March 2021 Feature Release – The Gateway Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Gateway has been nominated by saxystephens. It's super-popular Californian chart-toppers Linkin Park's final foray into nu metal via their 2003 sophomore album "Meteora".

https://metal.academy/releases/4472

I did my review, here's its summary:

Linkin Park was a band with elements of many genres combined into one back then. Turntable scratching, heavy yet simple riffing, big bass bursts, metalcore screaming, and fast meaningful rapping are all combined into their modern popular style of nu metal. They released their breakthrough debut Hybrid Theory, and they continued what they had in their greater second effort Meteora! This album is in some ways a sequel to Hybrid Theory. Just like that debut, Meteora is around 37 minutes long with 12 songs (this album has an intro that doesn't count), each at a length range from two and a half minutes to slightly over three and a half. However, each song continuously blends into one another, much more than their debut. You might be annoyed if you just wanna hear one song, but it's great because it sounds like a concept album to me. The stronger points are the good drumming and, of course, the vocals. Mike Shinoda continues his incredible poetic rapping and also put the songs together well as co-producer, while Chester Bennington has great singing range (RIP, my great dude). This album is pretty great, slightly better than Hybrid Theory while still not pushing the envelope a lot, and I'm almost completely over my pre-real-metal days of this band. Perhaps because of me enjoying this band before getting into "real" metal, I enjoy all 5 singles along with 3 other songs that all have powerful guitar, strong lyrics, and great vocals, despite the limited uniformity. The only weak songs are the promo single "Lying From You" and the remaining 3 songs (4 with the "Foreword"). Sadly, all albums after would not have as much heaviness as this album and Hybrid Theory. If you love Hybrid Theory, you can't miss Meteora. Might not sound the best, but it's worth it....

4/5

The reason I chose this to be a featured release was to prove how timely so much of nu-metal was, and how you had to be there to appreciate its idiocy. I realize in hindsight how dumb a lot of nu-metal was during the mid 2000s, but Meteora stands out in a sea of machismo and Monster Energy drinks. It easily surpasses Hybrid Theory in both the sound and the maturity and has stood the test of time for someone who was there when it all went down.

And with all of that said, I understand why some people might not like this album as much as me. This may piss some people off with its very amateurish songwriting and whiny lyricism. And I get that. But as someone who was the target audience for this during the early 2000s, and how much of my favour with nu-metal has drastically faded over the years, Meteora still persists. I don't know if you'll find a better display of this genre than on this album.

9/10

Ok so I went into this feature having never listened to a Linkin Park album before to be honest. I saw them live at a festival back in 2013 & thought they had some good energy about them but I've always assumed that their records would be too commercially focused for my taste & you know what? I was wrong. I ended up really enjoying "Meteora". It's certainly not an expansive effort. Linkin Park had definitely hit on a formula that worked for them at the time & the album is chock full of different variations on a common structural theme however they also knew what their strengths were & worked really well within those confines.

Musically, "Meteora" didn't offer anything we hadn't heard before. This is quintessential nu metal with all of the trademark characteristics on display & those people that claim Linkin Park were never a metal band are trippin' because there's more than enough crunch about this material to warrant entry to the hall. They were a tight band that placed all of their attention on building atmospheres leading into big hook-laden choruses. The rapping vocals of Mike Shinoda are the clear weak point for mine. I quite like underground hip hop but Mike definitely lacks the authenticity to pull this stuff off without sounding a bit corny. Thankfully the real star of the show is front man Chester Bennington whose powerful & anthemic chorus delivery completely captivates me. In fact, Chester takes an average commercial metal record to a level that I wasn't really expecting to be honest.

The tracklisting is very consistent with only the popular single "Breaking The Habit" failing to make an impact on me. Songs like "Easier To Run", "Nobody's Listening" & the classic closer "Numb" are both highly potent & extremely memorable with the main hooks digging their talons in hard & ensuring that you feel like starting the journey all over again at completion. This is more than likely contributed to by the very short 36 minute runtime too. 

"Meteora" really surprised me & provided strong proof that we shouldn't make assumptions when it comes to music. One man's lunch is another man's garbage & I'll happily take a serving of two of "Meteora".

For fans of Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach & P.O.D.

4/5

Given my age, Linkin Park were one of the bands while I was growing up, but I was never into any of the popular music scenes back then. I skated right by all the Linkin Park, Korn, and Slipknot worship in favor of classic rock, Tool, and Dream Theater. Even though I listened to next to zero Linkin Park, this seriously takes me back since it's such a product of its time. The early 2000's were basically the only time when this angsty and weird hip-hop/rap, electronic, and metal hybrid could have existed and I came out of this having a lot more respect for this band. 

Even though the riffs don't exactly have a ton of pop to them and the rapping is overall very monotone and lifeless compared to other, better rapping examples, Meteora is nuanced in a way that makes it so these shortcomings don't completely ruin the album. The album also feels like an album as well, with a lot of songs having great transitions and a nice overall flow to the whole thing. I think Linkin Park excel at being brutally accessible, with nothing on Meteora being particularly crazy, but I think that's why it holds up so much better than even their "cornerstone album" Hybrid Theory. "Crawling In My Skin" has become a recurring, embarrassing teenage angst joke of a song for slightly good reason, but I didn't find anything nearly as egregious as that in Meteora. 

I think I have to agree with Saxy in that this album may come back in style eventually as one of the better examples of what came of the early 2000's Nu-Metal craze. Pleasantly surprised. 

3.5/5