Sometimes critics have to eat their words.For the most part, Linkin Park was ruthlessly blasted following the release of their debut album, "Hybrid Theory." In response, Linkin Park shrugged it off and promptly walked away with the top-selling album of 2001.
Everyone did a double-take, and the band that had previously been cited as a prime example of the depths to which modern music had sunk soon began to actually garner a bit of respect as one of the best rap-metal acts since the archetypal Rage Against The Machine.
As such, "Meteora" may be the most or least anticipated album of the year so far, depending on whom you ask. The blazing heaviness of "Hybrid Theory" was followed by 2002's "Reanimation," a set of remixes featuring collaborations with everyone from Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 to Jay Gordon of Orgy. Releasing a remix collection while they were still struggling to find enough material to fill up hour-long live sets was a bold move for the fledgling band, but the result, if not unilaterally successful, was intriguing enough to leave everyone thoroughly confused. The first album was dark, angry and heavy metal, the second was experimental, artsy and hip-hop, and nobody had any idea what they had up their sleeves for the next round.
Fear not, angst-o-philes (or should that be "fear on?"). Linkin Park is still very angry. Every last song on "Hybrid Theory" was lyrically brutal; even the token ballads (if they could even be called that) lamented wounds that would not heal and clocks ticking life away."Reanimation" flirted with other topics by tapping the two older, pre-MTV songs "My December" and "High Voltage," but two songs hardly dominated a 21-track album.
On "Meteora," the theme is continued, as illustrated by song titles "Hit The Floor" and "Numb." Who knows -- maybe they've burned themselves out on depression, and the next three albums will comprise their "Happy" trilogy, followed by "Confused," "Sleepy," "Hungry," and, when they're as old as Dylan and Jagger, "Balding and Constipated."
Just like last time, there's no way to figure out just what has pissed them off. "You," if the lyrics are any indication, seems to be the primary instigator, but there's never any clue as to whom that might be. These guys are remarkably jaded for a set of multimillionaire 24 year olds.
Amazingly, the lyrics are once again totally PG. Linkin Park is on their third album of bitter, venomous music, and they have yet to drop a single curse word. Now, this may indicate a strong moral stance or it may just be part of a clever marketing ploy designed to help get their albums into the hands of the demographically lusted-after prepubescents
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