Question: what do you get when you combine rock, rap and
great vocals? Answer: Linkin Park’s new album Meteora.
Yes, their second album, their Do or Die effort, the one
that will determine if they will add on to the long list
of one hit wonders or remain as the hottest band out there
is out there. Well,  they’ve
done it again, this album raises the bar of where pop music
will soon be heading to. Meteora is not afraid to
test out the waters and make a huge slash of the music industry.
The album is a must-buy, I found myself listening to every
song of the C.D because each of them had a new flavor of
funky beats. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself
rocking your head back and forth as the instrumentals combine
to make a solid smack in the face.
The two-year hiatus that Linkin Park took to make Meteora
was well spent as it doesn’t fail to satisfy both
hip-hop and metal fans with beat-boxing drums, buzzing guitars
and the shared vocals of Mike Shinoda’s catching rhymes
and Chester Bennington’s lyrical roar. This C.D isn’t
the average pop C.D of heart-felt songs about puppy love
and broken hearts, painting the picture of living in a Barbie
doll world. It doesn’t perpetuate the countless songs
that top the charts, and that’s the greatest aspect
of the album. Linkin Park redefines music to become every
teenager’s innermost thoughts and feelings.
Compared to Linkin Park’s first album, Hybrid Theory
(the top selling album of 2001), Meteora comes with
a completely different sound. Chester’s lyrics show
his more sensitive side, featuring verse of love and longing,
without putting you asleep (finally). This album is successfully
brings the head banging exercise in rhythmic aggression
that you can’t help but love. Even though it has been
predicted through “the sophomore jinx” that
this album will not sell as many units as Hybrid Theory,
it is just as worthy of admiration.
The first single off Meteora, entitled “Somewhere
I Belong”, as many have probably heard already on
music channels or the radio, has bumped Norah Jones’s
single “Don’t know Why,” off the #1 place
in the charts. The reason for this is that the song has
it all, it reflects a soothing atmosphere but doesn’t
neglect it’s rocking sound. The song begins with a
relaxing dragging scratch of the turntables, alternate computer
sounds throbbing in, the guitars and drums come in with
a bang. This combination of rap and metal collides as Chester
and Mike start with the verses of what can only be described
as what everyone desires in life: “I want to hear/
I want to feel/ Like I’m close to something.”
The song has a “ta-daa!” ending, as the main
theme of the song is flipped around, saying, “I don’t
need you anymore.” That is why this song officially
kicks ass! The high-spirited attitude it gives you, the
confidence and independence to say, “I will no longer
rely on you.”
Another song entitled “Don’t Stay,” can
summarize the entire album as the wake-up call that was
desperately needed as pop music went down the drain. It
starts off with a subtle throbbing beat, then the clashing
of the electronicly influenced guitar and computer-animated
beat all crash together. Sounds complicated? Well that’s
what makes this sound so awesome. So get up off your lazy
ass and buy Meteora already!
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