HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Meteora – Linkin Park
There are some words which evoke a multitude of emotions. Sometimes that can come from the connotations of the word while other times it breeds from the memories attached to said term. One of those being Meteora. In the physical sense, Meteora is a rock formation in Greece which houses one of the largest complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries. It is a place where people travel to for spiritual awakening. This feeling of enlightenment is what LINKIN PARK wanted to capture with their second album.
The early 2000s were a whirlwind time for the sextet. Following the release of Hybrid Theory (2000), the band experienced what many may call overnight success. Extensive touring, including a stint on Ozzfest, exposed them to a ravenous fanbase which would be the foundation of a pressure leading into pre-production of their follow up. Though this pressure was nothing compared to the expectations the band placed on themselves as vocalist Chester Bennington would explain in their Making Of… documentary; “I’m more comfortable when there’s a lot to be expected”.
Starting production in the back of a tour bus during Ozzfest, LINKIN PARK would conjure up some 80 songs before heading into NRG Studios in Burbank, California. With Don Gilmore back at the mixing desk, the team behind the dense sound of Hybrid Theory were reunited. Though it wasn’t all smooth sailing as Gilmore would call the band into the studio in the days after they had finished their remix album Reanimation (2002). Gilmore would also call for several rewrites of songs claiming he wanted them to still hit people after playing them 100 times.
That’s exactly what would happen. Breeding singles such as Faint and Numb, Meteora became the natural successor to the band’s debut while carving out a grandiose space all its own. Within the grandiosity sits a vulnerability as Bennington would joke “Some things that me and Mike [Shinoda] talk about really shouldn’t be talked about with other people” in the same documentary. Following themes of anger and depression, Meteora may not have fallen too far from its predecessor’s tree but it would instead thematically expand. Fans would cling to Numb as a coping mechanism for their own mental health battles. The lyrics “all I want to do/ Is be more like me and be less like you” became the tagline of a generation as the single dominated rock and metal charts. Numb would later be mashed up with JAY-Z’s Encore for 2004’s Collision Course and produce one of the band’s most popular tracks to date. The sentiment behind hit single Somewhere I Belong became evergreen and universal across the board, cementing the band’s legacy for creating pieces of music which strike the emotional jugular.
Yet a track which is poignant now more than ever following Bennington’s death in 2017 is Breaking The Habit. The final single from Meteora would attract some negativity as parents felt it glorified self-harm and addiction. They couldn’t be further from the truth however. While the track is about addiction, it in no way romanticises it. A song which started life as a Mike Shinoda (vocals) instrumental six years before Meteora came to fruition, Breaking The Habit talks about exactly that. It was also a track which would prove difficult for Bennington to even record. Though not about his own substance abuse at the time, Bennington felt the subject matter hit close to home and would often breakdown in the vocal booth. After Meteora was released, Breaking The Habit wouldn’t be played live during their initial tours as the vocalist couldn’t bring himself to perform it. However, once it made its way to the setlist, there it remained until LINKIN PARK’s final show on July 6, 2017.
Though revered now by fans and critics alike, it wasn’t always like that. Meteora was met with tepid reviews. The BBC would claim ““the first four songs all sound the same and the guitars don’t cut through as they should”, while NME would talk of feeling “distinctly underwhelmed” by the album. Though Rolling Stone would be more forgiving as they praised the band for managing to “squeeze the last remaining life out of this nearly extinct formula with volatile performances.”
Meteora would go on to sell more than 16 million copies worldwide. According to IFPI certification, it was the eighth best selling album of the 21st century. At time of writing, Meteora has reached seven times Platinum status and many of the tracks are still on heavy rotation today. While it was the last “nu-metal” style LINKIN PARK album as Minutes To Midnight (2007) would deviate from the genre, it is still hailed as one of the greatest outputs from the band. The record would receive a re-issue on April 7, 2023 which included previously unreleased tracks Lost and Fighting Myself.
With the world still healing from the loss of Chester Bennington and very much feeling the void left in his place, Meteora certainly fulfilled what it set it out to. While it would be a slower burn than Hybrid Theory, Meteora is still the awe-inspiring and evocative album now that it was 20 years ago. The screams of Lying From You are as crisp as ever while the wistful verses of Numb still haunt us to this day. LINKIN PARK built an incredible legacy with Meteora and it is one which many of us will forever hold dear.
Meteora was originally released on March 25th, 2003 via Warner Bros. Records.
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