World Wide Review
It may be said that nu-metal fans are recruited from angry teenagers sharing a common rebellious streak and a fascination with black, but I haven’t been a teenager for many years and having first heard their music then rushing out to buy both their albums early this year, I now consider myself a Linkin Park fan.
Linkin Park can be described as several bands rolled into one: Chester Bennington (singer) offers melancholic croons and bloodcurdling screams superbly; Brad Delson (headphone wearing guitarist) tantalises with powerful chords, Rob Bourdon (drummer) makes complex drum patterns sound easy, Mike Shinoda (rapper) and Joseph Hahn (dj) add a certain urban flava to their music.
Admittedly, if you’re accustomed to the hard-core rappers of today you may at first think that Mike’s rap skills sound a bit odd. However, if you listen to both albums a couple of times it’ll probably occur to you, as it did me, that his rap shouldn’t be any other way and clicks perfectly with Chester’s classic rock bellow. In fact, that is the sound that makes them Linkin Park.
Not only do they cross genres in music; in addition to the angry, screeching vocals and guitars that every rock / nu-mutal band must have, Linkin Park back this with a solid blend of samples, mixing, rapping, and a versatile sound which makes their music stand out. Their tracks move at breakneck speed from one to the next, providing crisp beats accompanied by Mike’s rhythmic rap and Chester’s sexy vocals. The sounds are mesmerising and prove that they are more talented and complex than the hard rock boy bands that have appeared of late.
Hybrid Theory:
Their 12-track debut album ‘Hybrid Theory’ opens with ‘Papercut’, an upbeat tune about paranoia that is mainly rock with hints of hip-hop and techno. The next song, ‘One Step Closer’, is an angry sounding rock tune with a pulsing beat, guitars and catchy chorus: “Everything you say to me / take’s me one step closer to the edge / and I’m about to break.” The third track, ‘With You’, starts with a melodic synthesiser-sounding instrument followed by hard rock beat and is about someone only being around in the singer’s mind: “It’s true the way I feel / was promised by your face / the sound of your voice / painted on my memory / even if you’re not with me / I’m with you.” The album contains a mixture of roaring lyrics and quieter interludes that show the talent that Linkin Park have in amalgamating musical genres. ‘Points of Authority’ follows the same pattern as the previous songs - a blend of techno, rock and hip-hop and makes a solid statement of anger, frustration and helplessness with its chorus: “You like to think you’re never wrong / you like to act like you’re someone / you want someone to hurt like you / you want to share what you’ve been through (you live what you’ve learnt).” The fifth track on the album, ‘Crawling’, will send shivers down your spine with Chester belting out the chorus, “Crawling in my skin / consuming all I feel / fear is how I fall / confusing what is real.” This song starts out much slower than the previous tracks until it gets to the chorus. ‘Runaway’, picks up the pace going back to the rock and hip-hop beats with a rap-punctuated verse. The “metal”-sounding ‘By Myself’ is a sad song about losing hope. ‘In the End’, one of Linkin Park’s biggest hit so far and incidentally the track that brought them into my life, is good lyrically and vocally, with a great piano intro and outro. The message here is, regardless of whether you make mistakes or make it big, it won’t matter in the end. ‘A Place for My Head’ has an upbeat catchy chorus and vocals with everything fitting together like a jigsaw. The track runs into ‘Forgotten’, which continues the same beat. ‘Cure the Itch’ is a slow techno, hip-hop, rap, drum sampling track by Mr Hahn. Its melancholy sound gives the opportunity to catch one’s breath and mull over the ferocious sounds of the previous tracks. ‘Pushing Me Away’ is the last track on the album with great rhythm, lyrics and harmony. The chorus: “The sacrifice is never knowing / why I never walked away / why I played myself this way / now I see / you’re testing me / pushes me away” is excellently belted out by Chester’s emotion-filled voice and leaves you in awe as the album ends.
