Linkin Park � Meteora
Review by antiGUY

Linkin Park � Meteora
Label: Warner Bros.
Buzz or Hype?: Lots of Buzz about the Hype or is it Hype about the Buzz?
Rating:

Linkin Park's rise to the top of the rap-rock heap was indeed meteoric but this attempt to stay there can only be described as mediocre. If anything this disc should have been called "supernovious epilogus" because the bright star that shined on "Hybrid Theory" has already exploded and burnt out with this new album that is filled with so many formulaic cliché's that it seems that the band is parodying itself instead of continuing the direction of their debut.

Some have taken to calling Linkin Park a boyband with guitars and that wasn't quite fair when you judged them based on "Hybrid Theory" which was actually a pretty solid album from such young musicians. Whether it was the music or the image that made them best sellers is still up for debate. This CD is a self-fulfilling prophesy as the band does come across more as a "boyband with guitars" who seemed to measure every second on this disc with the thought of latching onto the songs from "Hybrid Theory" that made them international superstars instead of the other tracks which gave them a broader sound.

The message here seems to be "sell, sell, sell" instead of "let's see what we can be as a band". This disc seems so planned out and contrived I wouldn't be surprised if the songwriting and recording was overseen by marketing gurus and media planning professionals. Even where Linkin Park wants to give the appearance of "experimenting" by adding orchestration and even a pan flute to the mix, the songs themselves have a seamlessly predicable sound more geared toward getting airplay than musical expression.

I was one of the few that held out hope that Linkin Park would actually go into the studio and come out with something to prove their critics wrong. "Hybrid Theory" wasn't your run of the mill rap-rock record but instead seemed a refreshing break from the Limp Bizkit school with it's mix of alternative and industrial flavors and the inner play between the vocals and raps, not to mention their ability to mix all of that together ang give it a very effective pop facade. Although, it grew a bit long in the tooth rather quickly, the band did know how to come up with compelling melodies with what seemed like natural pop sensibilities blended in with the rap and rock. And for a band so young, they came across more than competent.

Then something funny happened, they became huge stars and out came the media darlings within and we saw the rap side of the band played up where it's the vocals and rock side that made them a compelling band beyond the middle school crowd. That milking of the rap/hip-hop formula came crashing to a head with the remix album, which came across as a pathetic attempt to cash in on the band's fame and hold the fans off while they "engineered" their new studio album. On that album they pretty much divorced themselves from the strongest elements of their music; Chester's vocals and the guitars and instead opted to put out a mediocre hip-hop album. It's their career and they are free to take whatever direction they like but I've been disappointed that they have forsaken their musical promise and traded it in for fame and fortune. It's insurmountable that they could have come back this time and changed many minds but it's not unheard of, just ask Coldplay.

With rap-rock more than a little long in the tooth, this new cd from Linkin Park seems a bit out of place but they will probably give the trend a last hurrah as the kids rush to the store to buy this CD up. This disc is a bit heavier than "Hybrid Theory" but the song structure and overall sound is much more limited and the songwriting seems more focused on formula and charting than on the music. The songs are pretty much interchangeable as the band relied on the tired and worn out cliché's of the rap-rock genre again, again and again.

The bottom link is Linkin Park breaks no new ground here and in fact take a step backwards from the strengths and diversity of "Hybrid Theory". Where they were once on the verge of being trail-blazers in the mixing of hip-hop, pop and rock, instead they now rest on the laurels of the genre and their fame and have churned out an album that sounds as planned out and contrived as anything you would hear from a boyband. So while, my best hopes were that Linkin Park would return and hit one out of the park, thus quieting their critics, they instead took the road most traveled and produced more a product than an album of music. So if you're one of the millions that count yourself as a fan due to Linkin Park's chart topping singles, you will be on more than familiar ground with this album. If on the other hand, you are one who despises this group for those very same singles, then this album will add more fuel to your fire of hatred and is not likely to make you a convert to the cult of Linkin Park. If anything "Meteora" will give Linkin Park detractors 13 more reasons to hate this band, but your little sister will love it!

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