Meteora [Enhanced]

Well first and foremost, if you don't Linkin Park then this album probably isn't for you.

For the rest of us, this is a breathtaking evolution - from the word go, Meteora hits you with an intro lasting a few seconds which seamlessly breaks into the explosive second track 'Don't Stay'. Whilst a majority of the songs still retain the distinct style of the band, you can instantly feel the progression since Hybrid, from the way Chester and Mike's lyrics feel so much more integrated, to the fresh optimism of the melodies (e.g. 'Easier to Run').

Here's a rundown of the 13 tracks this album has to offer (better tracks highlighted with an *), followed by a brief explanation of the bonus dvd this slightly pricier edition comes packaged with.

1) Foreward - a disjointed beat of breaking glass noises falls into synch and seconds later shatters into the second track - more a part of 'Don't Stay' than anything else, but still a great minimalistic way to hit off the album.

2) *Don't Stay - the way 'foreward' bleeds into this track then suddenly explodes into a heavy riff intro really lets you know that Linkin Park aren't going anywhere. the chorus has alot of style and the lyrics are particularly tight and expressive in the chorus - an early highlight of the album.

3) Somewhere I Belong - the listenable single crops up predictably at track 3, but this doesn't lessen its epic message of finding your place in life. the atmospheric acoustic intro is a stroke of luck as the 'making of' dvd will tell you - this is probably one of the closest songs to the band's former style - by no means a bad thing, but more of a link from Hybrid to this album.

4) *Lying from you - a brilliantly quirky intro followed by Shinoda's first rapping opportunity on the album. the song really peaks when chester steps back in though, as he sings in a deliberately out of tune style which strangely works, punctuated by Shinoda - the guitar in the chorus has a really epic tune to it also.

5) Hit the Floor - Shinoda keeps the rapping up in this song aimed at all backstabbers. the first track which really contains any direct aggression, but it leaves something to be desired, perhaps after the greatness of the previous few tracks.

6) *Easier to Run - Chester harks back to his melodic singing style and sings a really strong atmospheric song which peaks perfectly on the chorus. The entire song is just really uplifting and epic - one of the best songs on the album.

7) *Faint - a personal favorite. two words - stringed instruments - oh, and a sort of drum and bass tune with guitars. its the albums most fast paced song and has one of the coolest tunes, with the epic stringed instruments leading to a crunching fast paced expressive chorus.

8) Figure:9 - alot like the band's older material with a somewhat repetitive tune which tends to grate after a while. the finale of this song is practically identical to 'Place for my Head' from Hybrid but this doesn't really do anything for the song. The name makes it sound better than it REALLY is.

9) *Breaking the Habit - 6 years in the making, Shinoda's brainchild is entirely sung by Chester and is one of the best 'chill' tunes on the album with a very strong universal message. It has stacks of atmosphere and the chorus is really grabbing. The first really electronic songs on the album and i was suprised that I wasn't complaining.

10) From the Inside - I'm hopeful this song will grow on me - but so far its not doing much for me despite seeming to have all the right ingredients. Things really go pear shaped at the end when every loud guitar is thrown into the pot and the chorus just repeats and repeats as if begging you to press the 'next track' button. Not really a favorite.

11) *No-One's Listening - Taking the place of 'High Voltage' from that other album, this more hip-hop-ish track is dominated by japanese flutes and a strong performance by shinoda, not forgetting to mention a very cool crunching chorus from chester. the song is about up-hill struggles and is good for motivation. probably.

12) Session - This is the 'Cure for the Itch' of this album - a chance for Josef Hahn to strut his stuff. very good for just chilling and easily fills of the shoes of 'Itch with some smart samples plugging away in the background. a break from the guitars for a few minutes.

13) *Numb - this strangely sounds like every linkin park song combined. no really. pianos, larger than life riffs, swishing samples, melodic singing followed by throat burning screaming by chester and the occasional thoughtful whispering from Shinoda. the chorus is deep, cold and thoughtful in itself - and this is definitely a high note to finish the album on.

The DVD

This basically contains a short documentary on how the album was put together, from tour bus inspirations to the the typical pressure of getting everything together before the deadline. features much chit chat from all the band members and other people who helped put together Meteora. i'm on the fence as the whether it was worth the extra cash, but the thicker blue sleeve with two (as opposed to one) cases inside for this special edition looks cool enough to warrant the special edition purchase alone.

overall, this is a good album with some very listenable tracks on it - linkin park live up to the hype and really take a step forward from their previous stuff.

if you remotely like the band then i think you'll like this.

There seems to be a lot of criticism over the lack of progression by LP. I disagree. It is similar in style to Hybrid Theory but who wants something completely different? If you do, then buy a disk by another band and stop whining.
Clearly we don't want the same stuff re-gurgitated again and again and we haven't with Meteora. This has got it's own identity and has some truely excellent tracks such as Don't Stay and Faint, for example.

My only criticisms are;
1. the album is too short - a length suitable for putting onto one side of a C90 tape, but who does that anymore?
2. the high visibility commercialism rankles with most metal/punk/rock fans over the age of 9. The extras and sleeve inserts are a bit sad. I am not interested in their "art", fan club website, buying socks with Linkin on the left and Park on the right or a book of LP cookie recipes.

Despite these reservations, this is a very good album, worth every penny. Buy it.