Heavy metal was in the middle of a sea change in 2002. Nu metal had recently dominated the US charts thanks to the likes of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but the mainstream overexposure and enormous number of wannabes made the genre grow stale fast. Meanwhile, more ’80s-inspired aggressors from Lamb Of God to Shadows Fall were on the up and up.
The death knells were ringing for nu metal and, capitalising on the shifting landscape, one label went so far as to declare its death in 2002. The Australian branch of Roadrunner Records were promoting Killswitch Engage’s second album Alive Or Just Breathing at the time, and needed something big to get the newly signed band noticed. What better than a funeral for the genre that Killswitch, with their obvious classic metal influences, were out to usurp?
