Linkin Park: who doesn't know them...
Linkin Park came in 2000 with their Hybrid Theory which sold already over 12 millions copies (I think, maybe more).
Their songs that were very popular and got high in playlists were "One Step Closer", "Crawling" and "In The End"
Some people say they aren't Nu-Metal because Korn was the Nu-Metal setter, and they are very different. I don't think that, IMO this is the most Nu-Metal on earth, with their catchy, short, emotional, powerful, rapping, singing, sampling style.
Chester Bennington -
This guy is unbelievable, he can sing awesome (and for the Linkin Park haters, don't comment me on that, I know I'm right). He can sing very clearly like in "Runaway" or very harsh like in "With You". Or just screaming like he is in a Death Metal band just like By Myself. A very good vocalist
Mike Shinoda -
Well, Mike has a high rap speed, can sample very good, but he also wants to play guitarist and sing. Hmm. bad mistake, he can't play guitar very good and singing? Nope.
Where he IS very good in again is that he can play the piano very good.
Brad Delson -
This guitarist is very decent, he can do some nice riffs but they aren't special. He has never done any solo or other guitar interlude which is very bad.
Joe Hahn -
This guy is very important in this band, also he got some nice talent with his turntables. Almost all songs start with a cool sampled intro by him and in the songs he does some scratching and other sampling.
Phoenix -
Representing the worst bassist of the world. This guy doesn't do anything that is mentionable, no to say that he can't do his things right, it is all just too simple for words.
Rob Bourdon -
I think this drummer is a bit underrated and can do some cool things with his drum. But overall he just does some normal drum beat. Very decent.
Tracklisting:
01 - Papercut
02 - One Step Closer
03 - With You
04 - Points Of Authority
05 - Crawlin
06 - Runaway
07 - By Myself
08 - In The End
09 - Forgotten
10 - Place For My Head
11 - Cure For The Itch
12 - Pushing Me Away
review:
01 Papercut
The opener of the album, (great opener). It starts with a creepy sounds done by the DJ which is followed by rapping from Mike. After that Chester sings chorus, this is repeated twice and till now nothing special has happened, it's just very good, but nothing special. BUT... THEN... The awesome bridge comes, first an interlude and is followed by the bridge with Chester singing "The sun goes down, I feel the light betray me". This is AWESOME. This is how I want Linkin Park to play their songs: emotional, powerful, with Chester singing from his heart and Mike rapping on a decent speed. Only for the bridge a 10!
Grade 10/10
02 One Step Closer
This song is a bit harder and was/is a very popular song. However, I think this song is very average. The opening guitar is very nice but not as good as many other guitar riffs, the verse is sung by Chester and is nothing special. The bridge is however not bad and harder than the rest Linkin Park has made. this is repeated in no time (This song is the shortest on the album). The bridge is awful, Chester just shouting "shut up" and some DJ sampling. Then the chorus comes again and is already over before you know it.
This song is a bit better than average but not as good as the rest.
Grade 6.5/10
03 With You
This is another completely insane good number where Joe Hahn is the highlight. The verse is soft with piano and Mike rapping some of the best lyrics I've ever heard. The pre-chorus and chorus is sung by Chester and Mike rapping. The bridge is a kind of a solo from their DJ and sounds very cool, Chester also sings something in it and is again followed by the chorus/outro.
Awesome track.
Grade 9.5/10
04 Points Of Authority
This is another great song with great lyrics. This was the first song I knew from Hybrid Theory and the thing I really liked was the intro. A very futuristic syntheziser(?) melody followed by Mike rapping some great lyrics "Forfeit the game Before somebody else Takes you out of the frame Puts your name to shame, Cover up your face You can't run the race The pace is too fast You just won't last ". The rest is a bit harder then LP usually does (still not as hard as Slipknot or something like that) but uses the same formula they always uses. That's the only reason that keeps me from giving a 10, but still a powerful track.
Grade 9.5/10
05 Crawling
This is another single that went very popular and is one of the calmer/more emotional songs. The song starts with a sampling and is immediately followed by an awesome chorus where Chester really sings as hard as he can. The verse is again the intro riff with some drums and Chester singing very calmly. It seems Mike doesn't have to do very much in here so that's why he came on the idea to feature as a second guitarist. The chorus is repeated just like the verse. Then the chorus comes again followed by another chorus and then the final chorus comes and the song is over. Although it's not one of my favorites it's still an awesome track.
