20. Stuck (Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, 1997)
Possibly the strongest show of Korn's influence on the nascent nu metal scene, Stuck's main riff feels like something that could have come straight from bassist Fieldy's fretboard, while the song's breakout feels decidedly lifted from Blind, Durst offering his best Jonathan Davis impression with impassioned snarls. Bizkit manage to still pour their own personality into the track in buckets however, standing out from lesser Korn klones by hitting the song with a characteristic sense of swagger. It probably didn't hurt matters too much that Bizkit weren't so much copying Korn as learning directly from them, Fieldy even putting the band in touch with Three Dollar Bill Y'all producer Ross Robinson. It all came full circle when Stuck was featured as part of a mini-set that convinced Korn to take Bizkit on the Family Values tour, the tour that helped break nu-metal on a national level in the US.
19. The Truth (The Unquestionable Truth [Part 1], 2005)
Sounding like the Tool you ordered on Wish, Limp Bizkit were headed in a different direction when they went into the studio to record the 2005 EP The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Guitarist Wes Borland had left the band in 2001, only to return after the release of 2003's Results May Vary, but Bizkit weren't ready to pick up where they left off; instead, The Truth sees a beefier, angrier sound for Bizkit that keeps the nu metal elements in the mix but somewhat dialed back against the kind of heft you'd normally associate with groove metal titans like Machine Head. Though the band would go on hiatus just months after The Unquestionable Truth's release, the EP showed that Limp Bizkit weren't willing to go down with the ship without at least trying to swim for shore.
18. Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle) (Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, 2000)
By 2000 Limp Bizkit were actively breaking down barriers, a pop culture phenomenon who had transcended the realms of purely metal to hobnob with pop divas and Hollywood A-listers alike. The band could work with just about anyone they wanted at the height of their powers, so it made sense for them to consolidate their ties to the hip-hop world by recruiting rappers Method Man (who had also collaborated with the band on 1999's Significant Other), DMX and Redman to work on a remixed version of Rollin' to use as the penultimate track of Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water. There's not a guitar in sight, but the track infiltrated the hip-hop world just enough to lure some curious souls back to rock and metal.
17. Pollution (Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, 1997)
One of Limp Bizkit's earliest songs, Pollution was featured on the demo Ross Robinson was handed by Korn bassist Fieldy to convince him to produce Three Dollar Bill, Y'All. Of the songs on Bizkit's debut, Pollution is among those that showed the band's promise best, combining a howling chorus, bounding hardcore beat and hip-hop flow to thrilling effect. The track has a similar careening energy to Refused's New Noise (from their seminal 1998 release The Shape Of Punk To Come), an indicator of just how unrestrained and creatively sharp Bizkit were on arrival.
16. N 2 Gether Now (Significant Other, 1999)
With Significant Other Limp Bizkit were fully setting the stage for their ascension to stardom, stripping away some of the more frantic energy of Three Dollar Bill, Y'all and shifting heavier emphasis on their hip-hop affiliations. Nowhere was that more apparent on the single N 2 Gether Now, which saw the band team up with rapper Method Man and producer DJ Premier to create something more directly appealing to the hip-hop world. The track wasn't a smash success (unlike its following single, Break Stuff), but it certainly got word about Bizkit out beyond the borders of rock and metal.
15. Full Nelson (Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, 2000)
If you want full aggro Limp Bizkit, Full Nelson is for you. Durst goes in with both barrels with his most 'no, fuck you' attitude lyrically, creating the perfect anthem for legions of angsty teens who just needed an outlet to stick their middle fingers up and rail against parents, teachers, police or just about anyone else who might have crossed their paths that day. Like Stuck getting hopped up on steroids (Full Nelson even cannibalising the hook of the previous track), Full Nelson ditches the Korn similarities and goes for broke with pure Bizkit bounce.
14. Behind Blue Eyes (Results May Vary, 2003)
Pure sonic marmite. Long before Disturbed's David Draiman started assembling the ultimate classic cover collection, Limp Bizkit were trying their own hand at expressing their sensitive side with a cover of The Who's Behind Blue Eyes. And why not? Doing the same with George Michael's Faith had done wonders for the band back in 1997, but that was then, and Behind Blue Eyes was 2003; nu-metal had faltered, Bizkit's classic line-up were scattered to the wind and the band were being left behind with the times. Behind Blue Eyes might have earned them chart success (including a No. 1 in the Czech Republic and Sweden), but it didn't reverse their fortunes as they had hoped it would. Probably should have ditched the speak & spell - if the song came out now it would probably be a meme by the end of the day.
13. Livin' It Up (Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, 2000)
'This is dedicated to you Ben Stiller, you my favourite motherfucker'. Yes, its an incredibly cringe opening, but also indicative of just how massive Limp Bizkit were, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars like it was nothing. Within a few years they'd find their entourage populated by crickets and tumbleweed, but Bizkit were at the height of their powers in 2000 and even managed to get Stiller to 'contribute' to the recording of Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water (and appear in the video to Rollin'). While certainly among Bizkit's most cringe-inducing lyrical offerings, the band own it with the kind of bravado that only they could get away with.
12. Eat You Alive (Results May Vary, 2003)
How much difference a few short years can make. By 2003 nu metal was over the hump and Bizkit were still trying to figure out how to survive the sudden change in the tides. Eat You Alive feels more like something you'd hear from Dope, Drowning Pool or Snot (whose guitarist Mike Smith had joined the band following Wes Borland's departure), but the track's focus on a groovier, more alt-metal adjacent sound was canny thinking considering the enduring popularity of that sound and the rise of post-grunge (you need only look at the soundtrack to the 2004 Punisher movie to see just how popular that sound still was). The song still bagged Bizkit a top 10 single in the UK (just about), but it showed Bizkit's commercial peak was over. It's a shame - the song is as anthemic as anything else in the band's arsenal.
11. Faith (Three Dollar Bill, Y'all 1997)
Limp Bizkit's cover of George Michael's Faith had helped the band earn notoriety before they'd even gone in to record Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, so it made perfect sense to include the song on their debut album, much to producer Ross Robinson's chagrin. It paid off; Faith became a radio hit and earned the band wider appeal - including catching the attention of future collaborator Method Man. While there have been many pop covers since (and before - some good, some not so), Faith provided a canny in-road for metal to infiltrate pop, enjoying some extra publicity when George Michael was caught in flagrante in 1998. As Durst put it to Billboard, "we couldn't ask for more buzz".
