Company Line: To those outside the band, the pressure to follow up that success might have seemed insurmountable. But within Linkin Park, vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, turntablist Joseph Hahn, drummer Rob Bourdon, and bassist Phoenix weren’t sweating it in ways you might expect.
The Good:
“Somewhere I Belong” – This track will sound very familiar. LP has found a sound that sells records so why change?
“Breaking The Habit” – The rare track on Meteora that doesn’t sound like it was a remake of an older track.
The Marginal:
“Numb” – LP has a distinct corporate rock sound and this track is slicker than ever. You can take slick anyway you like, but here it smells like selling your soul.
The Ugly:
“Lying From You” – LP should move away from rapping. It’s far from their best asset.
“Hit The Floor” – Another weak rap-rock track. Mike Shinoda rap style doesn’t hold water.
“From The Inside” – Dreadful.
Frankly: My biggest problem with Meteora is that it’s only a little over thirty minutes, that’s not much bang for your buck. Second problem is that most of these songs sound like retreads of their previous releases. Déjà vu in a record isn’t a good thing.
Linkin Park is the band that preppy kids can like and still believe they are cool. Too bad underneath it all Meteora is nothing but overdone, slick corporate rock. If an record executive said ‘I need a rock band that won’t offend anyone and will sound neato’ they’d get Linkin Park.
+ rae gun
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