Southern California's Linkin Park follows a path long ago blazed by Korn, with the same eerie minor-chord progressions, down-tuned guitars, and wailing, anguished vocals. But in keeping with its debut album's title, Hybrid Theory (incidentally the band's original name), Linkin Park cross-pollinates its abrasive, crunchiness with DJ Joseph Hahn's underbelly scratching and rapper Mike Shinoda¹s confrontational bursts of verse. It's a common combination in today's rap-rock marketplace for sure, and Linkin Park's mix mastery won't disappoint any of Generation Y's downtrodden, looking for an aggressive outlet for self-pity.
The album's first single, "One Step Closer," bludgeons with heavy guitar lines as singer Chester Bennington progressively gets "one step closer to the edge." Although he warns that "he's about to break," an explosive bridge of sledgehammer riffs and Bennington¹s repeated pleas to "shut up when I'm talking to you" are enough to crack even the hardest skulls. The dynamic properties of this and a song such as "By Myself," with its blend of smooth raps, melodic vocals, and scorching choruses, reveal Linkin Park as a bright point in the dark, angry recesses of today's heavy rock.