https://open.spotify.com/user/m_shinoda/playlist/28O7W9MDolPIefvuhjN2oc Is this a hint about the direction of the album?
It won't be LT Pt. 2 Saw some folks worrying in the shout box. Pretty sure it's going to lean more towards ballads but it doesn't mean LT songs. The band has never made the same thing twice, save for HT and Meteora. Even those two albums aren't the same though, they only are at face value.
Actually you make a good point. Meteora, the second half especially, is alot different than Hybrid Theory and even improves on things a bit. Breaking The Habit, Session, Nobody's Listening, Numb aren't nu metal at all, and in terms of the nu metal songs, one can argue Hit The Floor and From The Inside where a bit different for them. Though I think Hybrid Theory was done better overall. Especially lyrically. +1 That would be awesome.
Animals is quickly becoming one of my favorite unfinished LP songs. That instrumental is really banging
Errr... "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Jokes aside, I've made the same point as Tony several times. It's true that Meteora and Hybrid Theory are much closer in sound than any other two Linkin Park albums. However, Meteora is not simply an extension of Hybrid Theory. It's obvious how the band pushed the envelope in terms of their hip hop and metal influence on that album. Whereas a majority of Hybrid Theory is very pop-centric nu metal, Meteora fleshes out their hip hop influence. They incorporate hip hop elements throughout, most plainly in your face in songs like Hit the Floor and Nobody's Listening. If you compare the two, you'll find that Hybrid Theory is generally a more radio-friendly and poppy nu metal, while Meteora is a much heavier and more hip hop-influenced nu metal with more boundary-pushing here and there for Linkin Park at the time at least (e.g. Breaking the Habit, From the Inside).
"Meteora" displays stronger production values as well, due to a combination of the band having become more experienced in a variety of areas and having access to better gear. Of the band's first two albums, it's the better-sounding one
LOL well One Step Closer verses are slightly better than Don't Stay I'd say. I agree though. I think that is why Meteora is my favorite LP record tbh. I think it's their worst album on a creative level (lyrics) but the production is phenomenal imo. The car burnout sample on Lying From You, the intro to SIB, the Japanese flute on Nobody's Listening, etc. All of it sounds fantastic. Meteora is one of the best sounding albums I've heard from 2003 and it overall sounds fresh imo. Maybe that's why I like it so much. I am a huge fan of hip hop and the hip hop influence on Meteora holds better than the more rock production of Hybrid Theory. The issue I have with Meteora is on Mike. I actually like his super monotone voice but his rapping on Meteora is..ugh. Chester actually has some good verses on Meteora tbh. Breaking The Habit and Easier to Run are actually pretty good. I think what bothers me is that pretty much 99% of the metaphorical or imagery on Hybrid Theory was tossed away for incredibly blunt lyrics. Some like that but I wish Mike didn't toss away the interesting rhyme structures on Hybrid Theory for basic, elementary rapping on Meteora. Oh well. Like any LP record, there's good things and not so good things.
I actually find Meteora more radio-friendly than HT. The production values are MUCH higher and it's more condensed, which I think makes it the more accessible album. HT was a little rough around the edges being their 1st album. The lyrics on some of the songs seem almost like a parody of Hybrid Theory, specifically "Don't Stay" which I find intolerable, but some others more than hold their own (BtH). The structure and themes of the two albums are similar, but Meteora has more electronic and hip-hop influenced instrumentals. Also, parts of "Reanimation" and "Breaking the Habit" have LP explore their symphonic side, which was obviously much more explored upon in their later albums. They're alike and unalike, but I love both for different reasons. HT has that 1st album charm, Meteora has aged better. Though I feel like we've all discussed this too many times before
I argue the opposite because I find those Hybrid Theory songs more geared toward rock radio. I couldn't see Don't Stay, Hit the Floor, Figure.09, Nobody's Listening, or maybe even Easier to Run (simply because of its mood) getting on radio easily. On the other hand, I could easily see By Myself, A Place for My Head, With You, or even Forgotten being radio plays. But pretty much no one listens to radio anymore but country fans anyway (and that's an actual statistic).
LOL oh man. Yeah I don't see that. I always thought By Myself was pretty rough for radio-play (same with Hit The Floor). I can't even see A Place For My Head on the radio. I definitely wouldn't see Forgotten playing. I can see Don't Stay, Figure. 09 play. Maybe not Nobody's Listening or Easier to Run (dark atmosphere) but idk. I think they both have their radio elements but Hybrid Theory seems a little less radio friendly to me for some reason.
Those seem like super random picks to me. If OSC, LFY, BTH, and Faint got radio play, I don't see why Don't Stay, Figure 09, and maybe nobody's listening couldn't. Easier to run I get, but I would also say Forgotten seems a little off for a radio pick. Maybe it's just because we've grown to know these tracks as singles vs deep cuts, idk.
I agree. I think the metaphorical conscious rapping on Forgotten seems way too hip hop oriented for rock radio anyway.
@Deliveranze I second that the production and sound design on Meteora is actually pretty good. All the samples sound sophisticated and even sometimes sexy. I'm always impressed listening to the samples on "Hit the Floor" and "Easier to Run". The production on "Numb" is good, if you ignore the chorus . The sampled choir vocals in the verses are beautiful.
OMG I never noticed the choir sample! I just relistened. That is amazing. Numb is actually a really good song imo. . No matter how many memes try to ruin it.
It's a synthesized choir, I think. But I like that it's synthetic because it creates a nice contrast with the piano and Chester's voice.
That's true about HT being more geared toward rock stations, Meteora is a more diverse album. A song like "Nobody's Listening" could be played on a hip-hop station, and "Numb" is essentially a pop song. Not that I find one to be heavier than the other, but the reason I call Meteora more accessible is because HT was the foundation, and Meteora perfected that formula they built with HT. It's like they took the basis of HT, then made it more focused and condensed along with more influences from other genres making it fresher. Which does leave some songs more accessible than the others depending on your preferences. Like Chester alluded to, these two were many people's introduction to heavy rock/metal because of the infusion of more accessible genres like hip-hop and pop. I love them, but electronic and pop LP are best LP to me. Give me pop LP7