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Hard the majority of it now. 'Faint' is just the dogs dangly bits. Superb. Should have a hard copy of it on Wednesday.. 
Posted: 22:51 Mar 24 2003
Linkin PArk - Meteora
Got the new album thru today and have listened to it just once at the mo. Seems ok but guess i need a couple of more listens to it. Do like track 13 'Numb' tho
10 Replies and 2634 Views in Total.
Posted: 22:51 Mar 24 2003 
Got it today. Gotta agree, 'Faint' is pretty cool, I like 'Somewhere I Belong' too. Overall not a bad album.
Posted: 13:27 Mar 26 2003
Ok, after a bit more of a listen here is a bit more detailed analysis.
With a (literally) thumping foreword it mixes into a heavy (would we expect anything else?) first track called 'Don't Stay'. Chester Bennington opens it perfectly with some in tune lyrics, but it isn't long before he gets into his trademark voice. There is very little (If any) of Mike Shinoda on this track but that soon changes as it goes into 'Somewhere I Belong'
The first single to be taken off the album was a good choice IMO. It very much reminds me of 'In The End', not so much because it sounds alike, but more the mix of Shinoda's lyrics and the jagged sound of Bennington's vocals ala ITE. A good slow paced track.
As the album gets into 'Lying From You', the outset sounds as though it is gonna get very hip-hop, and Shinoda proves this with his skills. The actual music sounds very 'Inner City' to me, and to be honest I think it works very well. The last bit of it gets a lot heavier though, true LP style!
'Hit The Floor' is the next one. For me personally, this is one of the less better tracks if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I still think it rocks, but I just think there is far better on the album. I think this one is more of a focus on Shinoda's rapping skills (Like Bennington had on 'Don't Stay' at the start)
'Easier To Run' gets underway with a good old plucking of the strings, and believe it or not this is even slower than anything they have done (I think anyway!) For some reason though, it sounds a bit 80's. I'm still a bit unsure on this one.
Now we hit the best track on the entire album. 'Faint' busts out a tune at something like a massive 170 beats per minute. As it says in the booklet that comes with the CD, Bourdon's drum playing is beyond excellent here. Shinoda is like a raw pulse of rapping energy. Also the fusion of violins on this track is a touch of class IMO. Bennington also cranks things up a notch or two close to the end of this.
Figure 09 then kicks off with some intense heavy playing by Delson. I can't quite put a finger on it, but this reminds me of something else, I'll get back to you on that. I think it is 'One Step Closer' that I'm thinking of..actually yes, it is (After digging out the mp3 just to test it) then we get into 'Breaking The Habit'....
Another one that I think is keeping the focus on Bennington here as there is next to no sign of Shinoda on this, or not that I can hear of. A good well paced track that has more of an emphasis on Chester keeping the vocals in tune rather than shouting. I must admit though that he does it very well, there should be a bit more of it if you ask me.
'From The Inside' starts off quietly getting louder, louder and louder still. Here I think the mix is good between Bennington and Shinoda as while Mike is doing his bit, Chester is giving backups in a very well timed and performed action. This one for me ranks up there with 'Faint'
'Nobodys Listening' is a track I need to listen to a bit more I think before I can give a better opinion on it...
As with 'Hybrid Theory' DJ Mr Hahn gets his own little solo shot and this one titled 'Session' beats the effort he put down on the previous album with a stick! It was also what was used to open up the recent gigs they played in the UK. I'm not usually into this sorta stuff, but I was very impressed with this and it also explains why Jo Hahn is such a respected mixer. Defo a 'Must Listen To' track.
The final track on the album titled 'Numb' is the perfect choice to end on. Again, I think this one is remniscent of 'In The End', only for reason previously given though. The lyrics are essential to listen to also. There is also a very oriental feel to this with some of the backing tracks that are used for this.
In summary, I reckon this album far outdoes 'Hybrid Theory' sadly, a little dissappointing that it only runs for 36 minutes but hey, wotcha gonna do?. The time they have taken to release this has obviously been put to good use. By God..go..buy it!!!
(Edited by Ethan 27/03/2003 23:48)
With a (literally) thumping foreword it mixes into a heavy (would we expect anything else?) first track called 'Don't Stay'. Chester Bennington opens it perfectly with some in tune lyrics, but it isn't long before he gets into his trademark voice. There is very little (If any) of Mike Shinoda on this track but that soon changes as it goes into 'Somewhere I Belong'
The first single to be taken off the album was a good choice IMO. It very much reminds me of 'In The End', not so much because it sounds alike, but more the mix of Shinoda's lyrics and the jagged sound of Bennington's vocals ala ITE. A good slow paced track.
As the album gets into 'Lying From You', the outset sounds as though it is gonna get very hip-hop, and Shinoda proves this with his skills. The actual music sounds very 'Inner City' to me, and to be honest I think it works very well. The last bit of it gets a lot heavier though, true LP style!
