Here's who I'd put on my Mount Rushmore of nu metal (three spots were easy, one was excruciatingly hard)

Nu metal's all-conquering comeback just isn't showing any signs of slowing down, is it? Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park are headlining Download next year on a bill also packing P.O.D., Snot, Drowning Pool, Static-X and Spineshank. System Of A Down are headlining stadiums across Europe for the first time next summer. Deftones just announced their biggest ever UK show - mere months after they played their previous biggest ever UK show at the Crystal Palace Bowl. I'm half-expecting American Head Charge to reunite and play Wembley at this rate.

With the genre comfortably being at its biggest since about 2001, it got me thinking: who would I stick on nu metal's Mount Rushmore?

Not necessarily just the four biggest bands to come from that scene - that'd be Linkin Park, System Of A Down, Slipknot and either Korn or Deftones. Neither am I simply picking my personal favourites here - this is a question of which four bands have defined, evolved and personified nu metal the most.

So, without further ado, here are my picks and my accompanying arguments. Feel free to disagree with me - in fact, I encourage you to in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Have at me!

Korn

The founding fathers of this whole operation. The ground zero. The alpha and omega. Your Faith No Mores and your Rage Against The Machines might have done their parts to sow some seeds, but nu metal as we know it started right here, via Bakersfield in 1994. Korn affected metal's evolution in a way every bit as profound as Metallica and Black Sabbath before them. If you want to raise a glass to - or a middle finger at - the band responsible for the likes of Adema and The Union Underground becoming household names for a moment in the 2000s, the buck stops here. No arguments: Korn have to go on.

Korn - Blind (Official HD Video) - YouTube

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Limp Bizkit

If Korn began nu metal (and they did, I'm not entertaining any arguments to the contrary), then Limp Bizkit surely defined it at its swaggering, obnoxious, chart-slaying zenith. Following the (unfair) notoriety of Woodstock '99, selling a million copies of Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water in a week and topping charts with Rollin', Fred Durst's red cap became as renown in 2000s pop culture as Eminem's blonde buzz cut and Britney's red catsuit. Nu metal was everywhere between 1999-2001, and no one personified that more than the boys from Jacksonville. No Nu Metal Rushmore would look right without Fred's chinstrapped face on it.

Limp Bizkit - Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - YouTube

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Linkin Park

Bizkit might have overshadowed them in the early goings, but Linkin Park are the biggest band to have come from nu metal. That's a fact. Hybrid Theory remains the biggest-selling debut album of the 21st century, and where many of their peers fizzled out or became irrelevant, Linkin Park went on to become one of the defining American rock bands of their generation. They may have left nu metal behind for a time, but comeback album From Zero had enough bouncy millennial angst to remind everyone of where LP came from. For me, their place on this list is bulletproof.

One Step Closer [Official HD Music Video] - Linkin Park - YouTube

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Deftones

The final slot was the one that gave me some real trouble, because for me, the three obvious options are bands that have never sat comfortably within nu metal itself: Slipknot, System Of A Down and Deftones. All three are massive, all undeniably came grouped with the nu metal scene to start with, but all three pretty much outgrew it immediately.

I could have gone with a band that have more proudly embraced their nu metal heritage like Papa Roach, who dropped the mother of all nu metal encores at Wembley Arena this year. I mean, let's be honest: they deserve an honorary mention forLast Resort alone. But while they're a great band, their legacy just isn't quite as profound as those other three nominees. And so, after some deliberation, I've gone with what might well be the most controversial option: I'm putting Deftones on my nu Rushmore.

The reason? While Chino et al have been at pains to distance themselves from nu metal, not only did they craft that world's definitive artistic statement with the innovative and game-changing White Pony; their aesthetic and connection to the skater scene defined the nu metal era's look and feel every bit as much as Korn defined its sound. Because nu metal was never about one sound: it was a movement, and one that Deftones had a vast influence on.

Deftones - Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) (Official Video) [HD Remaster] - YouTube

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So...how'd I do? Agree with my choices? Enraged that System Of A Down missed out? This could be your moment to finally give Ill Niño that spotlight you think they've always deserved! Let me know your thoughts below and let's get stuck in.