Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory EP (1999)

My friend insists he's a hybrid because he apparently swallowed his twin sister in the womb, so now he insists he has the strength of a full-grown man along with the strength of a female fetus. Who knows about the credibility of either statement when I'M the only person you can trust? You can trust me on that, too.

Sometime after the release of their demo as Xero, they must've thrown vocalist Mark Wakefield off of a boat or some shit because he's nowhere to be found, but the bleached-tips-cyborg known as Chester Bennington, previously of the band B12, has taken his place, if anything, to play rapper Mike Shinoda's sidekick, only to occasionally come in singing some Islamic-sounding shit in the background on more than one track. Interestingly enough, this EP is significantly more hip-hop than most of Linkin Park's other work, I guess because they were used to having a sub-par vocalist and hadn't quite realized vocalist Chester Bennington's full vocal capabilities yet, which is a shame, because even from the chorus on the first track "Carousel", it's VERY apparent he packs a hell of a lot more punch than previous vocalist Mark Wakefield in the harsh vocals department, with his only real big time in the spotlight being the track "And One".

"High Voltage" is.. Damn! It's always a great moment when I'm reminded of how interesting rapper Mike Shinoda could be as a backpack rapper if he stuck to more traditional hip-hop, and then a depressing moment when I realized he's almost fully gone the way of "woe is me, listen to me make vague statements about my emotional well-being" nu-metal shit that even occasionally plagues some of his Fort Minor work. From even just his work on "High Voltage" you can hear the man's passion and love for hip-hop fully realized in its stylish lyrics and delivery, leading into a slick, catchy vocoder hook.

Linkin Park are generally an interesting band, even if sometimes cringeworthy, even on this EP where rapper Mike Shinoda states in the track "Step Up" that "Rapping over rock doesn't make you a pioneer" in a condescending way to other rappers, without the slightest bit of self-awareness. Overall, this EP shows a different take on what the band could've become had they not focused more on vocalist Chester Bennington's role in the band, and just had him complimenting rapper Mike Shinoda's rippity-rappity rhymes and DJ Joseph "Mr. Hahn" Hahn's scritchity-scratchity scratches. No, I don't have an English degree, why do you ask?

7/10
________________________________________________________ 
Feel free to check out/buy the album via my Amazon Associates link!