'Hit The Floor' is the next one. For me personally, this is one of the less better tracks if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I still think it rocks, but I just think there is far better on the album. I think this one is more of a focus on Shinoda's rapping skills (Like Bennington had on 'Don't Stay' at the start)
'Easier To Run' gets underway with a good old plucking of the strings, and believe it or not this is even slower than anything they have done (I think anyway!) For some reason though, it sounds a bit 80's. I'm still a bit unsure on this one.
Now we hit the best track on the entire album. 'Faint' busts out a tune at something like a massive 170 beats per minute. As it says in the booklet that comes with the CD, Bourdon's drum playing is beyond excellent here. Shinoda is like a raw pulse of rapping energy. Also the fusion of violins on this track is a touch of class IMO. Bennington also cranks things up a notch or two close to the end of this.
Figure 09 then kicks off with some intense heavy playing by Delson. I can't quite put a finger on it, but this reminds me of something else, I'll get back to you on that. I think it is 'One Step Closer' that I'm thinking of..actually yes, it is (After digging out the mp3 just to test it
) then we get into 'Breaking The Habit'....Another one that I think is keeping the focus on Bennington here as there is next to no sign of Shinoda on this, or not that I can hear of. A good well paced track that has more of an emphasis on Chester keeping the vocals in tune rather than shouting. I must admit though that he does it very well, there should be a bit more of it if you ask me.
'From The Inside' starts off quietly getting louder, louder and louder still. Here I think the mix is good between Bennington and Shinoda as while Mike is doing his bit, Chester is giving backups in a very well timed and performed action. This one for me ranks up there with 'Faint'
'Nobodys Listening' is a track I need to listen to a bit more I think before I can give a better opinion on it...
As with 'Hybrid Theory' DJ Mr Hahn gets his own little solo shot and this one titled 'Session' beats the effort he put down on the previous album with a stick! It was also what was used to open up the recent gigs they played in the UK. I'm not usually into this sorta stuff, but I was very impressed with this and it also explains why Jo Hahn is such a respected mixer. Defo a 'Must Listen To' track.
The final track on the album titled 'Numb' is the perfect choice to end on. Again, I think this one is remniscent of 'In The End', only for reason previously given though. The lyrics are essential to listen to also. There is also a very oriental feel to this with some of the backing tracks that are used for this.
In summary, I reckon this album far outdoes 'Hybrid Theory' sadly, a little dissappointing that it only runs for 36 minutes but hey, wotcha gonna do?. The time they have taken to release this has obviously been put to good use. By God..go..buy it!!!
(Edited by Ethan 27/03/2003 23:48)
Posted: 23:46 Mar 27 2003 
Well, despite my moaning elsewhere about Somewhere I Belong, I've just placed my order for this. Probably get it sometime next week, and will comment when I get a chance.
Posted: 10:32 Mar 28 2003 
Bought the album just before I went on hols, and has been playing continuously since. Either on the player or in my head.
It. Kicks. Ass.
Somewhere I Belong is currently my favourite track, but the majority of the rest are pretty outstanding. And despite what EVERY review I've read says, only one song to me sounds like it could have been on Hybrid Theory. The whole thing just blew away my expectations (which, admittedly, had been low, after Reanimation).
Numb is in fact the only track to me that sounds like Hybrid Theory. Personally, I'd say it was more like One Step Closer that In The End, but I can see where you are coming from there, Ethan.
Aside from the over all ass-kickingly high quality, there's also Breaking The Habit and Nobody's Listening which clearly stand out as being stylistically different from anything else they've done. Breaking The Habit has a very weird kinda Eighties sound to it, that works really well none the less. Nobody's Listening sounds great, but does suffer about from mainstream rap braggadocio, with lines about their rapping and telling us all how it was. The chorus (which isn't a rap) has probably the most embarrassing lyrics on the album. But I can live with that.
I'm just over the moon that it is sooooooooo flipping A! Yet I'm also getting filed with some serious righteous ire at the lazy journalism going on in NME and Kerrang. Look, I know the record company refused to send you a freebie promo but get over it!
It. Kicks. Ass.
Somewhere I Belong is currently my favourite track, but the majority of the rest are pretty outstanding. And despite what EVERY review I've read says, only one song to me sounds like it could have been on Hybrid Theory. The whole thing just blew away my expectations (which, admittedly, had been low, after Reanimation).
Numb is in fact the only track to me that sounds like Hybrid Theory. Personally, I'd say it was more like One Step Closer that In The End, but I can see where you are coming from there, Ethan.
