Linkin Park
Hybrid Theory

THE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION:

Why do I intend to write about Hybrid Theory? Because the only review present on Debaser is nothing short of scandalous and far from the reality of the facts.

THE STORY:

It's 1999 and the nu-metal movement features the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit, and if we want, also Rage Against The Machine. This whole movement has the sole purpose of waking the masses from the murky oblivion they've been condemned to, thanks to the Backstreet Boys, B. Spears, etc. Nu-metal is characterized by the massive use of "explicit lyrics" and "white" rap. During these years, the "Xero," a band comprising 3/6 of the current Linkin Park, were searching for a vocalist and during auditions they became infatuated with a loser from Arizona named Chester Bennington. At 23, he didn't even have the money to buy himself a wedding ring.

Later moving to "Hybrid Theory," the band from Augura Hills needed a bassist; in a few weeks "Phoenix" Farrell, a Philosophy graduate, joined the band. A producer named Don Gilmore, someone random just passing through, decided to bet on these guys, who partly came from poverty and partly from the affluent families of the West Coast. On October 24th, "Hybrid Theory" was released in the States, as is easily understandable from the name, it is a CD composed of a mixture of different sounds all perfectly meshed together. It debuted at the 16th place on the American charts, an extraordinary result for a debuting band at a time when NSYNC and various trash were very strong. After the first week, the CD didn't leave the top 5 positions for more than a year... What did this mean?

- It was a very commercial and easily catchy CD. - It was a masterpiece, and I repeat, a masterpiece of the nu-metal genre even though there are no swear words or insults (I am ready to receive your criticism).

THE ALBUM

11 tracks + one electronic composition (Cure For The Itch) for a total length of about 35 minutes. It seems a bit little for 20 million copies sold... seems... The CD opens with "Papercut", electronic, hip-hop, hybrid melodies, melancholic and unpredictable thanks to the shrill (too much so) voice of "Chaz" Bennington. It will always be like this, the whole album will be seasoned with originality and new sounds that have little to do with either Korn or Limp Bizkit as some claim. So, after opening the ears with the rough, hyper-screamed and on the verge of Thrash Metal (ready for the criticisms) "One Step Closer", it moves to "With You", which starts with a "Riff Raff" that Eminem's friends, those of DJ Lethal and various other companies, can only dream of. The lyrics are composed with far too much "teenager" pessimism, but this will be one of the keys to Linkin's success. "Points Of Authority" seems to be the pass for something very big that will come right after, it's a sort of preparation for the next track, the one that won the band the Grammy. So, after listening to the "points of authority," you move to "Crawling." After 5 years, Linkin Park will never reach these levels, Crawling starts right from the chorus, heart-wrenching and self-destructive that almost leads to suicide among depressed listeners, but that brings total exultation to those, like me, who have become infatuated with such melodies, voices and counter voices, perfectly timed guitar riffs, a dark atmosphere and hybrid electronics made specifically to intoxicate the listener with fear and pessimism.

Just to not make this review too long, I will focus only where necessary, so after two good tracks like "Runaway" and "By Myself", we arrive at "In The End", I know, it even wore on me, for 8/10 months we were buried by the most beautiful piece of the album (after Crawling); there's no need to explain what it's about. Gradually you will arrive without ever getting bored towards the end of what seems like an endless journey through the contorted, sadistic and at times somewhat perverse thoughts of the Shinoda-Bennington duo. The album closes with the sweet "Pushing Me Away", the concluding phase of a real great work by the L.A. band. 35 minutes may seem short, they can be an eternity if a CD is bad, in this case, they are enough to make it clear that these guys have serious talent.

CONSEQUENCES:

The consequences of this success were manifold, many negative: from "Reanimation," a bad taste remix, to the subsequent "Meteora," of good quality, but in my opinion somewhat influenced by Warner Bros, the holder of the agreement with Linkin Park. Then "Live In Texas," a bad idea, because you can't record a live album after only two albums, and "Collision Course," perhaps the lowest point of the band, forced in fact to share its pieces with rapper Jay-Z. An idea exclusively linked to marketing.

CONCLUSIONS:

Now it's clear why many of you hate them, because teenagers wear their t-shirts shouting "I love Mike!" and it's normal that all this success leads to only one result: Linkin Park sold out, Linkin Park sucks, etc. However, before, it wasn't like this. The proverb goes "red sky at night, sailor's delight," frankly I only see black clouds because the next Linkin Park album will be produced by Rick Rubin, a big name? Yes. Too much so in my opinion, collaborations with anyone, all "commercials," therefore, if now many of you hate L. Park, in a few years there will be many, many more...