In the End Linkiln Park Music
by In the End

About this Music

When the first track from a band's debut album gets added to major rock stations four weeks before its official release, it must be something very special. That's the case with "One Step Closer" from Linkin Park's first album, Hybrid Theory. Built on an aggressive hard rock foundation, flavored with hip-hop vocal stylings and electronic fourishes, as melodic as it is confrontational, with a strong lyrical message, Linkin Park is diverse and unique. It's also one step closer to scoring an important debut album - and that's not just theory.

Certified Multi-Platinum (8 times) by the RIAA. (4/02)

It may be too cynical to assume Hybrid Theory changed its name to Linkin Park in order to appear right next to Limp Bizkit in your local record bin. But rock-rap workouts like "One Step Closer" and "Papercut" do make Linkin Park a comfortable fit with Fred Durst and his ilk. Producer Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Lit, Eve 6) and twin vocal threats Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda serve up industrial-strength rap and rock melodicism with equal aplomb on this woulda-been-self-titled debut effort. "Points of Authority" aims to sound like Trent Reznor wanking it up with Lars and company, whereas guitarist Brad Delson's Edge-y harmonics help "In the End" and "Pushing Me Away" evoke a dark romanticism akin to A Perfect Circle. Curiously, the band gets by with no bass player, while sample-happy DJ Joseph Hahn's step into the spotlight on the instrumental "Cure for the Itch" suggests a potential for eclecticism that could help Linkin Park outlive its seemingly transient genre. --Bill Forman