There are millions of happy teenagers in the world this week. Yep, that's right, Linkin Park's long-awaited sophomore album has finally hit the shelves. And, in an attempt to beat those millions of teens to the punch (Lord knows a gazillion more reviews are waiting in the wings), I'm pulling a late night to give you my thoughts on Meteora. Ah, the things I do for my faithful readers.

OK, enough with the arrogance. Linkin Park gets pegged as a superficially angry, teen-friendly nu-metal band, and much of the time I'll admit the shoe fits, but obviously the appeal has spread beyond that for them to be as huge as they are. I like the band, after all, despite being fully aware of some of the valid reasons critics have for slagging them. Sure, I'll admit its true that many of the band's musical ideas aren't as original as it seems they want you to think they are, the rap-rock fad is on its way out, and that you can only go so long with frustration and paranoia fueling your lyrics before it starts to get old. Despite all of it, there's still something about being attacked from all sides with slick rap verses, thick guitar riffs, tasty bits of electronica, and unabashed pop melodies underneath the harsher elements that just gets me every time - it's like a ninja attack on the psyche, ensuring that these songs stay lodged in my brain. And perhaps that's why they're so hated by some people - like it or not, their songs tend to cut to the chase and slam you with hooks that are tough for tough for any radio programmer to resist, thus the band has been everywhere in the past two years. Perhaps they wouldn't be so hated if they weren't so loved, eh?

Well, it's certainly good to finally have some brand new songs from the Southern California boys, even though I should admit upfront that having Meteora in my hands so soon after last year's highly enjoyable remix project Reanimation seems to have come at a price. If you thought the original presentation of the songs on Hybrid Theory was a bit rushed, wait 'til you hear this puppy. Following the expected blueprint, this album slams through 11 songs and one for-fun DJ track as if it were an obstacle course to be completed in the shortest possible time. It takes a few abrupt turns along the way to experiment with the established LP sound, but then again, don't be fooled into thinking this is high art. They're trying to be creative with their sound, but perhaps the band's seeming confidence that they are in fact creating something wonderfully artistic and different is their biggest downfall on this project. The character spraying graffiti on the album's front cover is rather symbolic of this album's approach - what they are doing is certainly an art form and it can be a lovely thing to behold at times, but it's not the same art that would be created by the patient stroke of a brush. It's kind of like the musical equivalent of a trip through the drive-thru at your favorite fast food restaurant. Tasty, but such a quick and efficient transition that you're likely to speed off without your drink and not even realize it.

Heck, the album's even named Meteora, which I think is a reference to some Greek mythological place or something... an attempt to be "artier" even if all that title does is make me think of a celestial body that blazes through the night sky, resulting in a brief flash of brilliant light before it crashes and burns. Thankfully, the album performs better than that, even if it seems to lack anything that shines as bright as "In the End" or "Crawling" from the last album. Still, this record contains some true gems, so read on...

Foreword
The first track should give you an idea that something about this album was a bit rushed - it's a quick sequence of a nail being pounded and glass breaking which effortlessly leads into the beat for the first song... it might as well have just been part of the same track.

Don't Stay
Sometimes I feel like I trusted you too well
Sometimes I just feel like screaming at myself...
It's interesting that the album leads off with a song aimed so squarely at the more "rock" side of Linkin Park's sound - much like the band's first hit "One Step Closer", it's pretty much all Chester Bennington and his schizophrenic smooth singing/rough growling and screaming. DJ Joseph Hahn leads it off with a trademark electronic beat, which Brad Delson overlays with a fairly typical riff - it's the classic LP recipe, except maybe a little harsher. It should come as no surprise that Chester's fits of anger are used to tell someone they've overstayed their welcome. Widely varying subject matter isn't exactly the band's strong point. But it's a good way to get the album revved up all the same.

Somewhere I Belong
So what am I?
What do I have but negativity?
Cause I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me...
The first single off of this album really had to grow on me. Again, it's not terribly different from the usual sound the band has become infamous for - it's just that the elements seem more forced here than they did in most of the tracks on Hybrid Theory. Chester and Mike Shinoda pull off a wonderful exchange between lines that are rapped and sung during the verses, but at times the rapped parts seem a little too measured. Chester's chorus is surprisingly positive compared to LP's usually irritable (but still well-meaning) output: "I want to heal/I want to feel/What I thought was never real". It may be frustratingly vague about the "something" and "somewhere" he longs to find where he feels at peace with the world, but hey, it's a start. It just seems a little odd for him to put on his rougher voice when he sings those words. I'm trying to give this one time to grow on me - I know it hooks me in more and more every time I hear it with its cool intro sample (how in the world they got that sound out of Chester playing acoustic guitar, I'll never know) and overall singability. Not a terribly deep song, but I can still relate.

