LINKIN PARK Hybrid Theory
CD review

OK, how long is this 'nu-metal' thing going to go on for? It's done great things for metal and rock, no doubt about it. An industry and genre that didn't seem to move in terms of style and substance has been given a dramatic makeover since the arrival of Korn in 1994.

Yes there were other bands out there doing the same kind of thing before Korn, but they're the ones that really changed the world's opinion and ideas towards rock. Since then many bands have come, the trend now to incorporate a DJ as part of the act, just to add that hip-hop element. These guys don't just rock; they're down with the street too.

Most of these bands manage to put out strong recordings though, although mostly sounding the same. But now and then you will get a band that seems to get the formula just right exhibiting real talent and song writing ability; in step 'nu' comers, Linkin Park.

On the plus side of nu-metal, you can feel pretty safe buying any of the genre's albums. As long as you like the sound you can be guaranteed that it's all going to sound pretty much the same; and Linkin Park is no exception. From the album cover you can tell what sort of music this bunch is likely to make.

The guitars are all going through (and I'm sure you can buy them now) nu-metal distortion pedals, the bass lines are pounding, lots of shouting, occasional rapping, and drums loops mixed with heavy drums, occasionally. But what Linkin Park lack in originality they more than make up for in melody, tune and structure.

Opening track 'Papercut' sets out on the right foot, defining how this album is going to take shape with strong power chords, rapping verse, shouty, melodic chorus and occasional scratching. However, it's when the middle eight kicks in that you notice a difference to the rest of the bunch. In kicks a moving pop like melody that makes you take notice and not take for granted that this is going to sound like all the others.

'One Step Closer' and 'Runaway' follow the verse-chorus-verse 4:4 structure, which is always found on every album of this style for the band get gain a fan base through a sampling of chart success.

Songs like 'With You' carry a great mix of rap/rock, utilising multiple singers to a great degree. The overall sound of the band is very tight, and although the music isn't overly complicated it all goes to create a great sound with each vocalist knowing their place and the DJ-ing used effectively. So you're not left with a fat bloke in a red cap and some occasional scratching placed randomly at various points over the song.

But it's not all shout shout shout. The opening and verses of 'Crawling' are similar to late night radio tracks from the 80s, which then lead into a loud shouty chorus. Ok then, maybe its mostly shout shout shout. But it's on songs like 'Crawling' and 'In The End' that go to show what a great voice vocalist, Chester Bennington has. He sounds like he could have been in a US boy band but he's clearly a sensible chap and picked heavy rock instead. Well done, Chester.

Stand out tracks include 'One Step Closer', 'In The End', full-on bouncing 'Forgotten' and the DJ's own little solo effort contribution 'Cure For The Itch', which you could imagine driving though New York City to at dawn.

One good thing about up and coming bands at the moment is that I'm sure they were all 80s kids and therefore were influenced by the great tunes and melodies contained in pop music at that time. This combined with the aggression of 90s metal is creating a great formula for heavy music with emotion, of which Linkin Park are hopefully just the beginning.

Hybrid Theory is a great album. At first it may sound just the same old nu-metal slog through heavy shouting tracks about how annoyed the band are at 'the system', but give it a few listens and it'll be appreciated on a different level to most of the stuff out there. Some of the lyrics are questionable, such as "I wanna run away and never say good-bye" on 'Runaway', which sound as if they were written when Chester was about 16, but ignoring that the rest of the lyrics are of a high calibre.

The only problem with an album of this quality is that you'll undoubtedly get copycat acts emerging, even though bands such as Fear Factory were using the shouty verse, melodic chorus years before, Linkin Park have taken the formula and applied it to a more commercially acceptable style. Let's hope that any bands following are influenced by Linkin Park's approach and not just rip them off.

8/10

david twomey

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