Pros: Hard rock edge with rap flow and pop sensibilities....
Cons: This is pop. 21st century pop - but pop.
The Bottom Line: The band needs to mature more, but for now create accesible 21st century pop - I recommend this album for now...but hope Linkin Park don't sell out.
vijaygt's Full Review: Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
It seems everyone wants to talk about Linkin Park these days - and for good reason.
The band has found the best rap-rock "groove" since Rage Against The Machine way back in the early 90s.
However, they have achieved popularity way beyond RATM's highest aspirations....the reason being that Linkin Park have no message.
Linkin Park is a band that just makes some nice popular music - except some of the members play instrument, a welcome change from the pop music of the 90s. However, musicianship is not something that, alone, can make a rock band great. The vocalist should be decent, and the lyrics, and band as a whole, should have some sort of message.
On this count, Linkin Park fails. Miserably. All they sing about are relationships - and that, too, bitter relationships. Now, songs like that are all right on a debut, but, going by Linkin Park's amazing success, I wouldn't be surprised if the inventive band stuck with their tried-and-true formula of angsty ballad/rockers.
That would be disappointing, as there is some real talent in this band. Well, actually, I have to be honest - their are two real talents.
Chester Bennington is certainly one of mainstream rock's best singers. He has a more conservative approach than his Incubus counterpart, Brandon Boyd, yet both manage to sound impassioned yet in control. The only exception for Mr. Bennington would be his pathetic attempt at (death?)metal screams in One Step Closer - truly lame. I mean, there are some people who can scream and sound passionate, angry, and expressive. There are others, like Chester Bennington, who sound like a whining 5th graders when they scream. Perhaps Mike Shinoda should try the screaming.....
Speaking of Mike Shinoda - this guy can actually rap. Not well (like, say, Chuck D of Public Enemy or Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest), but well enough to make the whole rap-rock thing work.
Also impressive in LP is their DJ, Mr. Johann (?). Wow - this guy alone can do stuff that makes Moby look less safe in the "hip DJ electronica artist" category. Very talented - and the guy makes up for Linkin Park's unusual LACK OF A BASS PLAYER!!!
(in Chester's screaming style as per "One Step Closer")
WHAT KIND OF SERIOUS BAND DON'T HAVE A BASS PLAYER!!!
I'LL TELL YOU! POSEURS AND INNOVATORS!
Let's just hope Linkin Park, with their future album, proves to be an innovative band, not the poseur band that they could all too easily become.
When the first track from a band s debut album gets added to major rock stations four weeks before its official release, it must be something very spe...More at Buy.com
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