Back catalogue: Metal

Review: There are few nu-metal bands from the formative late 90s/early 00s scene who achieved the monumental crossover appeal of Linkin Park. From their turntable spinning, frenetic rap-metal beginnings on 2000's global breakout Hybrid Theory, to the refined maturation of their formula on 2003's career-height Meteora, to their Jay-Z collaborative album Collision Course to the shedding of skin and rebranding as a genre-less alternative rock entity on 2007's Minutes To Midnight; as popular and accessible as they were, the band clearly constantly strived for sonic progression. Papercuts collects the highest charting singles from the group over two decades, with the most recent contribution being the previously unreleased 'Friendly Fire' recorded during the sessions for 2017's One More Light, which ultimately serves as the final new piece of recording from the band and vocalist Chester Bennington who would tragically take his own life later that same year. Ignoring the standard sequencing of a greatest hits which often lists the tracks in chronologically released order, here the cuts are compiled to sonically complement each other and reflect the band's ethos rather than a single line commercial pattern. Here is why the anthemic double platinum 'In The End' is juxtaposed with the minimalist rap-rock of MTM banger 'Bleed It Out', or why the previously unreleased fan favourite demo 'QWERTY' lands right between the U2 indebted 'What I've Done' and the original breakout single that started it all 'One Step Closer'.

Review: .It seems like half a lifetime ago that Linkin Park exploded from the underground nu-metal scene into the mainstream conscious with their debut album, Hybrid Theory. In actual fact, that was only the year 2000, a time when the sub genre itself was dominating charts and day time radio. As with many bands, though, it would be the difficult second with which they cemented their status as key proponents of the scene. Unleashing angsty lyrics, disarmingly addictive hooks and arrangements born out of hip-hop as much as rock, Meteora, LP number two, produced hits like 'Faint', 'Numb', and 'Somewhere I Belong'. Tracks that defined an era, in these circles at least, Lost Demos sees the group collate a wealth of material from that time - much of it previously unreleased - for an essential retrospective.

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Review: It is now a full two decades since legendary American rockers Linkin Park dropped their second game-changing nu-metal album Meteora. The record spawned a further run of big singles such as 'Breaking the Habit,' 'Somewhere I Belong', 'Faint' and 'Numb. It has been certified multi-platinum, platinum, or gold in 15 countries and to mark the occasion it gets a special 20th anniversary reissue here having sold well over 16 million copies around the world. This vinyl version comes with an insert as well as all the original hard-hitting guitars, drums and visceral Chester Bennington vocals that the band is so well known and loved for.