When Meteora landed in 2003, Linkin Park were on top of the rock world with a debut that would go on to become one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century and a mountain of pressure for a follow-up. So when critics got hold of what they considered Hybrid Theory 2.0, it might have seemed like the group couldn't live up to the early hype. However, Meteora was another globe-dominating smash that expanded their sonic boundaries and added a slew of hits to their repertoire, offering a matured, fully realized vision of the Linkin Park sound. That winning collision of alternative metal, electronic production, and old school hip-hop was expanded to epic scope, taking everything that worked on the first pass, amplifying it, and setting the stage for their various forays in the decade to come. In the eye of the storm whipped up by drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, and producer/artistic mastermind Joe Hahn, the band's heart - vocalist Chester Bennington and rapper Mike Shinoda - delivers what are arguably the finest examples of their trademark vocal back-and-forth. On lead single "Somewhere I Belong," Bennington pivots between pensive whispers and anguished cries as Shinoda tries to cleanse himself of the relatable self-doubt and fear that connected the band to a legion of listeners. That inner turmoil was key to making them such a generational voice, and those emotions were pushed to further extremes across tracks like the towering "Lying from You" (home to one of Bennington's bloodiest throat-shredders); the menacing, riff-packed assault "Hit the Floor"; and the soaring "From the Inside," a stadium-sized combo of "Crawling" and "My December." Beyond these familiar moments, the band also made fearless jumps into new territory, dropping an East Asian shakuhachi flute into the Shinoda rap showcase "Nobody's Listening," joining strings and programmed loops on the skittering, near-electronica "Breaking the Habit," and hinting at future soundtrack work with the atmospheric turntable extravaganza "Session." Two tracks in particular have made this a classic in the Linkin Park catalog. From the first notes of the sampled string loop, it was clear that "Faint" was unlike anything they'd done before. Atop galloping riffs and that repeated melody, it energized Meteora with a bright freshness that was smashed by a lurching drop and another one of Bennington's toe-curling death roars. On the other end of the spectrum, "Numb" built upon the desperation and frustration of "In the End," amplified by a melodic keyboard riff, pensive production, a chest-caving guitar-and-drum attack, and one of Bennington's most impassioned deliveries. As every element gels together at the close, he wails, "And I know I may end up failing too/But I know you were just like me with someone disappointed in you," releasing a pain so palpable that the catharsis almost feels good. Selling that pain with a side of hope generated another international hit that cemented the group as one of the top acts of their generation. Although they'd soon switch things up with far different results, Meteora stands tall as the most refined representation of the "classic" Linkin Park sound, an enduring statement that helped the young band capture lightning in a bottle for a second time.
Neil Z. Yeung. Allmusic.com
