(Credits: Far Out / Chris Casella)
Tue 30 December 2025 4:00, UK
Buzz Osborne has never shied away from speaking his mind about the state of music and where he fits into it all, so it’s no surprise that he has some thoughts on nu-metal.
The influence Melvins had on the Seattle music scene, as well as the larger circuit it operated within during the 1990s, is undeniable, and of course, the veteran guitarist and vocalist is well aware of his impact on modern rock, and with that comes a decent bit of annoyance at a lot of his fellow artists.
Whereas his band does typically get its due credit, Osborne is also privy to those who have never really cared about his contributions to music, and during an interview with Alejandro Basso soon after the release of Melvins’ 28th studio album in 2025, he discussed the nu-metal phase and how the genre’s biggest players never cared much for him.
“Those bands didn’t seem to have much interest in what we were doing,” he said, before mentioning that Roy Mayorga of Stone Sour was an exception since the drummer played on the 2024 Melvins album, Tarantula Heart, but one key figure of the nu-metal scene didn’t hesitate to express his admiration for the Washington band.
“We did Ozzfest in ’98 with a bunch of bands like System of a Down, and nobody knew who they were,” Osborne recalled. “The one guy out of that band who talked to us and was very interested in what we were doing was the guitar player. He always really liked us and was very supportive, but nobody else from that scene …”
He was referring, of course, to Daron Malakian, whose aggressive technique and vocals certainly show traces of inspiration from Melvins and the larger sludge metal sound. Unfortunately, any love Osborne and his team received from the nu-metal cohort stopped there. “We played with Korn, and those guys never said one word to us, y’know,” he continued. “We opened for them in Iceland [for] two nights, and they never said a fuckin’ word to us.”
Osborne went on to say that people have told him he’s intimidating, which he immediately shut down by insisting that anyone can talk to him, but at the same time, he made it clear that the lack of interest is mutual since he does not find bands from that particular scene interesting.
“Cross Helmet with Faith No More, and you got nu-metal,” he said dismissively, adding, “I would always joke with Mike Patton, I would say, ‘I’ll take Nirvana and Soundgarden, and you can have Limp Bizkit and Korn,’ and he’d say ‘Fuck You!’ That was always the big joke: I influence those bands, you can influence those other bands. They’re all yours. I’ll stick with Nirvana and Soundgarden, I’m cool.”
Osborne was always close to the grunge scene and is often credited with inspiring a lot of the genre’s heavyweights, so it makes sense that he is so comfortable aligning himself with the two groups mentioned above, and what’s hilarious about his comments is that he and Patton are also tight, having played together in Fantômas, so it seems a little unfair to distance himself from nu-metal while forcing it on his buddy.
Then again, Patton has talked enough trash about pretty much everyone within his line of sight, so Osborne’s jabs surely won’t convince him that he has anything to do with Limp Bizkit’s success.
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