October 24, 2000 - Linkin Park and Hybrid Theory

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when Linkin Park released their debut album "Hybrid Theory" on October 24, 2000. But who is Linkin Park? They are a five-piece nu-metal band from Agoura Hills, California consisting of Rob Bourdon (drums, percussion), Brad Delson (guitars, bass), Joe Hahn (turntables, samples), Chester Bennington (lead vocals) and Mike Shinoda (rapping vocals, keyboards). Linkin Park are yet another nu-metal band and they would find instant success with this debut album that had four very successful singles and would end up reaching #2 on the charts. With a full-time rapper and and DJ, Linkin Park definitely incorporate lots of hip-hop elements, but are also pretty heavy when they want to be. Let's see what Linkin Park is all about!

The album kicks off with one of it's many singles "Papercut" and Shinoda plays a catchy keyboard riff to keep the pace, Hahn adds some cool turntables and when Delson's guitar comes thundering in he leads the way with a simple but nice and heavy main riff. Shinoda raps the verse and his voice is decent (it's not bad by any means), but I don't think he's that special a singer. He definitely sounds better the faster he's rapping and it's a decent verse that sets the stage nicely for the heavy chorus. Chester comes in to sing the chorus and he has a way, WAY better voice I find and it's a pretty catchy chorus. After another rapped verse and sung chorus Chester sings a brief new part where he holds some longer notes and this part ends up combining with the chorus as both riffs nicely mesh together for a solid way to close things out. A pretty good intro to what Linkin Park is all about. Up next is the album's biggest single "One Step Closer" and Delson leads the way with another quite simple, yet very effective main riff that is pretty catchy. Chester sings a solid verse overtop and he holds some more nice long notes in the chorus while Shinoda nicely raps "'cause I'm one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break!" After the next round Chester erupts by yelling "shut up while I'm talking to you. SHUT UP!" and Hahn adds some funky and cool turntables to this super heavy part as well. After this great part they wrap things up with a final chorus and this is seemingly the perfect single for Linkin Park; I loved it and so did everyone else! Track 3 is "With You" and Hahn starts us off with some more interesting and cool turntables and the rest of the band builds around him really nicely for a pretty cool and heavy riff. Shinoda sings the verse (not even really rapping) overtop some light keyboards and things are softer for sure, but still decent. It makes the return of the heavy riff hit nice and hard and Chester takes over with a much more aggressive and much better verse. The chorus has Chester holding more long notes while Shinoda does a solid job of rapping behind him. After another verse and chorus Chester sings a short new verse that fits the mood nicely and then they predictably finish off another solid tune. The next track is "Points Of Authority" and it's got a super catchy bouncing main riff with some cool keyboards, lots of turntable scratching, and another fairly simple but catchy and solid guitar riff. Mike opens things with a cool little rap, then Chester takes over to sing the verse and chorus and he sounds pretty good in both, but especially the chorus as he holds some really long notes very nicely. After a couple catchy rounds Mioe explodes back onto the scene with another solid rapping part and I think everybody played to their strengths very well on this song, it all combines for a pretty cool song. Track 5 is another huge single titled "Crawling" and Shinoda plays a slow, epic keyboard riff to start us off until Delson comes thundering in with some slow and heavy guitar and bass. This loud riff is the chorus and I'm getting tired of writing it, but Chester continues to hold lots of long notes and he continues to sound really good doing it. Things quiet down again for the first verse and Chester sings a soft verse that perfectly matches the mood of things. He screams the last line of the verse "so insecuuuuuuuure" and he sounds phenomenal and the segue back to the chorus is well done. These two riffs sum up the whole song pretty much and at the end they actually play both simultaneously and they actually go together really well. Up next is "Runaway" and it's got a bit of a space-y main riff with some interesting keyboards and Chester sings a nice verse overtop in a pretty great singing voice. The chorus is pretty catchy with Chester leading the way and after another round they move to a really awesome new part that hits super hard and