I'm Breaking the Habit (Meteora - Linkin Park)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Meteora - Linkin Park
Date:	27/04/08 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A strong album featuring a number of excellent tracks.

Disadvantages: Not as good as the bands 'Hybrid Theory' album.

Having formed in 1996, 'Meteora' was the second studio album released by the successful American rock band that is Linkin Park. The album was released through Warner Bros. Records in 2003, features thirteen tracks and runs for a total of thirty seven minutes. Although the bands breakthrough album 'Hybrid Theory' is in my opinion the best to have been released thus far, 'Meteora' is also a strong release which contains a number of excellent tracks. The music of Linkin Park is always incredibly fun to listen to, such energy is contained within the bands sound and always on this 'Meteora' album the music of Linkin Park is simply sensational. The vast majority of the fourteen tracks here are excellent, there are a few that are even mightier than the rest however and always Linkin Park has plenty to offer as a band here.

The album begins with 'Foreword', a thirteen second introduction track before the main bulk of the music begins. 'Don't Stay' follows, a decent opener for the album and one that I personally feel begins this release well. This is by no means the best track that this album has to offer, it is however quite strong and therefore does not begin this album disappointingly. 'Somewhere I Belong' is in my opinion the first moment of brilliance that this album has to offer, a powerful track which was also released commercially as a single. The track begins well and maintains momentum throughout, never does the music of Linkin Park disappoint here and always in fact the sound that is created here is absolutely fantastic. The chorus comes belting out the mouth of the bands lead singer Chester Bennington and an excellent power is contained within this mans voice. The vocal performance of Chester Bennington is always strong throughout this album, with some tracks however his voice just seems to sound better than ever and 'Somewhere I Belong' is without doubt one of those tracks.

'Breaking the Habit' from this 'Meteora' album is quite possibly my favourite track that this band has ever written. Everything about this one is just completely brilliant; instrumentally the sound created here is almost perfect and vocally also this track is hugely impressive. There's a great energy that runs through the very heart of this track, the music is powerful and listening to this one is therefore always a pleasure. The chorus is the greatest feature of this track I feel; never will I forget it for as long as I live. 'Breaking the Habit' is a perfect example of the music of Linkin Park, it's an incredibly strong track and the power the band manages here with the performance truly in phenomenal. The track takes a great influence from the genre of electronica, something I feel works out incredibly well for the band here and is in fact pulled off to absolute perfection.

An eclectic array of influences is on display throughout this album, 'Nobody's Listening' for example borrows heavily from the genre of hip-hop and this is something that works out for the band magnificently here. Once more the music is highly powerful, the energy is high and never is there a dull moment here. This is everything you could possibly want from a Linkin Park track and more, a fine display of music which sounds brilliant and provides for a highly enjoyable listening experience. This one will perhaps not appeal to all fans of the band, it's very different to most music that this band has ever created and yet I personally absolutely love it. The way this track progresses is excellent, the music is not particularly smooth and yet it just seems to work. 'Nobody's Listening' is an incredibly fine Linkin Park track, a well worked piece of music that comes together brilliantly.

The album comes to a close with the track 'Numb', another that was released commercially as a single and one that I feel sounds amazing. The guitars are terrific here, such brilliant sounds are made and vocally the band is as impressive as ever. This is a sublime way for Linkin Park to finish this album I feel, another incredible display of rock music that always goes down a treat with me. The chorus is excellent as ever here and this is a track that has really come together well for Linkin Park. 'Numb' is without doubt one of the main highlights from this 'Meteora' album, there are a lot of brilliant tracks here but this is most certainly one of the very best.

'Meteora' was in my opinion a strong follow up to the breakthrough album 'Hybrid Theory', not quite as brilliant I feel but still an excellent album nonetheless. The music of Linkin Park is packed full of energy on this album, never is there a dull moment and near enough every track here is excellent. 'Breaking the Habit' is an absolute favourite of mine here, the album has so much to offer aside from this however and always I feel that the music is put across incredibly well by the band. 'Meteora' is most certainly an album that I personally would recommend buying; if you have a strong passion for rock music then the chances are that you will just love what you find here. There is so much going on throughout this album, the music is hugely powerful and never does the music of Linkin Park disappoint.

Summary: 'Meteora' is an album packed full of excitement, never is there a dull moment here.