Meteora

by

Linkin Park

Edit

Sure, they may not have the most complex guitar out there and their songs are very structurally similar, but really, Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" was one of the catchiest, most energetic, and innovative cds to come out in quite a while. I loved their first release, loved the remix album just as much, and have been salivating over this new album. So, does it live up to their past two records? Lets go track by track-

1. Foreword- a short intro with speeding up percussion (the sound of a cd burner being beaten up) erupting into the sound of shattering glass and launching you into the next track.

2. Don't Stay- An aggressive guitar driven track with some really awesome dj scratching. Chester Bennington (singer) mixes up the verses with some awesome screaming.

3. Somewhere I Belong- The first single of Meteora sounds like it was constructed from the ground up to be a radio hit in the vein of In The End. That said, the interesting sampling and really beautiful piano part make this track a very memorable in its own right.

4. Lying From You- Heavy, sample laced guitar riffs and thunderous vocals make this one of the most mammoth tracks on the album

5. Hit The Floor- One of my favorites, Hit The Floor features some spectacular samples, skull crushing riffs and screaming, and some real tricky rapping from Mike Shinoda (emcee). I love the bridge, and the chorus has the same sort of weirdly catchy syncopation as By Myself (off Hybrid Theory).

6. Easier To Run- Ugh, my least favorite. Everything about this track smacks of an ill fated attempt to recapture the awesome grandeur off their old single, "Crawling". Though the rapping part is alright, Chester's chorus is revoltingly sappy and boring. Actually, his voice reminds me of Creed in this song (if that's good or bad, you decide).

7. Faint- Fast, furious, slick, and raging, the quick rapping and funky violin samples make this song an instant classic.

8. Figure 9- A straightforward rap-rocker with some clanking sampling and a bridge lifted right off of By Myself, this one is a solid head banger.

9. Breaking The Habit- A really weird sample, featuring Spanish guitar, live orchestra, and -I think- coin chinking sounds from a Mario game plays behind Chester's tortured, magnificent lyrics. A rather large departure from traditional LP (no rap, for one thing), this song really is quite beautiful, though the chorus could be seen as a little corny.

10. From the Inside- A solid ballad with a furious bridge, I think this song is a better Crawling sequel than Easier to Run.

11. Nobody's Listening- A cool hip-hop track with some unique flute samples, clips of High Voltage (another Linkin Park rap song), and some singing in the chorus. Though I'm not a big straight rap fan, I like this track quite a bit.

12. Session- An awesome instrumental, this is actually one of my favorites on the cd. Though its conceptually evocative of Cure for the Itch, the layering of sounds and seriously wicked dj solo make this far better than any of Linkin Park's past instrumentals.

13. Numb- The crowning achievement of the cd, Numb is one of the few tracks on Meteora that not only captures the energy and emotion of Hybrid Theory, it expounds upon it. A beautiful chorus, splendid piano and keyboard parts, and unforgettable lyrics make this my favorite song on the cd.

Overall, this album is musically more advanced and distinguished than Linkin Park's past attempts. However, it is not as gripping, powerful, or focused as Hybrid Theory or even Reanimation. Though a number of songs seem attempt to duplicate past successes- Don't Stay and Ones Step Closer, Somewhere I Belong and In The End, Lying From You and With You, Easier to Run and Crawling, Figure 9 and By Myself, Numb and Pushing Me Away- they seldom capture the elements that made Hybrid Theory such an outstanding album. Nowhere is there the frenetic razor beats of Papercut, the infamous "Shut up!"s of One Step Closer, or the emotional meltdown of A Place for My Head. Meteora excels in other ways, however. The tracks are more diverse, from the techno pop of Breaking the Habit to the ingenious hip hop of Nobody's Listening to the grinding elements of Hit the Floor, the songs on the album are on a whole more different from each other than they were on Hybrid Theory. Newcomers to LP won't be disappointed, but I think long time fans will find them selves yearning for the band's former punch. In fact, its probable that Meteora will not commercially match Hybrid Theory- though a lot of the tracks are soft and catchy, not as many just scream to be heard again. Another gripe is that this is one very short cd- though there isn't a lot of filler, you feel like they keep working up to something grand and never quite achieve it (though Numb, the best track, is last, one amazing song tacked on at the end does not make the rest of the cd monumental). Don't get me wrong, this is a good album and is well deserving of your money, I just think that there is something missing that prevents it from being a 5 star album.

