Hybrid Theory is exactly that: a musical hybrid of urgent rap and power rock, of the tender with the raw, of in-your-face agressive energy with tender crooning. This California fivesome knows how to use contrast. Songs like ’’In The End’’ veer from introspective longing to crunching power riffs, almost as if Metallica decided to explore its innner New Age nature
It may be too cynical to assume Hybrid Theory changed its name to Linkin Park in order to appear right next to Limp Bizkit in your local record bin. But rock-rap workouts like ’’One Step Closer’’ and ’’Papercut’’ do make Linkin Park a comfortable fit with Fred Durst and his ilk.
You pretty much can’t escape Linkin Park. MTV, Channel V, radio and magazines, this group of young Americans are everywhere. Several singles have gone top 10 and their debut album Hybrid Theory has gone number one all over the world...’’
’’Nu-metal’’ is sweeping the world and Linkin Park can take a lot of the credit for breaking in the new genre. With the relative infrequency of new music from Korn and Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park were along at the right time to fill the void to a younger, hipper crowd...’’
’’The combination of Bennington’s rich, mammoth vocal style with Shinoda’s rapid-fire emceeing helps to define Linkin Park’s sound. ’’I think one of Chester and Mike’s goals is to be as integrated as possible, ’’
This 12-song collection kicks into high gear from track one, ’’Papercut, ’’ setting an intense tone for the rest of the album with lead vocalist Chester Bennington’s strained voice flawlessly complementing the smooth rapping of emcee Mike Shinoda. In fact, these two work so well together that, unlike some other recent rap-rock albums, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one misfire on Hybrid Theory...
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