We have been warned. According to a recent Rolling Stone article, Butt Rock is back. Does it need to be? Not really, but people are going to like stuff that's not great sometimes.
Butt Rock, you see, stemmed from a rock-friendly radio phrase when the stations would do ads with phrases such as "Rock. Nothing But Rock." So, people put two and 14 together and came up with the moniker Butt Rock.
The bands that fall into the subgenre, even accidentally, are mostly the post-grunge rock bands that came to dominate rock airwaves, who could create songs with loud guitars and yearning lyrics. There were some good songs, a lot of bad ones, but enough to force a new subgenre to be born.
These Butt Rock bands lowered our intelligence
Puddle of Mudd
Formed by Fred Durst because he was a fan of vocalist Wes Scantlin, as Scantlin's previous group was on the verge of breaking up, Puddle of Mudd has gone through several lineup changes. For instance, two of the band's four piece only joined as recently as 2025. This might be due to the band not selling many albums since their 2001 debut.
What's also odd is that Scantling reportedly thinks so much of himself that he wants to make a biopic of himself and wants Durst involved in the project. Truly great musicians don't have to create films about themselves; other people will do that.
But this kind of arrogance rolls over to the band's loud, but empty, sound that relates to fewer and fewer people. Maybe if Puddle of Mudd had a different vocalist, they would be fine.
Shinedown
The band's biggest sin is the awfulness of "45," in which the lyrics imply...well, who can be sure? They are so bad that there are many ways to read them. Unfortunately, the song is part of Shinedown's early discography, so one might have tuned them out 20 years ago. The group has had a sustained level of success that cannot be discounted.
The problem is, like most Butt Rock bands, Shinedown doesn't sound much like 100 other bands. The melody is lacking, but the production is sharp. It's shiny music for those who don't want an emotional connection.
Creed
Creed was always a lie. The band was packaged as religious-friendly, even though vocalist Scott Stapp seemingly failed to live the implied lifestyle. Stapp even appeared in a sex tape along with Kid Rock.
The band was a low-end product that sold well for a time, a record company's dream. The problem was that their overly earnest songs were better off at middle school dances, and Stapp's strained vocals made it seem as if he constantly needed to have to go to the bathroom.
Nickelback
Instead of doing what everyone else does, let's not knock Nickelback here. Are they the epitome of Butt Rock and pop-rock driven? Sure, but the band has a good sense of humor about itself and lets the hate roll off them.
That is actually how other famous people should handle being criticized. Either move on or rise above. Nickelback is a great example of how not to give in to the trolls.
Staind
Staind had a good run of success until about a decade ago, and then put out an album in 2023, the ridiculously titled Confessions of the Fallen, that fell flat. This implies what most fans already know. As long as Staind kept producing records, they made it hard to forget about them, even though they are ultimately forgettable.
Going a decade without a new record, many fans had moved on. Staind was never great enough for people to keep high hopes for new work. And the achy-breaky heart vocals on "It's Been Awhile" have, rightfully, not aged well.