Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (2000)

Limp Bizkit's newest piece of info promises that the wait till June 27 is going to be worth it.They have said that " the new album has so many great riffs and grooves, peaks and valleys, attitude and flow...". Still turns out June 27 is still around a month and a half away, and as a continuation of the series started last week, today I'll be making your life richer for sure by writing about Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park's 2000 debut.

Now, as far as debuts go, this could be one of the best ever.Seriously.It had everything- attitude, powerful lyrics, revolutionary music & let us not forget the 'soul', without which everything sounds like crap.

Hybrid Theory peaked anywhere and everywhere possible! It is listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All-Time and peaked at #11 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Of The Decade.

Icing on the cake- It was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammies & one of it's singles even won the prize for Best Hard Rock Performance, apart from also being nominated for Best New Artist.

Nu-Metal was the flavour of the times and Linkin Park sure capitalised on that! They were criticised by executives in the music industry, telling them to scrap off Mike Shinoda's rapping as they already had Chester.But they went ahead and silenced everyone on the way.As it turned out Mike lent the X-factor to any LP song.

All songs on this record are hard-hitting with riffs that are impossible to forget.One may even say that LP had the Midas-touch when they made Hybrid Theory.

This record is close to me personally as this was the first Nu-Metal stuff I ever heard.Since then, it has been an indispensable part of me.It can also be credited for me delving deeper into this genre and sampling out other bands.

So getting down to business--

Just love the aggressive 'Don't mess with me' look here! Blond Chester and Red-head Mike were the real stuff!

HYBRID THEORY (2000) ----------------  **********   [10/10]

Starts off with Papercut.A very catchy track with an amazing finish.Mike struts his stuff and so does Chester.The way they complement each other leaves the listener in no doubt that this pair is going to rock the remainder of the album too.

Aaah, One Step Closer.One of Linkin Park's best work to date.The intro guitar riff by Brad Delson is memorable.And who can forget the "Shut Up When I'm Talking To You!" sequence by Chester?? It was a defining sequence in their entire career and the crowd goes crazy in each one of their Live shows screaming "SHUT UP!".This track is a must listen for any person on Earth.

Linkin Park - One Step Closer

With You, a more mature track, doesn't disappoint.Joe Hahn shows off his skills on the turntable on this one.With You keeps you on the edge, waiting for what's to come.

Points Of Authority totally explodes from the beginnning.One of the band's oddest piece of work, still pretty good and definitely listenable.Lyrical content is top-notch.

Crawling, the Grammy winner, comes next.Personally speaking, I didn't feel this track deserved a Grammy when tracks like One Step Closer and In The End were present on this record.Well, the jury have been making crazy decisions and will continue to do so.This doesn't in any way mean that Crawling isn't good.It just doesn't seem to be right where our expectations from LP are.

Runaway is the peppiest track on this album.The climax is redeeming to listen to.This one is also a crowd favourite.

By Myself, another one of quite a few aggressive tracks on this disc.Mike and Chester rap and scream to make this a great track.

The Super-star In The End is next.This is the track that made Linkin Park who they are and rightfully so.This track had everything LP ever stood for.Lyrics-good, Music-Good!, Chester-Mike combo-GOOD!!!! The piano riff intro is enought o get the crowd going.Linkin Park's most popular and successful song to date.

Place For My Head is an intriguing track filled with dark overtones.This song is equivalent to a mad genius.This one is regarded by a sizeable number of LP fans as their best song yet.This one ranks quite high in my list too.As was the case with One Step Closer, "You Try To Take The Best Of Me,GO AWAY!" sequence is a momentous part in this track.

Forgotten starts off at 0:00 with a bang.Chester & Mike totally fire on this one.

Cure For The Itch is a one-off instrumental track. Joe 'Mr.Hahn' Hahn shows us what he can do.

Pushing Me Away brings us to the end of this gem of an album.I feel this track is LP's most under-rated work.I find this track beautiful, with insightful lyrics and a soulful chorus.

Well, I really need to say something about the lyrical content on this disc.It is futile commenting on each track individually.It's basically about various facet's of Chester's past-Pain,Drug Abuse,Divorce of his parents,Isolation,Pain and Disappointment.Listen carefully and you'll get all this inter-woven in 12 tracks of pure inspiration.

Nothing less than 10/10 will do for this blockbuster album.I think I need to stress yet again that you just HAVE TO listen to this.This is one album that enriches your life in ways you can never imagine.It will mean different things to different people, and that is where I think LP will be happy.

Next Week: An introduction to Death-Pop & Synth-Rock with Candyass from Orgy!