Linkin Park

Meteora

A denser, harder "Hybrid"

Review Score:

(8/10)
This album is a lot less fluid and rap influenced than "Hybrid Theory." There's more real singing and there sure is a lot more yelling. Whether this a good thing or a bad thing, it's safe to say Linkin Park have survived their sophmore outing and escaped the "sophmore slump."
After "Reanimation", I was wondering just how much Linkin Park were planning on using their guitars on their sophmore release. I was not a fan of "Reanimation." I thought it was more of a techno/rap C.D. But, with "Meteora", it's also safe to say that the guitars are very much involved.

Highlights include:

"Somewhere I Belong" has a good intro which leads into the guitars. This song has pretty good rapping with good DJ scratches, but I must have heard this song too much or something, because now I hardly listen to anything past two minutes into the song (the teen angst yelling at the end gets on my nerves.)
"Lying from You" has another good intro (which makes a "beeping" noise), then explodes into the guitars. There are some good, swirling riffs and a couple of good DJ scratches on this song.
The guitars on "Hit the Floor" grind well (some are comparing this song to Pantera), while "Easier to Run" boasts an irresistable, sing along chorus with soaring vocals. All of which would've made this song a good single. Most of the songs on this C.D. are centered around a similar, big and catchy chorus.
"Faint" begins with what sounds like almost an orchestra, then turns to a typical rap/rock song. The rap on this one is smoothe and the yelling parts are towering, but what I enjoy most on this song is the catchy drum beat and the way the guitars start and stop.
However, there are some "Hybrid Theory"-esque moments:
"Breaking the Habit" is a personal favorite. It's a techno cut, making it a lot less subtle and less noisy than all the other songs. The vocals (which are usually rapped or screamed) are calmly sung over the soft strings, a repeating drum beat and DJ scratching. It's a personal favorite, even though it's techno, because it's very nearly danceable.
"Nobody's Listening" is more of a straight forward rap song, with another good chorus, while "Session" is an instrumental which echoes "Cure for the Itch". This song again shows us how talented the DJ (Joseph Hahn) is.

But, for the most part, this album has less rap tempos, more powerful guitars and yelling. However there are some of moments ("Session", "Nobody's Listening") which are as fluid as anything on "Hybrid Theory." Linkin Park have made more of a straight forward rock C.D., while also remaining true to their roots. The end result is a record which should please all of their fans. If you are sick of the radio singles, I urge you to check out the rest of the album, because there are several more good songs on here, and even a few great ones. However, if you didn't like "Hybrid Theory", don't expect this to change your mind.

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