Originally Posted by mr dave

i think this is mostly due to the time period nu-metal appeared within the scope of the mainstream. it happened just as napster was taking off and P2P file sharing started having a very noticeable effect on every aspect of the music industry.

it was one of the first styles that was over saturated before it was actually established. the innovators of the style had barely finished wiping the sweat from their gear only to find out their style had already been pre-packaged and shoved down the throats of a new generation of adolescents who were already tired of the breakdowns. it was the last ditch effort to push a new style of music and in an act of probable desperation the labels seemed to use the idea of throwing crap at the wall until something stuck and then just kept throwing more of the same crap before going back to 'safe' pop stars and connect the dot 70s rock a la Nickelback.

by becoming so big so fast only the crap that appealed to the masses got really big (Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, etc.) those who would have innovated and done something decent with the style moved on (Deftones, Fear Factory, etc.), whether it's because they no longer liked the style they helped create, or to distance themselves of the whiny self-serving nature that was fast becoming the core of the style, it's anyone's guess but the field seemed to deplete itself quickly.

as a result the terms 'nu-metal' and 'mall metal' are basically interchangeable. the style never managed to break out of adolescent rebellion and truly into its own, and for those who had already grown past that point in their own lives and were looking for a new style of metal/aggressive music were forced to look in more progressive directions, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.