanescence and Linkin Park are being discovered by brand new audiences. Even in the past few years, we’ve seen Deftones, Korn, Slipknot, Blink-182, and The Offspring headlining festivals or selling out arenas in Australia.
Closer to home, these two Australian bands are channelling this old school sound to create something new. They’re taking listeners on a nostalgia trip right back to childhood and paying homage to an era that defined a generation, while still putting a modern spin on it.
Headwreck
If you’re a fan of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and wrestling theme music, you're undoubtedly going to resonate with Brisbane’s Headwreck.
Reinventing nu metal for the modern era, their sound is largely quite contemporary but their visual style screams early 2000s.
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These nostalgic nods are made every chance they get, including their EP title Attitude Adjustment (John Cena’s signature move). Their retro music videos see them recreated as low-poly, janky avatars of themselves, while their promo shots are crawling with that signature rap-rock swagger. If that's not enough their EP artwork is created as a PlayStation 2 game manual.
“I think [this era] is making a comeback because it felt so real,” explains Headwreck drummer Colby Horton.
“Back then it was so in your face and filled with attitude that it couldn’t be ignored. For me I wasn’t even alive during the ‘90s/’00s but I can’t help but feel connected to that period of time. It feels nostalgic even though I didn’t get to experience it.”
LATE 90s
When discussing the music of the late ‘90s, it wouldn't be thorough journalism to not mention Perth quartet LATE 90s. The name was inspired after watching the nostalgic skate film Mid90s, directed by Jonah Hill and the fact that three of the members were born in 1998.
At their live shows they walk on stage to John Cena’s WWE theme song The Time Is Now and on the LED screen behind them they project gameplay from the classic video game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.
Their earliest influences expanded from ‘90s grunge to metal to punk through bands like Pearl Jam, Metallica, and Green Day.
“There was definitely a time where we just wanted to be Silverchair,” vocalist Stephen Loreck laughs.
“I think every hard rock Australian band wants to be Silverchair,” guitarist Zaac Morgan agrees.
A New Cultural Gateway
This era saw video games become essential cultural gateways following predecessors like TV, radio and magazines. Games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater are still heralded as being the gateway into punk, metal and hardcore for a generation.
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 was my jam, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, MX vs. ATV,” Morgan recalls.
“As I got a little bit older and going into music I was like ‘Oh I remember this song from this game’. That was part of our growing up. Even Guitar Hero… I guess that's partly why some of those bands are coming back, because they're so nostalgic and they transport you back.
“I would love for one of our songs to be in a video game like that. That older-brother-core - those songs that your older brother would show you while playing Xbox or whatever.”
Funnily enough, even though these interviews were conducted separately, Headwreck references the exact same games.
“WWE, Tony Hawk, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, in particular, MX vs. ATV, and SSX were all super crucial,” Horton reminisces.
“Another game that no one really talks about is Guitar Hero, that game opened so many eyes to new bands that have now become classics! On top of that, movies, even Transformers introduced us to Linkin Park when we were like six or seven.”
The Golden Era
It's not the first time – and it won't be the last time – a younger generation idolises an era they were too young to live through. Fashion and pop culture always see cycles and trends repeating themselves. So was there something truly special about this moment in time or is it just history repeating itself?
“I do firmly believe there was a golden period with the early 2000s,” Horton says.
“For me, expressing this style and culture through Headwreck has allowed me to almost experience what it would’ve been like back then! Being born in 2002, I only got to go back in time around 2016/17 and by that time it was way too late.
“So I think for a lot of my generation they are just trying to experience how their older siblings or their parents got to perceive media and music,” he adds. “There were so many new and refreshing concepts and ideas. I feel like nowadays almost everything has been done.”
Physical Is King
Like vinyl, younger generations are now looking back at and engaging with physical media like CDs, cassettes and old video games.
“A lot of our experiences with music were physical and like memories,” Morgan explains.
“Burning your first CD from a friend or playing that video game with your friends. They’re something tangible you can hold on to.”
“With AI, physical media is ever more important,” Loreck adds.
“Digital stuff can be manipulated and you don't even know who made whatever you're looking at. So I think people are looking back at physical forms of media and wanting to consume more of that as well.”
“It's like that memory of buying your first CD,” Morgan continues.
“So many kids won't have that. You're not going to be like ‘what was the first song you streamed.’”
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
