antiMUSIC - Buzz or Hype? Linkin Park

Linkin Park – Meteora
Review by antiGUY

Fan Speak:

Posted by This is all crap:
I'm reading some of the comments and someone mentioned that no one has said why Linkin Park is a good band, so I will. Here goes: They work hard. They don't just throw things together and call it quits. They take time on each of their songs, writing each part carefully. If you watch the DVD that comes with Meteora you'll see that these guys are just like anyone else in the world. They want their music to be perfect (or at least as close as it can come) and they spend hours in the studio recording until they find it good..they love their fans and they are dedicated the what they do. What more can I say?

Posted by Chelsea:
Why does everyone have to label something? Linkin Park is Linkin Park is Linkin Park and so on...They are dedicated to their music and strive to make it their best, they won't stop until it's perfect. They are working hard to make something for their fans, and the way you talk about them it seems like they aren't in your favor at all. I can say this though: Linkin Park isn't pop. Sure, lots of people listen to them and they are pretty popular, doesn't make them pop. I don't know what kind of music you listen to but if your calling Linkin Park boring, then I have no idea what interests you.

Posted by Lateralus:
I think Linkin Park rules. Who's interested in putting a label on a band? It's not metal, it's not rap ... who cares. They create an atmosphere and it's there. Their dedication to artwork is perfect, with their latest album Meteora they did it again, this time with help from Boris Tellegen to create the right atmosphere, and it works. Wether Chester can scream or not is not important, his voice is unique. If you listen very closely you can seperate two or even three different tones. It's extraordinary. Anyway, don't call em pop cause they're popular, that's not fair at all. I hate that.

Posted by Mike:
Dream Rover, your comments about Linkin Park are sensible and I even agree with some of them...however I want to make sure you're aware that I did not use the word "metal" once in my comments about Linkin Park. I do not consider them to be metal, nor do I consider myself to be a metalhead. I'd agree with slipgun about the comments about them being a good pop band...well, used to be. Now they're just boring and repetitive. I never considered myself to be that much of a LP fan in the first place but now I'm not going to support them at all.

Posted by slipgun:
are u crazy? MOP 2? dream rover, no way meteora comes close to THAT goodness

Posted by slipgun:
dream rover, if u may have gone down a little bit u may have seen my first attempts at commmenting here in the barrage of nonsense. thank you anyway for being a little bit more legible if i may say. no, linkin park is not metal an di agree completely. but is a damn good pop band. they r mixing the best of metal and rap combining the energy of one to the rational of the other. and as i see the way u r referencing to bands, obviously chester may not be that good but in the end he does perform well. as for any more comments, let me just say that becaause this band borrows so much from hiphop which u don't seem to feel that much, lets just leave it at that. i have asked aG the same thing. u have to have a taste in hiphop to appreciate linkin park more than metal

Posted by Dreamy Rover:
Thank you, Mike... You have brought some credible points in favor of LINKIN PARK. Now I can put forward points to support my argument against LINKIN PARK. First, I'd like to clear a few things. LINKIN PARK are not, by no stretch of imagination, metal. They have leanings towards Rap & Hip Hop & just having a weak vocalist scream over a repetitive riff doesn't make it metal. U won't find many metalheads appreciating LINKIN PARK. Chester Bennington doesn't possess a strong and powerful voice. He can't scream as well as, say, Sakis of ROTTING CHRIST or Kenny of ...AND OCEANS. In fact, he screams rather poorly as his voice carries no strength and character. And Mike Shinoda's rap skills may be good, but the scream-rap-scream-croon-rap-scream formula doesn't sound convicing, resulting in very weak songs. Mixing Techno- Pop with Rap and elements of Rock or metal... is a bad bad idea coz it dilutes the energy that metal and rock usually carry. Also, they are formulaic, yes, very much. The same thing over and over again... The songwriting is average & many times, below average with the music getting bland by the 2nd minute of any song. Take their famous hit IN THE END, they repeated themselves too much in just one song. Lyrics are uninspiring & form no character for the song. They look like any school going kid with a lyrical sense could pen them down in a lunch break. The screaming pattern of Chester too is repetitive & he can't sustain it in a convincing manner, like say Bruce Dickinson can... The compositions are bland & created consciously to be catchy, instead of focusing on better musicianship that such music demands. In the end, they end up sounding neither rock nor metal and definitely not intelligent techno which creates a mood and an ambience... All in all, they're a very poor band with music that's nothing much to crow about....

