Those Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden songs come from the early grunge era, the Motorhead one was grunge era too. The rest were early nu-metal era, though. This is closer to when nu-metal was catching on more.
1997
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eNOcDBBlMGI2001
https://youtube.com/watch?v=T6HIifwp4MM
That's true. I think, outside of power metal stuff, metal had just gotten too extreme for more mainstream exposure, and power metal was probably considered too "geeky". The 90s was the peak of death metal and grindcore, and when doom, sludge and stoner began to really take off. You'd get maybe a couple of those videos on old Headbangers Ball in between an endless stream of butt rock, and you'd maybe catch a couple of those bands on Beavis and Butt-Head. That's only because Mike Judge could do what he wanted. MTV didn't want to touch GWAR, and bands like Crowbar probably even less.
I see Pantera after their independent releases as the beginning of nu-metal. Cowboys from Hell 1990 is already pretty much nu-metal.
I also don't see the distinction between nu-metal and rap-rock as concrete.
But I guess you are right, Korn is seen as the real beginning of nu-metal in 1994.
Regarding power metal, it's so counter to the propaganda that it has always been hated by Hollywood.
The core message is to be powerful, just, and righteous, with lots of Euro-centric symbols and stories.
It's classic European heroism, contrasting sharply with what they wanted to promote at that time: nigger thug culture.
Glam was their first attempt to take control of metal.
The production companies promoted grunge and alt-rock endlessly, attempting to decimate the merit-based metal ecosystem.
They never managed to kill it; they just ended up separating themselves from it.
Production companies don't want bands that are good at writing songs and playing music; they want people who do what they are told. (That is why they banned death metal, a bunch of guys who take their music seriously and don't follow orders.) The easiest way to achieve that is to take average or bad musicians and turn them into stars through marketing and studio musicians. There is nothing like Yngwie Malmsteen in nu-metal by design.
I have shifted my list into the future, and my point still stands strong: nu-metal being the organic evolution of metal, because metal was dying, is a lie.
Production companies made radio stop playing metal (metal albums were still selling in the top 10), replacing it with nu aka nigger-metal instead.
This absolute banger came out in 2010 when nu-metal was beginning to crumble.
Considering how overproduced nu-metal is and how much theater is around the songs.
(All those nu-metal bands came ready with an expensive well produced music video.)
It's obvious most are created by production companies, because a new band can never afford all that gloss.