Okay, let me start by saying I listen to a lot (and I do mean a lot) of music, and this includes actual metal (as well as pretty much any other genre you can think of). I know people call this "rap-metal"; well, I hate that label and think it's a terrible way to classify anything. The word "metal" should not be anywhere in the classification of this CD; it's simply not metal, nor does it have any metal influences, period. (If you want metal go listen to Chimaira, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom or I recommend for people looking into this CD you check out Machine Head's new release if you want metal--this is a great CD and may be to some of your likings, though it is much harder than this.) Also, I have always remained steadfast in my disliking for Linkin Park and decided to listen to it all the way through many times only because it was on a list of top CDs of the year by someone with excelent taste. So I put aside my bias and swallowed my pride and decided to review it fairly, and here is my review:

I don't hate this album. There, I said it. I'd give it a 2.5 if they'd allow it. It's not awful, but it's certainly not great, and not even all that good. The songs tend to follow the same formula in one of two possibilites: either they try to be loud, or it's soft. There's not much variation between the two and the songs start to sound very similar after a while. There is definitely filler here, but more on that later. Let's break this down:

The good (or not-so-bad) about Meteora:

Okay, so, much to my horror, I found myself tapping my foot to some of the songs when they were playing. Some of the songs can be fairly catchy. Every once and a while, though few and far between, they seem to get loud and aggressive (for real though, not their half-hearted attempt as usual), and this can keep my interest. When the lead singer decides to scream (rarely), it keeps my attention even though his scream is fairly weak compared to any hardcore/metal scream. They do some soft stuff that I actually kind of liked: "Hit the Floor" took me off-guard, and is a nice little break on this album, and quite good. Shows some real emotion. "Breaking the Habit" is somewhat less impressive, but okay. Some of the songs that may get you tapping your foot and are okay include "Don't Stay," "Somewhere I Belong," and "Numb." "Easier to Run" also shows a little more maturity on the lyrical side and mixes some nice choruses (with an orchestra behind it...what?) with some more heart-felt emotion. An all right song.

The bad:

Songs are formulaic. Period. There are no great solos to be found here; no impressive riffs; just power chords used in an unimpressive matter. The music to the louder songs all sounds the same after a few listens. "Nobody's Listening" is an absolute disgrace. How this song is on this CD is beyond me: it is awful and is a humiliation to rap and metal and every genre inbetween. "Session" is a very below-par instrumental track that serves little purpose to setting mood and certainly doesn't impress with any sort of musical talent. Filler. Brings it down. Really, the biggest problem is the songs sound too similar and they grow old fast. Also, we're not breaking any grounds lyrically here; this is fairly poor song-writing (this is no At the Drive-In folks). Only the songs listed above deserve more than a couple listen and even they grow old too fast. Formulaic music with vocals that don't impress isn't a good combo. I wish the lead singer would decide whether he's angry (and scream) or not (and sing) instead of his inbetween which rarely seems to work (Cedric Bixler is one exception). So let's recap: the music all sounds the same after a few listens; not very impressive vocals; too much filler; and nothing impressive musically.

This CD gets old way too fast. There are some songs here you may listen to for a while, but this will end up gathering dust...it just isn't impressive.

You may like this if you enjoy listening to pop-radio stations, but know the songs you hear there are probably their best, most-catchy. Don't expect much more. HOWEVER, don't even CONSIDER buying this album unless you already own Rage Against the Machine's live at Olympic Stadium CD. That is a far superior "rap metal" CD. Buying this before that is a terrible decision. This is just not impressive. Sorry kids. Go listen to Boy Hits Car, or something that isn't boring.

Overall rating: 42/100 (I recommend you check out Story of the Year instead.)