Posted by Mike:
OK, if you want to hear good reasons why Linkin Park USED to be good, well here goes: 1) Chester Bennington has a GREAT, powerful voice, and Mike Shinoda actually has rap skils. Granted, they don't exactly use this talent very much on the new album but in the past it was obvious that they actually were accomplished musicians. 2) A solid sound. OK, so it may not be very guitar-based, but the way everything comes together is great. To me, mixing techno-pop with elements of rock and rap is a good idea and Linkin Park pulled it off well on the first album, but now it has become redundant. 3)Their lyrics might not be mind-blowing, but at least they rap/sing about actual meaningful subjects, not just crap like "You'll get knocked the f*** out if you talk sh** about me."

Posted by Dreamy Rover:
Not one single LP fan has ever brought up a sensible and reasonable argument about HOW LP are a good band in the first place. I've seen garage bands who can outclass LP in all departments. All LP fans do is scream at the top of their lungs that LP are the best & then proceed on to cuss anyone who doesn't agree with their retarded opinion. No one bothers (or maybe it's not possible) to bring up an argument IN FAVOR OF Linkin Park. They come with a washed out album, stale & unimaginative but like blind sheep u gotta still make it sound as if it was MASTER OF PUPPETS II. They may not be cash cows or sell outs or whatever. They do, however, are short of imagination and creativity as musicians. They can't ever live up to the rap-metal giants like FAITH NO MORE, ANTHRAX, BIOHAZARD, RATM etc... and if you wanna call 'em metal... forget it, in the face of real metal bands like LOST HORIZON, OPETH & CEA SERIN, they're a bunch of nobodys. They make songs only a half-witted teenager would like. They have no depth, no great skill as musicians & the less said about the vocals, the better. The lyrics and song concepts are absolutely ridiculous & that's all u can get from their limited imagination and songwriting 'skills'. Here, I encounter a 'genius' of a LP fan & all he does in the favor of LP to defend them is say 'fu-ck u' to me. How ingenious indeed... and how sad... I'd pay attention to SOMEONE who defends the band with articulate thoughts & not those fools who just attack u personally if you say a word against LP.

Posted by GrimmGirl:
Sure, Meteora has some similarities with Hybrid Theory, and sure its probably tamer than Hybrid, but the album is GREAT anyway...it has shown how they evolved as a GREAT, CREATIVE BAND band and NOT as just bantering cash cow rockers. LP RULES!!!

Posted by Fu*k all ya who think linkin park is a boyband:
have u got ears to hear? brains to generate an opinion......... fu*k i like em

Posted by scott:
linkin park is the best they have cool songs they are 100% better than delta goodram

Posted by The world is full of idiots who post stupid things:
yeah and you forgot one genius. f*ck you!

Posted by Dreamy Rover:
Yawn. LINKIN PARK is boring. Their songs are awful. Their new album is mediocre at best. And Linkin Park fans don't have a fu-ckin clue of what rock n roll and metal are all about. LINKIN PARK are metal, u crazy nutcases? LINKIN PARK songs are shallow and uninteresting & spare me the instrumentation. A band like PRIMAL FEAR can thrash the fu-ck out of them & THAT, ladies & gentlemen, is metal. They're no better than CRAZYTOWN. And that is intended as a compliment!

Posted by The world is full of idiots:
STFU. I like the album. f*ck radio, f*ck mtv, f*ck reviews. F*ck the goddamn teenybopping trendwhores. people exect a band to be a completely band on every record, and when that happends they turn on them. listen to the cd yourself a couple of times (more than 3 bitches, let lyrics take a backseat - instrumentals first) and decide if you like it for yourself. don't let someone else tell you to like it. $hit, wtf am i doing here anyways. I brounght the cd 5 days ago, and i'm reading a review - like i give a damn what you think about. f*ck it, i'll post this crap and leave. (and f*ck editing this post. THIS is a damn tennybopping board if i have to do this crap)

Posted by Kids are so stupid.:
Reviews are only supposed to be written by people who love the music being reviewed? Ok what's the point why not have the record companies simply purchase a review that they write themselves. Andrea that was one of the stupidest things I have ever read. You really take the cake I can understand now why you love this crap. It's mindless crap from mindless tennyboppers. This band is a boyband with guitars. Don't like it? Grow up and get into some real rock.

Posted by John Is A Tool:
John you wouldn't care cuz you a little MTV sheep!

