10 Perfect Rock Albums From The LA Alternative Scene
2. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory (2000)
At the turn of the century, LA's alternative scene was shaken by the release of the most exciting exercises in genre blending in modern music. Linkin Park revolutionised rap rock and alternative metal by incorporating elements or electronica. It was a sound of furious artistic expression, mixed with refined musical talent.
Chester Bennington was fuelled by the same angst as Alice and Chains and Soundgarden, while Mike Shinoda channeled the influences of Rage Against the Machine. They were augmented by metal guitar riffs - just as heavy as anything Slipknot were doing - and hip hop inspired industrial samples. The blending of genres was far bolder than anything else going on at the time - all executed with a near perfect display of finesse.
Linkin Park have often been unfairly bridled with the label of nu metal, but to compare this record with the sound of Limp Bizkit, or even Korn, would be a most heinous mistake. Barely a third of the way through the album you've already been treated to Papercut, One Step Closer, and Crawling. And you've still got, In The End, Forgotten, and Cure For That Itch, to come - not to mention everything else in-between. Forget nu metal, this was Rage Against the Machine's true legacy.