Aside from the over all ass-kickingly high quality, there's also Breaking The Habit and Nobody's Listening which clearly stand out as being stylistically different from anything else they've done. Breaking The Habit has a very weird kinda Eighties sound to it, that works really well none the less. Nobody's Listening sounds great, but does suffer about from mainstream rap braggadocio, with lines about their rapping and telling us all how it was. The chorus (which isn't a rap) has probably the most embarrassing lyrics on the album. But I can live with that.
I'm just over the moon that it is sooooooooo flipping A! Yet I'm also getting filed with some serious righteous ire at the lazy journalism going on in NME and Kerrang. Look, I know the record company refused to send you a freebie promo but get over it!
Posted: 01:55 Apr 03 2003
The live reviews they got in last weeks Kerrang were pretty good. And also for the record, this wipes the floor with Reanimation!
Posted: 23:00 Apr 03 2003
Strange. So far I've read Kerrang's Album review (dismissive), and NME's Album (dismissive), Single (scathing) and Live review (where Faint was described as sounding 80s!?!).
In every case I got the same impression - Let's Kill Nu Metal. Korn's album failed to blow anyone away, Papa Roach's was dissapointing and Slip Knot are disintegrating. I'm expecting another hack job for when Limp Bisket's newie is out.
For me, the most irratating part is that the whole Nu Metal thing was bogus anyway. Lazy journalism clumping together heavy rock bands that had recently had some success. I mean, exactly what does Fred Durst have in common with Jonathan Davies? They invented the name, now they want to destroy all the bands they applied the label to. Now what exactly has that got to do with GOOD music journalism.
I'm all for reviewers disagreeing with my tastes, and don't want to be seen as a 'Don't Dis My Band' winger. I'm all for reviewers saying 'I Don't Like This' in an erudite way, but resorting to 'It Sounds The Same As The Last Album' is just lazy.
In every case I got the same impression - Let's Kill Nu Metal. Korn's album failed to blow anyone away, Papa Roach's was dissapointing and Slip Knot are disintegrating. I'm expecting another hack job for when Limp Bisket's newie is out.
For me, the most irratating part is that the whole Nu Metal thing was bogus anyway. Lazy journalism clumping together heavy rock bands that had recently had some success. I mean, exactly what does Fred Durst have in common with Jonathan Davies? They invented the name, now they want to destroy all the bands they applied the label to. Now what exactly has that got to do with GOOD music journalism.
I'm all for reviewers disagreeing with my tastes, and don't want to be seen as a 'Don't Dis My Band' winger. I'm all for reviewers saying 'I Don't Like This' in an erudite way, but resorting to 'It Sounds The Same As The Last Album' is just lazy.
Posted: 23:11 Apr 03 2003 Very true, and sadly that's what a lot of them have resorted to.
by Jayjay
but resorting to 'It Sounds The Same As The Last Album' is just lazy.
Posted: 23:17 Apr 03 2003 You mean aside from the fact that Korn were the ones who broke Limp Bizkit?
by Jayjay
I mean, exactly what does Fred Durst have in common with Jonathan Davies?
[Rambling]
I don't believe nu-metal is dying as such, it's just people are getting sick of the sheer amount of cookie-cutter bands that have emerged that have nothing unique or original to offer of their own. Linkin Park broke the pop/metal barrier more successfully than any of the other bands, Limp Bizkit did the crossover into pop/rap-metal, Slipknot veered more towards death and black metal, and Korn...well Korn were the originators of the basic sound, but they've been trying to move away from that with 'Untouchables'. Might go some way to explaining the poor sales for it.
On a personal level IMHO Papa Roach are just one of the aforementioned cookie-cutter bands and they'll probably sink without trace very soon. If Bizkit's new album fails (it'll probably sell millions but get lambasted) it'll be as much to do with Durst constantly shooting his mouth off as anything else. That and having gotten rid of the most talented member of the band.
Aaaaaaaaaaanyway...Meteora...I haven't listened to all of it, just a few tracks (Faint, Figure.09, From The Inside, Somewhere I Belong), and from what I've heard I agree, it doesn't sound like Hybrid Theory. It sounds nothing like as good. Nothing immediately jumped out and grabbed me in the infuriatingly catchy way One Step Closer, Crawling etc did. Maybe it's just that my ear has changed over the last year and a half or so but the songs all sound very homogenous to me *shrug*
Oh, and note to Mike Shinoda...learn to write more than one verse
[/Rambling]
Posted: 01:20 Apr 04 2003 Harsh.
by Spikeo
(quotes)
...it doesn't sound like Hybrid Theory. It sounds nothing like as good. Nothing immediately jumped out and grabbed me in the infuriatingly catchy way One Step Closer, Crawling etc did.
But true.
Nah, it's a grower I reckon. I've had it a few days and it's slowly sinking in. Hit the Floor was the initial stand out track for me, good beat and an aggressive guitar riff, and also, not so full of it's own importance
Posted: 11:08 Apr 04 2003