Buzzscope
Arguably, rap-metal as a tough sell. Few have managed to garner the success of say, Limp Bizkit, especially when there are bands that do far superior jobs of blending the two diverse genres. While many argue it’s validity, one band last year proved that there is, if anything, a growing market for this experimental fusion. Linkin Park proved to be 2001’s biggest success story, not just for selling close to five million copies of their debut album, but the fact that they did it while reaching the top five on record charts almost a year after their album was released. Instead of simply exploding for a quick moment then making a substantial decline, Linkin Park worked their way up in popularity, touring like mad and getting folks interested in their blend of metal and hip hop.
With frontmen Mike Shinoda’s undeniable rhyme skills and Chester Bennington’s contrasting vocal range, Linkin Park has put rap/metal back on the map, amazingly without resorting to the vulgarity often found in the separate genres they represent combined.Yep, Linkin Park’s the kind of music you can play at your ten year-old’s birthday party, or a Bar Mitzvah! And while many of us wait for an album of all-new material, LP unleashes Reanimation on an unsuspecting public, remixing their multi-platinum debut, Hybrid Theory, with some of the best and brightest in techno, rock, and hip hop.
After the soft operatic intro, listeners are thrown into the fray with Pts.Of.Athrty(remix of Points of Authority, this is a pattern of the whole album), arguably making my favorite song on Hybrid Theory even better. On a lesser note, the remix provides fans with a far better video than the concert montage for the original(i hate concert montage videos!). This is not to say that the remix album tries to top the original, because you’re setting yourself up for a fall if that’s your goal. No, the point of a remix album is to give an original song a slightly different flavor without losing the essence of the original. Pts.Of.Athrty is a shining example of that ideal which carries throughout the album. The infusion of electronica is dynamic and subtle at the same time and manages to stay in the Linkin Park vein. This could have easily been the original version under different circumstances. Enthe E ND provides a decidedly more hip hop feel to Hybrid Theory’s In the End, with Mike Shinoda accompanied by Kutmaster Kurt and Motion Man. The production is subdued and not as blaring as the original eventually became. Again, I stress, it’s not necessarily better, but different in its own way. Like other songs, this particular remix walks a fine line between reinterpretation and making a completely different song.
The great thing is that it’s evident the band and its guest producers are still trying to please the fans that made the group so popular, but also try to reach those who wouldn’t normally listen to Linkin Park. This isn’t the J.Lo school of remixing, where the remix is so different from the original in production and lyrics, it might as well be a different song, just for the sake of reaching a totally different demographic. Linkin Park is confident in who they are as a band and know what the want to do musically on this remix album. Other great tracks include H! VLTG3, where Shinoda holds his own alongside the enigmatic Pharaohe Monch, of course Monch loses points for being the umpteenth underground rapper to mention having a ‘third eye’ in his verse. PPR:KUT pushes the metal sound of the original even further, creating a blaringly frightening rendition that’s almost overproduced, but holds back at the last possible second. MY
In the end, Reanimation is a testament to the band’s appreciation for, and belief in, the experimental genre they fearlessly represent. They’ve put in the hard work, and that’s one thing even non-fans can’t ignore. Whereas many remix albums reek of commercial gimmickry, Reanimation is just that, a revival of sorts for a band that is determined to push the boundaries of musical genres, while still concerned with making their music the best it can be.