Posted by ThatFilthyStinkingHobo:
Andrea embodies everything i hate and more, he/she is actually that ignorant, that he/she told us 'haters' to go listen to mudvayne. Seems interesting because Mudvayne is still numetal while LP is numetal/raprock. Linkin Park are a joke, only person with any credibility is Chester, whos gonna go down hill lest he find another band. But he wont, because hes gettn too much bling bling (y'all).

Posted by heywood jablowme:
only good songs are lying from you and hit the floor. somewhere i belong is crap.

Posted by JOHN:
THIS DUDE IS A FREAK, LP ROCKS AND I DOn'T CARE IF IT'S FORMULATIC

Posted by LPFreak56:
I think this band rocks!! I love Hybrid Theory soo much they rule!!! Meteora is an awesome album, how they come out with hard rock like Don't Stay, and then the soften with Easier To Run, then harden with Faint. I think this album should be a #1 seller!!!

Posted by Mike:
I would like to add though, I WOULD still take this album over anything by that horrid joke of a band, Limp Bizkit.

Posted by Mike:
I completely agree with this review (well except the part about the remix album, which I personally liked)! I always thought that while Hybrid Theory was far from perfect, it was a solid album with an interesting sound and showed a level of talent that was lacking in other rap-metal bands like Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Crazy Town, etc. It also seemed to hint at even better things to come, since like the reviewer said, they are really young and that was just their debut. So like antiGUY, I held out hope that this album would show artistic growth and perhaps prove to some people that LP were not merely a "boy band with guitars." But I was wrong. This album just sounds like a blatant attempt to repeat the success of Hybrid Theory. The songs are very formulaic, and basically ripoffs of songs off Hybrid Theory and lack the same impact. As it is the re was plenty of room for improvement with the lyrics on Hybrid Theory, and I hoped there would be some but instead they've become even MORE dumb and one-dimensional. Mike Shinoda has actually shown signs of being a really talented MC, but those signs are nowhere to be found on this album. Even Chester Bennington seems to lack the vocal power he had on the first album...here he just sounds whiny and nasal. And those of you who figured the instrument-playing members had no talent because of the overly simple parts aren't going to change their minds here. Finally, a lot of the songs are catchy in an annoying way, kind of like an Avril Lavigne song. This album is a big disappointment, I wasn't expecting a COMPLETE departure from Hybrid Theory but I thought they would build on that album's style rather than just doing a half-assed imitation of it. Maybe it was an attempt to cash in as antiGUY said, or maybe the potential that I saw in them really isn't there after all, but in any case, this album SUCKS!!!

Posted by slipgun:
au contraire hola, lyrics are good considering they provided me some answers

Posted by hola:
as a fan of Hybrid Theory, the new Cd i agree is formulaic (especially the single), but its not bad overall. They really need to work on their lyrics though, they're horrible

Posted by slipgun:
i think in ur rush to be the first u just didn't listen to i tmore than once. or even once

Posted by slipgun:
i have been here for the last 1 1/2 years and not commented a lot. just my 2 cents. i believe aG, u have a problem with hiphop. yes, meteora's 37 mins of sheer intensity fits in with hybrid theory so much that i play both the albums in the same go. linkin park have a essential pop structure but there r so many things happenning in it, all electronica/hiphop influenced that the nuances would be left out on people. anyway, i respect ur view and maybe i see the lyrics too much, but whatever, i like this album. not very great but another stepping stone to what i see will be some great prog stuff from these people. yes u heard that right. if some band in the future ever takes to prog-pop with dance/rap influences, this is going to be it

Posted by Generic Mallcore (hobo):
U guyz r fkN h8rs!!1! Fkn Linckin Park is good and metal and sh!T!!! Fk You alll!1! LiNKinN Park iS Dee3p aNd MEANingful!1! !!

Posted by aG:
Sub, after the success of HT, they had a lot to live up to and didn't follow through in my opinion. That's what usually happens with a monster debut but like Mr Huh said there are some bands that take major leaps forward with their sophomore albums. I didn't expect LP to do that but like I wrote it would have been great if they had and then they could quiet all of thier detractors. As it stands "Meteora" is only a shallow glimpse of what HT was, like they took HT analysed it to try and figure out what made it sell instead of sitting down and writing music from inspiration. They are young and maybe they have some surprises down the line but I for one was really disappointed with this effort.

