10 Greatest Nu Metal Albums Of All Time
3. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory
For a brief spell, nu metal and metal as a whole was the biggest genre on planet Earth thanks to the release of Hybrid Theory. A fitting title for such an eclectic album, Hybrid Theory’s furious blend of rap, industrial, electronica and rock captured everything nu metal was about.
Fusing the late, great Chester Bennington’s expansive vocal range with Mike Shinoda’s emotional raps is an inspired touch that automatically set the band apart from their peers. Mega hit tracks such as In The End, One Step Closer, Crawling and Papercut remain nostalgic classics for metalheads and non-metalheads alike 20 years later.
Linkin Park gradually moved away from nu metal in the 6 albums that followed, evolving their sound and style unpredictably from record to record. For nu metal fans, there a some disappointment in that fact given Hybrid Theory represented a polished peak for nu metal at the time in both artistic and commercial quality.
The biggest selling metal album of the 21st century, Hybrid Theory has sold more than 30 million copies and is the most lucrative debut since Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction in 1987.