Lying from You
When I pretend, I can't forget about the criminal I am
Stealing second after second just cause I know I can...
It's been said that pretty much all of the songs on Meteora can be paired up with songs from Hybrid Theory, and while I don't really buy that, I can definitely say that this one is a great successor to "With You". It's got similar elements - DJ effects to start the song off, great rap verses from Mike that tell the story of an abusive relationship, and a higher-pitched chorus from Chester than you might expect. Some of his vocals get on my nerves on this album, more so than the last, but I have to say that he's in top form here. One difference that seems to be a step up from the bitterness of the last album is the realization that the protagonist is to blame for trying to be someone he couldn't be, and you can feel his pain as he asserts that "the very worst part of you is me". I love the discordant guitars during the bridge, even though the pattern took a little getting used to. That, and an electronic noise that keeps popping up, which sounds like tires squealing. Really gave me a scare the first time I listened to it the car!

Hit the Floor
So many people like me walk on eggshells all day long
All I know is that all I want is to feel like I'm not stepped on...
Like some of the harsher tracks from the debut, this cold, mechanical piece has to grow on you a bit. It starts off with a chunky, heavily-processed riff that repeats in the background while a drum loop chugs along underneath another skillful rap verse. It may be laughable to consider Linkin Park anything near "hardcore", but the sudden outburst in the chorus is certainly unexpected at first - the guys apparently fooled around with a few singing choruses and didn't like them, and then Chester came up with a temper tantrum just in the nick of time. It's like he pops out of nowhere, blasts you with a verbal assault rifle (remember, no cussing now), and then ducks back down again while Mike does a little reconnaissance to see what he's hit. The song seems to be directed at someone who lied to them or stabbed them in the back - perhaps critics. It's interesting how they talk about being on top and then hitting the floor, as if they are all too aware of how ephemeral the career of a trendy band of their stature can be. The song ends with DJ Hahn tooling around a bit with Brad's guitar riff, kind of like in "Points of Authority". Definitely a song that gets the head bobbing.

Easier to Run
Sometimes I think of letting go and never looking back
And never moving forward so there'd never be a past...
This would definitely be this album's version of "Crawling" - it floats in on a soothing electronic note and then Chester takes it away with a strong, memorable chorus. I really like this one even if it's such an obvious re-use of a tried-and-true template... it's got a soothing nature to it that Linkin Park isn't usually known for. The lyrics deal with the struggle to face one's own problems, and how it's much easier to hide and leave things unresolved than face it and work it out. It's a positive statement masked in what some would deem to be negative or defeatist lyrics. Chester lets us hear his softer, I-coulda-been-in-a-boy-band voice quite a bit here - there's this one part where Mike starts to rap and then he joins in singing the same words - "If I could change I would, take back the pain I would, replace every wrong move that I made, I would..." - it's pure magic how the two blend together. I like how the structure of the song works out, cutting unexpectedly from the second verse to the bridge and then to the chorus, even if that means the song is a tad on the short side (they all are). The song actually goes chorus-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus-outro - just because they knew I'd like it, Chester and Mike repeat that lovely little rap interlude towards the end. It all happens in under three minutes, which is the only bad thing... but I betcha there's a sweet remix in store whenever the band manages to get some more free time!

Faint
I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you to just believe this is real...
Prepare for the onslaught! A weird, whimsical intro that sounds like electronically distorted strings leads off this maniacally fast song - quickest paced-track the band's recorded so far. This gives Mike the chance to barrel through a few more clever raps that rival "A Place for My Head", after which Chester busts out with a chorus that bears an eerie resemblance to Korn's "Got the Life". He's basically throwing another fit here and telling someone "Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored". This whole bit of lashing out at someone who did you wrong is wearing a bit thin, guys...

Figure.09
Every day I regret saying those things' cause now I see
That I took what I hated and made it a part of me...
After having that last song blow through me, this one seems rather routine by comparison. I love the title (seems leftover from Reanimation, and has nothing to do with the song as far as I can tell... it's track 08, for crying out loud!), but the music seems like a cut-and-paste of a few of the tracks on Hybrid Theory. Basically, if you take the backbeat from "One Step Closer", overlay a more melodic chorus and a frustratingly rigid rap verse, and throw in the bridge from "By Myself" where Chester screams the last word of each line while a pounding guitar riff plods away in the background and just makes you want to scream "Shut up when I'm talking to you!", stir, shake, and let set for a few minutes, you'll end up with this song. I could pick out other subtle similarities to past songs, but you get the picture. A bit disappointing when most of the songs so far have had a little something to add to the old formula.

Breaking the Habit
Poetry my cure, I try to lock the door
I try to catch my breath again...
Now here's a song that doesn't even closely resemble any of the band's past work - original or remix. It's another fast-paced track, very poppy in nature, driven by a drum-and-bass sort of beat and futuristic keyboard tones. That's good in a way, because it gives drummer Rob Bourdon and bass player Phoenix a chance to stand out a little more than they generally do, while giving Chester a chance to (gasp) actually sing his way through an entire song. According to the extremely helpful liner notes (what a thick booklet this disc has packaged with it!), Mike had been agonizing over this song for years before it finally came together, and the timing for its release was perfect - this may be the most hopeful thing we've heard from the band yet. As the music breaks from what we've come to expect from the band, Chester's lyrics describe the hope of curbing old vices, learning to manage his anger and choose his battles. As contrived as the band's anger may sound sometimes (they come off more as the business-savvy twentysomethings they really are rather than ticked-off teenagers in interviews), this song comes off as the genuine article. When Chester croons, "I don't know what's worth fighting for, or why I have to scream", you just know that millions of critics are snidely thinking, "Neither do we, pal."

