Image: Linkin Park - Meteora Album Cover
Now a full 23 years ago, on March 25, 2003, Linkin Park presented us with their second studio album titled Meteora, the successor to their famous debut Hybrid Theory. While Hybrid Theory had already captivated the entire world with the renowned tracks “In The End,” “One Step Closer,” and “Crawling,” Meteora delivered the powerful songs “Numb,” “Breaking The Habit,” and “Somewhere I Belong.”
The album climbed to number 1 on the album charts in both the USA and Germany, outperforming its predecessor as far as numbers allow. To date, Meteora has achieved five platinum certifications in Germany and as many as eight in the USA.
Meteora: Beginning of the Continued Journey
With their first work, Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, and their bandmates had already achieved an undeniable breakthrough, becoming one of the most influential bands of the entire Nu-Metal genre. But it was Meteora that proved the band could continue to assert themselves and establish a long-term presence in the scene. On Meteora, they were still clearly Linkin Park, yet they didn’t sound exactly like they did on Hybrid Theory. The evolution on the second album laid the foundation for all further successes, during which Linkin Park became increasingly experimental. Even back in 2003, there was a stronger lean toward Rapcore, electronic influences, and Hip-Hop, especially on tracks like “Lying From You” or “Nobody’s Listening.”
However, where there is praise, there is always criticism; some reviews critiqued the second record for sounding too "hit-oriented." And Linkin Park certainly released plenty of hits into the world—that much, at least, cannot be denied.
To celebrate its 23rd birthday, you can definitely give the sophomore effort another full listen and get nostalgic with that 2000s sound.
