Artist: Linkin Park
Title: “Hybrid Theory”
Label: Warner Bros
Release Date: 10/24/2000
Genre: Metal/Rap/Alternative
Rating: 5/5

“Hybrid Theory” – the debut from California’s Linkin Park would be a blast of energy unlike the Nu-Metal world had ever felt before. They were a band that would mix strong Metal riffing along with some Hip Hop rhymes and the screams of youthful angst. Their release would be far more authentic and pure than the drivel coming from bands like Limp Bizkit and Insane Clown Posse. Two bands that employed a similar formula but in this writer’s opinion had some of the worst material ever heard. The album was loaded with good songs and among them was “One Step Closer” which was a pure Metal track. It was a song that got the blood boiling in the veins as it plays with singer Chester Bennington achieving points of rage throughout. The songs “Crawling” and “In The End” made their way to heavy MTV rotation and it was pleasant to see music with a heavy underlying base getting the attention it deserved once again from this outlet. The exposure allowed them to capture a strong youth demographic who were having Rap pushed down their throat and it allowed them the alternative choice and the chance to enjoy something that had styles they were used to with the rhyming, but also the chance to indulge in some quality Metal riffs. I like to think that Linkin Park helped out Heavy music more than it hindered it. There is not much in the way of profanity on the album which was a big difference from many of the bands of the time who used it far too frequently in their music. This made LP better song-crafters as a result when compared to such acts. The guys even used some effective melodic vocals and would often have their resident Emcee Mike Shinoda handling the spoken parts of the songs. The band was rounded out by Rob Bourdon (drums), Brad Delson (Guitars/bass), and Joseph Hahn (records and sampling). Let’s face it – “Hybrid Theory” was a smack in the face to the music world it first appeared upon. It became the best selling album of 2001 and it a solid listen from beginning to end even if you no longer possess that youthful rage of the past.

The only bad memory I have of this album is that once it got popular it spawned their music being rendered by scores of cover bands who attempted to play it as a part of their repertoire and failed miserably each and every time. Despite this, I like to think that since they did mix some Rap style into a largely Metal based record that it won more bodies over to the Legions Of Metal. Linkin Park showed that Rap could work inside the Heavy Metal frame and proved to those that think Metal a dying genre that it was more than cool to Rock.

Track Listing:
1. Papercut
2. One Step Closer
3. With You
4. Points Of Authority
5. Crawling
6. Runaway
7. By Myself
8. In The End
9. A Place For My Head
10. Forgotten
11. Cure For The Itch
12. Pushing Me Away

Official Website: www.linkinpark.com