From the Inside
Trying not to break, but I'm so tired of this deceit
Every time I try to make myself get back up on my feet...
Holy spumoni! The band actually wrote a song that didn't use a 4/4 rhythm! Be still my beating heart! Seriously, even if it doesn't take much to write a crunching modern rock number in 6/8 time, I'm extremely happy to hear Linkin Park give it a try. It's fun to hear how DJ effects and rap verses can fit into such a rhythmic structure. Perhaps the band gives themselves a bit too much credit in the liner notes (if you think this song has "seemingly disparate rhythms", you really need to get out more), but I'll give credit where credit is due, they've exploited one of my weaknesses and come up with a great song about wanting to be purged of the pain and disillusionment caused by putting too much faith in a fellow human being. Chester drags it down a little bit with some out-of-place screaming near the end but no biggie. My only real complaint at this point is that we're moving so quickly from track to track at this point that each time I get into a memorable groove, it dissipates. A nice little instrumental break would've especially done this song some good.

Nobody's Listening
And everything left's a waste of time
I hate my rhymes, but hate everyone else's more...
Now here's a new one on me... Mike raps over a sample of a Japanese flute in this song. Considering how much he dominates this song, it's like "High Voltage" part two, except a lot trippier. This is one of those songs where Chester's voice isn't really needed to carry the song, yet Mike brought him in anyway just to make the song seem less out of place. It's an attention grabber no matter how you slice it, but having Chester's growling chorus in the mix kind of reminds me of the old analogy about a bull in a China shop. It's an interesting slab of mad mixology, I'll give 'em that. You could quite possibly come close to recreating this track if you played the soundtracks to The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon simultaneously. I don't like how it cuts off so suddenly, though.

Session
I think there's a rule that Joseph Hahn gets the second to last track on each album to himself. After some of the skills he showed us on Reanimation, this follow-up to "Cure for the Itch" doesn't come across as the most innovative thing in the word, using some of the exact same tricks to break up the beat, but it does sound like a few other members of the band were in on this one since the drum beats are a bit chunkier and the ambient mood fits in better with its surroundings than "Cure" did. Plus there's no lengthy spoken intro - just pure music.

Numb
And I know I may end up failing too
But I know you were just like me, with someone disappointed in you...
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the album's last track leads off with a Depeche Mode-like intro, all too similar to the one found on "Pushing Me Away". These guys can be frustratingly methodical at times. It's gotten to the point where I lose the will to even try and decipher the lyrics, since I hear stuff about feeling numb and being "more like me and less like you" that I just assume the song has the same meaning as the one it's emulating. Even the lead-up to the chorus is strikingly similar - Mike inserts the line "Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow" in between Chester's lyrics. This one might be a little more fast and furious than the last album's closing track, but it's still very keyboard-driven and it makes for a sudden, unsatisfying ending. One of these days, Linkin Park will figure out how to end an album without leaving us expecting 3 or 4 more tracks to push it over the 40-minute mark. Yes, I'm aware that Reanimation was an hour long, as this album's remixed cousin will likely be (and I'm all for that!), but even the last track on that disc left me wanting a little resolution.

When it's all said and done, I can tell this one'll be getting a lot of spins on the drive to work and back or when I need to be kept awake on the job. Still, I've got that paranoid voice in the back of my head, the one the band informed me of in their song "Papercut" a few years ago, whispering the nagging question, "Shouldn't you have grown out of this by now?" Perhaps I should have. But, for some reason that I could never hope to defend and be taken seriously, I haven't. I can always hope Linkin Park shows significant strides towards a more unique sound and more varied and mature lyrics in the future, but hey, this album has made a few strides in this direction, and there's something to be said for not totally alienating the audience who loved your first album. As with Reanimation, it won't create too many new members of the LP Underground (I'd think anyone who's going to be a fan probably already is at this point), but it's a fine second chapter that could possibly resurface later in a parallel universe with jumbled song titles, much to the chagrin of most critics other than me.

Like I said, they wouldn't be so hated if they weren't so loved.

ALBUM WORTH:
Foreword $0
Don't Stay $1
Somewhere I Belong $1.50
Lying from You $2
Hit the Floor $2
Easier to Run $2
Faint $2
Figure.09 $.50
Breaking the Habit $2
From the Inside $1.50
Nobody's Listening $1
Session $1
Numb $1.50
TOTAL: $18

Band Members:
Chester Bennington: Vocals
Mike Shinoda: Emcee, vocals, sampling
Rob Bourdon: Drums
Brad Delson: Guitars
Joseph Hahn: Turntables, sampling
Phoenix: Bass

Website: http://www.linkinpark.com

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving