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And so it was, that as quickly as the nu metal subgenre rose to prominence (and boy, did it ever?!), so too did it burn out. In 2000, nu metal bands were topping the charts and headlining festivals all over the world. By 2003, the genre was dead, with many bands either fading into obscurity or changing their sound to maintain relevance.
Which brings us to Linkin Park, arguably “the face” of nu metal.
2007 saw the band release their third studio album, ‘Minutes to Midnight’, and sees a huge departure from the sound they were best known for. The heavy use of samples, rapping and metal guitar tones have been replaced by a more traditional, radio-friendly rock, which focuses more on Chester Bennington’s impressive singing, and a more hard rock guitar sound. It’s evident that the band have matured and grown up over the years too. Long gone is the spiky dyed hair and teenage angst-ridden lyrics, instead, we have a more melancholic, introspective band, that are looking at bigger, worldly issues than just personal anxiety.
However, one thing remains unchanged, and that’s the group’s knack for writing easily accessible and catchy tunes. The songs are all fairly short, and with very simple structures and hooks aplenty, they’ve managed to update their sound with ease, and show an organic maturity bought upon by their own life experiences, as opposed to a means for the bands survival.
With highlights including ‘What I’ve Done’, ‘No More Sorrow’, ‘Bleed It Out’, ‘Given Up’ (huge props to Chester’s vocals on this one), and ‘Leave Out All the Rest’, it’s apparent that Linkin Park have managed to transcend the nu metal genre, and while ‘Minutes to Midnight’ may not be as innovative as their prior efforts, what it lacks in originality it more than compensates for with such well-crafted compositions, confirming that the band were more than a flash-in-the-pan, and are deserving of their spot as one of the biggest bands on the planet.
