Linkin Park has returned to the scene with their third major label album (second original album), Meteora. This album has everything one has come to expect from this “Nu-Metal” band from heavy drop-tuned guitars to piercing vocals and angry lyrics. In an age when the genre of rap-metal is disappearing as quickly as it emerged, Linkin Park has refreshed our dulled memory with a sound very similar to that of their debut release, Hybrid Theory. Now, when Linkin Park first came onto the scene in 2000 their style of heavy guitar riffs combined with emceeing was still fairly new, but since then there has been an enormous outpouring of similar sounding music. Despite this, LP has stuck to the sound they created on Hybrid Theory to give their fans exactly what they want: an album that sounds really good loud.

Lyrically LP has never been the kind of band who writes life altering or extremely intelligent songs but they’ve never been afraid to tell their fans what’s on their mind. Meteora follows this formula and comes out of the gates with all cylinders firing with the energetic and irate, 'Don’t Stay'. One of the few songs on the album that features lead singer/screamer Chester Bennington exclusively, 'Don’t Stay' showcases his ability to sing as well as scream with the best of them. Lyrics like “I don’t need you anymore / I don’t want to be ignored / I don’t need one more day / Of you wasting me away,” are pretty self explanatory and set the tone for the remainder of the album.

Next comes the first single, 'Somewhere I Belong'. Definitely not the strongest song on this album, but an appropriate choice for a first single as it follows closely in the footsteps of the singles released from Hybrid Theory. With 'Somewhere I Belong' we get our first taste of what emcee Mike Shinoda has to offer on their sophomore album. And what do we get? That’s right; more average rapping that definitely won’t get him noticed by Dr Dre. With classic angst induced lyrics like, “I want to let go of the pain I’ve held so long,” and “I will never feel / Anything else until my wounds are healed,” LP continues their trend of catering to those who look to musicians to help ease their own pain.

The first real standout track on Meteora is 'Easier to Run'. This epic tale of, you guessed it, running away from painful memories is definitely a step in the right direction for LP. Moving away from the more energetic songs before it, 'Easier to Run' slows things down a bit and takes the listener deep into the mind of Chester (the verse lyrics were written by Chester during a free-writing exercise). Drummer Rob Bourdon makes an extremely complex drum pattern (verses) sound easy and the harmonics used by Brad Delson add an eerie feel to the verse. The chorus lyrics are exceptionally simple, “It’s easier to run / Replacing this pain with something numb / It’s so much easier to run / Than face all this pain here all alone,” but will without a doubt provoke many a listener to ponder their own feelings.

'Nobody’s Listening' is another song from Meteora that stands out from the rest. With an extremely hip-hoppy feel, 'Nobody’s Listening' is based around a sample of a Japanese flute and creates a mood that almost doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. The verses showcase emcee Mike Shinoda’s talent and he delivers his best performance on the album. In this seemingly misplaced song, Chester and Brad bring it back into the realm of the Linkin Park we know with a heavy palm muted riff and tastefully screamed lyrics in the chorus. Without a doubt this is one of the best tracks on the album.

This album isn’t quite what it could have been but LP did take some steps in the right direction. On the whole this album will propel LP over the sophomore album hump with enough force that they won’t suffer from the ‘sophomore curse’ as many bands have in the past. This album will definitely not appeal to a listener who didn’t enjoy Hybrid Theory but will be a necessity for the Linkin Park fan. (For those of you who enjoy enhanced CDs, this one contains a fifteen minute feature on the making of the artwork featured in the CD booklet and for an extra few bucks it comes with a bonus DVD with a thirty minute feature on the making of the album.)

by O'Fee, Music-Critic.ca