Meteora

2003 follow-up to the eight-times-platinum in the US debut, Hybrid Theory, promises to be one of the biggest albums of the year. Enhanced CD packaged in a digipak. WB.

Linkin Park’s second studio effort (not counting the 2002 remix album Reanimation) overflows with glossy production values and Big Rock oomph, fully embracing the pop instincts of their Hybrid Theory debut. For many, Theory sounded inexcusably corporate, from its too-timely rap-rock sound to the long list of product endorsements included in the liner notes. Meteora will only amplify those complaints, but this album is actually truer to the band’s nature. It’s still impossible not to hear strains of Limp Bizkit, Korn, Rage Against the Machine, and the like. None of those acts, howeve, would try something as blatantly anthemic as "Easier to Run," which would sound fine to a Def Leppard fan, or as borderline danceable as "Breaking the Habit" and "Session." Linkin Park is what Trent Reznor was always afraid of becoming, but if you ever wished he would drop the pretenses and just make a hair-metal record, you'll find Meteora to your liking. --Matthew Cooke