Media Pages
DJ PagesLinkin Park
Hybrid Theory
Hybrid Theory -
Track Listing
| Papercut One step closer With you Points Of Authority Crawling Runaway By Myself In The End A place for my Head Forgotten Cure for the itch Pushing me away My December High Voltage |
 |
Brief Review
Linkin Park is a house-hold name in rock music and their debut album shows us exactly why they are one of the best in the business. Heavy riffs, rapping, singing, catchy melodies and top 40 hits are all linked to Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. If Gatecrasher Classics is the bible of trance music then Hybrid Theory is Nu-metal's equivalent!
Full Review
Linkin Park have been around for a long time and since smashing onto the music scene, they haven't left the limelight, refusing to back down. From the minute you put the CD in your stereo to the moment it leaves, Linkin Park show a new side of rock music that won't leave your ears for a long time.
The CD starts out with 'Papercut', an excellent song which fills your ears with a synth-driven melody for the first 20 seconds before smashing into a heavy riff and rapping. The singing and rapping in the song work extremely well with the beat and the two vocalists make a perfect combination. This track is, in my opinion, one of the best on the album.
'One step closer' follows this with more heavy riffs and the lead vocalist singing over the top. The song works really well and the chorus is catchy and addictive. Linkin Park really have the ability to fuse new sounds together and incorporating a turntablist into their set-up really helps to add to the uniqueness of the group and set them apart from other rock groups.
'With you' is another song that follows the same formula as most of the tracks with heavy riffs, rapping and singing harmonized together and a good melody to form another strong track. This song hasn't had as much airtime as other tracks on the CD so, in my opinion, doesn't sound as strong as half the songs on this CD.
Following 'With you' is 'Points of Authority', another song that uses a synth-based melody and the same fundamentals of the other tracks but in a way that has you nodding your head. On another note, the music video to this song is one of my favourites of all time.
'Crawling' is one of the songs on this CD that made it into the top 40 chart. The group use the likes of the turntablist to add scratching and a chilling melody to form the background of the vocalists. The track goes back and forth between being chilled out to being uplifting and it works wonders for this track. The lead vocalist sounds very comfortable in this song, reaching different vocal tones and holding notes. This is arguably one of Linkin Park's best songs to date, and the one that put them on the map!
'Runaway' chills the mood down slightly and uses another chilled synth-driven beat. The vocalists work well together on this track with another addictive chorus and more heavy riffs.
'By Myself' is a heavier track than the other tracks on the CD and shows that Linkin Park can work equally as well with heavy, Nu-metal sounds in comparison to their other work on the CD.
'In The End' is the song that reached the highest place in the top 40 chart, and is arguably the most commercial song Linkin Park have produced on this album. That's not to say it's bad though. The rapping and singing work extremely well on this track, possibly better than on the other tracks and is well deserving of it's credit. With a piano filling the speakers and the trademark heavy riffs during the chorus, this is definately one of the best songs on the CD in my opinion.
The two vocalists continue to exchange places in the limelight with some tracks on the album being predominantly singing-based and others rap-based. 'A place for my head' uses the rapping skills of one vocalist with the chorus used by the singing vocalist. The riffs used here are aggressive which is trademark of the Nu-metal sounds.
'Forgotten' smashes into the speakers after 'A place for my head' with more aggressive, fast-paced riffs and combining the talents of the two vocalists to form yet another addictive tune. This is another tune that, in my opinion, should have had a top 40 slot. The vocals are excellent and the breakdown chills the mood of the track down slightly before bursting back into the heavy riffing and vocals. This is another very good track on the CD.
What follows 'Forgotten' is an instrumental track 'Cure for the itch'. The track uses the talents of the turntablist to add samples and chill the mood of the CD down for the next track.
'Pushing me away' isn't as strong as the other tracks on the album but the synth-driven beats show the trademark Linkin Park song and once again the vocals work well and the chorus is extremely addictive.
The last two tracks 'My December' and 'High voltage' show a completely different side to the group. Both tracks are unique in their own right as the trademark Nu-metal heavy riffs are missing from the tracks and the tracks rely heavily on the vocals. 'My December' uses the talents of the singing vocalist whereas 'High Voltage' is the reverse. The two tracks chill the mood down as the CD draws to a close.
At the end of 'Hybrid Theory' you would be mistaken to think that the group have been together for years and years. The CD is definately a strong one and many of the tracks have been top 40 hits or should have been. In my opinion, this is one of the best Nu-metal CDs you'll ever find. This is definately a CD you need in your collection if you like music!
