so I did two fresh spins today....this was the main one that I'd never heard and felt like.  I did like the band enough to check it out...at the time
when this came out...I am not even sure what I am immersed in musically speaking....2000 was the release date for Hybrid Theory and who knows...maybe I'd fallen out of music or
was listening to my old favorites...thinking though that is when downloading and things like Limewire etc were really blowing up....so I know
I was grabbing everything and anything to check out.

Anyway...this album is EXCELLENT.  It's very refined, the songs are killer and well constructed...Chester really steals the show...his voice
is extremely powerful and his vocal melodies are just haunting, powerful, passionate and truly perfect...you can hear influence from him that span things like Chino from the Def Tones
to Trent Reznor and NIN, Korn, probably Limp Bizkit...and on the flip side you have this amazingly diverse band, with very contemporary musical stylings
that go past their Nu Metal peers in ways....and then toss in Mike Shinoda and you really have an interesting and extremely talented band, with not only
something to say...but the songs and musicianship to back it.

great record.

4.2 out of 5 stars...rock solid front to back.