Chester and Mike work really well together. Mike's rapping sounds good in the background and Chester pours all of his passion into almost whispering one line, and then screaming the next at the top of his lungs and it's a really cool part. Then it's back to a final chorus to finish a a first half of the album with nothing even close to a weak song yet. Track 7 is "By Myself" and they kick right into another hard-hitting chorus riff that sounds pretty cool. They quiet it right down for the verse and Shinoda raps a solid verse overtop. He moves to some nice backing rapping vocals in the chorus and Chester takes the lead with some great heavy screams. After another catchy round they move to a new part that's pretty similar to the chorus with more nice work by Chester leading the way and Mike rapping behind him nicely. Another solid tune! The next track is probably the album's biggest single, "In The End", and Shinoda plays a slow but cool piano riff to start us off before they settle into a soft verse with Mike doing some more solid rapping vocals overtop. Chester takes over for the chorus and he sounds pretty good (as usual) singing nicely overtop the heavier chorus. After another verse and chorus things really quiet down as Chester delivers a nice new verse and he sets the stage perfectly for himself to ramp up to a louder following verse. They wrap up with a final verse and chorus and then end it as it began with some more piano. It's such an iconic and catchy song! It's definitely not their best, but it's easy to see why it was such a good choice for a single. Track 9 is  "A Place For My Head" and Delson starts off with a light but catchy guitar riff, Hahn adds some cool turntables and Bourdon's drums hit nice and hard. Delson's guitar gets louder for the verse and along with Mike doing some nice fast rapping, this is a pretty sweet main riff! The chorus hits nice and hard as Chester takes over with some nice singing and they segue between these two riffs very smoothly. Another rapped verse, another sung chorus, and then things go almost silent. Chester whispers "you try to take the best of me, go away" and then absolutely erupts and just belts out the same line several times and he sounds so fucking good! All of his emotions are just boiling over and it's an absolutely phenomenal part. He adds some more screams towards the end of the song as well and in my opinion this is hands down the best best song on the album! Up next is "Forgotten" and they go right into the chorus with a heavy yet bouncing riff and Chester and Mike alternating lines in a pretty cool and catchy chorus. The verse is much lighter but it has some cool turntables as Shinoda raps solidly overtop the quiet music. After the chorus Chester sings a short solid part by himself and this essentially becomes the end to the chorus. Chester and Mike play off each other really well in a cool new section with Mike leading the way rapping and Chester coming in and out with some nice screams. Every part of this song is catchy and also pretty good as these guys continue to churn out some great nu-metal. Track 11 is "Cure For The Itch" and there's a funny introduction of Mr. Hahn before Hahn comes in with some catchy and very interesting turntables. This song is almost entirely scratching and samples, and words do no justice at all, you just have to listen to it, it's pretty cool! The weird voice from the beginning pops up a couple more times, but most notably the music suddenly stops and it says "Now, wasn't that fun? Let's try something different" before things take a very big turn to some epic keyboards that sound symphony-esque. Shinoda plays some cool piano as well and this song is all over the place and very unique and interesting! It's unlike any other song I've heard and I like it! The final song on the album is "Pushing Me Away" and it's got a pretty simple main riff that is pretty pop-y and catchy and Chester sings a slow and solid verse. Things get louder in the chorus, but still fairly simple and Chester sounds great here as well in a more rock voice. His pop-y voice sounds really good too though, he's just such a good singer. It's one of the less exciting songs on the album overall, but if this is the low end of the spectrum, it just shows the high bar they have set.

That is the end of "Hybrid Theory" and I thought it was a wonderful album, especially since it was their debut! I love Joe Hahn's turntables throughout the album, Brad Delson plays lots of catchy guitar riffs and Mike Shinoda is pretty solid for a rapper. But it's Chester Bennington that is the main draw, what a fantastic singer he is in every sort of situation! This is gonna be a really hard album to top, but I can't wait to hear more Linkin Park!