Posted by SubXavier:
Linkin Park is listenable. Chester can actually sing, and I've always liked the dual vocalist thing. They can get a little repetitive, true, but they're decent. And aG, we want to hear about the NEW album... you mentioned "Hybrid Theory" in there six times, and "Meteora" once. Then again, maybe to you they seemed the same album... hehe. And yes, Coldplay does rule, and are better than Linkin Park.

Posted by Andrea:
all of you here that dont like linkin park,shut the f*ck up.if u dont like em,dont review you bunch of losers.the CD was great,it might not have been your type of music,but it was well worked on and written.so all of you that would much rather listen to mudvayne,shut the hell up and go listen to mudvayne,because your sh!tty-a$$ reviews arent much appriciated by the people that admire linkin park. this album kickss ass if you dont like it f*ck you

Posted by David:
The band has it's own sound which you can't say about many (if any) groups today...You'r complaining because they haven't switched their music style...I think that Linkin Park is one of the most orginal bands in our time.

Posted by aG:
Great teenybopper response "Tom" the only thing missing were the accusations of "hater" and "just being jealous". That's ok, I understand. Hell I liked Vinnie Vincent when I was 13, thought "kicked ass" but I grew out of it.

Posted by DeadSun:
Linkin Park is the antidote to Viagra--- I've read somewhere that they prescribe it to eighty-year olds who accidentally take too much of it. This stuff is AM Gold, Easy Listening, plastic, vaccuous pap, designed to moisten panties and kill brain cells twice as fast. Face it, most guys who claim they like this musical Valium, only pretend they like it because it helps them get laid. Period. Want to buy a CD that REALLY kicks ass? Pick up the latest offering from "Old Man's Child", featuring Galder and Nick Barker of Dimmu Borgir--- now THAT's a CD that will make your eyes leak fluid and strip the paint off of your neighbor's house.

Posted by Tom:
Everyones got to complain about sumthing. Just shutup. Linkin Park rules! While everyone else is just making cds to pad a single Linkin park kicks ass with just about every song. Meteora rules. and go screw yourself of you think otherwise.

Posted by vanessa:
Í am sure that Linkin Park is a Great and Cool band that came to stay!!!

Posted by ThatFilthyStinkingHobo:
"i wanna be somewhere i belong:"... theyre not even trying these days are you? Boycott this crap. New mudvayne good.

Posted by Quantum:
Yea i agree this is way too much like Hybrid Theory but hey, downloading it for free two weeks before it comes out in stores and burning it then bootlegging it to about a dozen people for $5 a piece is fine with me so as long as internet exists and there are kids who think linkin park is good so do i. Making money is fun =]

Posted by reisedogg:
I think this album is good. Nothing new that stands out. I burnt it from a friend, but I wouldnt go out and buy it. Out of 13 songs I like 7. So its average I guess.

Posted by Admye:
I think that it f*cking rocks!!

Posted by Mr. huh? saying, "My Generation Sucks!":
Yeah! Linkin Park blows, Coldplay rules! Don't forget about Enuff Z' Nuff, Days of the New, and Silverchair. Those are some bands that made huge leaps between the first and second album (or first and fourth in Silverchair's case).

Posted by aG:
Just wait DS, google just found this one and all the LB kids will be coming out of the woodwork. or was it the mall. ps. I was worried people wouldn't get the Latin and the humorous truth behind it but I can always count on you! cheers and let the fun begin. wait, Chrissy reread the review, the problem isn't that is sounds like Hybrid Theory, the problem is the songs sound way too formulaic.

Posted by Chrissy:
I think you've missed the mark on this one. I've loved Linkin Park sice Hybrid Theory came out in 2000, and I still do. Who cares if some of the stuff sounds like Hybrid Theory? Theres stll a lot of other stuff on the album. However, I do agree that Reanimation,(except for about two or three songs; My Demcember, etc) basically sucked.

Posted by Dreamy Rover:
LINKIN PARK are a joke. I don't like bands which do an 'effective pop facade' (he he he)... If one liked HYBRID THEORY, I have news for you. They had put all their best ideas & imagination on their debut & now they've none left. Another one-hit wonder. NEXT!

Posted by DeadSun:
"Supernovious Epilogus"--- you are a certified blend of Truth and Humor, aG. Speaking of humor, my anticipation of being treated to the unending Comic Relief, ordinarily present in an anti-Music Linkin Park Fan Speak board, is almost too great to bear.