Grade 9/10
06 Runaway
Many people think this is a bit of a filler (or a skipable) track, not bad but also not good, but I think this is another great song. Chester sings really beautiful in the verses and is perfectly linked to the harder chorus. The chorus has again some powerful lyrics (LP are IMO masters in rhyme lyrics) but sounds like it's done before. The bridge however is more original with some toms used by Rob and Chester shouting like he is in a death metal band. The last chorus is double length and features some nice drumming and the end comes. This song isn't bad, it's even a good song but not as good as the rest,
Grade 8/10
07 By myself
This is one of the harder songs and just like Runaway, people find this song a bit dull compared to the rest. I don't think it's that bad, it features some hard screaming from Chester and is one of the harder songs. The song starts with a disturbed guitar and goes into a riff where you can hear that this is one of their harder songs. The couplet is very soft with Mike rapping some high quality raps. The pre-chorus is Chester and Mike who sing perfectly to each other, as the same is with the chorus. The bridge is just a bit like couplet, soft, mike rapping and is followed by the 3rd and final chorus. Then the song is already over, it is one of their hardest songs and shows that Chester can shout and sing very good.
Grade 9/10
08 In The End
Unless you've lived under a rock, in a cave or on the bottom of the ocean you must have heard this song. This is about the most known metal song and got even a great number 126 (or something like that) of the 500 best songs ever. The intro we all know is a calm piano reapeating the same melody, then it bursts into the verse with Mike rapping a good rhyme. The chorus is very emotional and loud at the same time and shows Chester's talent for singing. The bridge is calm again and the outro is just the piano playing. It all is perfectly linked on each other and it all is very catchy. Another superb song.
Grade 9.5/10
09 Place For My Head
Starts with a d*mn catchy guitar riff which is followed by drums and some schratching. Then the couplet comes and it's a chaotic couplet, Mike raps almost at topspeed with some incredible lyrics and Rob Bourdon plays a chaotic drum riff. The chorus is Chester singing and Mike rapping a nice sentence between it. The couplet comes then which is followed by the chorus. The bridge is Chester whispering "You try to take the best of me, go away" and Live the people have to "help" them with that :) but it's still nice. Then the chorus comes again, the outro is something different from all the other track outro's because it has a sort of interlude in it with Rob drumming on the floor tom and Chester shouting. This whole song is incredible, there are no dull points in it and takes you from the one event to the other.
Grade 10/10
10 Forgotten
This was my favorite song ever until I discovered Tool, but still I love it. This time LP didn't choose for a sampled intro but immediately starting with the hard pre-chorus where Chester and Mike alternate perfectly on each other. The verse is again Mike rapping with some powerful but this time also weird lyrics with a nice guitar/piano melody which is a bit disappointing it wasn't as succesful as piano from "In The End". The chorus is sung by Chester and has just one of the best lyrics ever found in a Linkin Park chorus. The bridge is split up in two parts, the first part is just mike rapping with some background drumming and the second bursts into the same but distortion guitar + Chester shouting. After that the chorus comes again and ends with a awesome final chorus + outro.
Grade 10/10
11 Cure For The Itch
At first when I listened to this CD I was a bit suprised. I didn't hear singing, rapping, guitars. Only sampling!? Well, it sounds decent. With some funny riffs and a awesome piano riff that sometimes is played this is a nice variety of all the other songs on Hybrid Theory. A bit disapointing is that after a while it gets a bit boring but the song is already over within 2 and a half minutes so all this together is a nice track.
Grade 7.5/10
12 Pushing Me Away
This is the last song and wow, this is another awesome song. It starts with a calm guitar and (again) sampling intro and is followed by a great guitar. The verse is just the intro with Chester singing and Rob drumming but it all sounds perfectly to eacht other, and after the verse the pre-chorus comes which is followed by a great chorus. The chorus features awesome guitar and drumming. The bridge is a short interlude which reminds me very much of Numb (although Numb came later it was the first song I've heard from Linkin Park). This all together makes an awesome ending to an awesome album.
Grade 10/10
Pro's:
- Chester's singing, Mike's rapping and Joe's sampling are superb.
- Songs are as catchy as hell
- Papercut
- Lyrics are very good
Con's:
- Drum, bass and guitar are very simple.
- All songs (except for Cure for the itch) have the same arrangement.
- One Step Closer
- There is no song that is longer than 3.30 or shorter than 2.30
Best Top 3:
1. Papercut
2. Forgotten
3. Pushing Me Away
Worst Top 3:
1. One Step Closer
2. Cure For The Itch
3. Runaway
Conclusion:
If you like nu-metal, buy this (if you still haven't got it). All songs are good, although some songs are skipable but mostly you'll be rapping with Mike and singing with Chester. The follower "Meteora" isn't as high quality as this album but that's mostly because this album rocks (IMO) almost every other nu-metal album.
Very worth buying this:
Rating 4.5/5
This Message Edited On 10.24.05
