Remember that TV show Wings? It was on the air for, like, 10 years, and we don't know anyone who ever watched it.

For us, Linkin Park are the Wings of nue-metal. According to SoundScan, these California rap-rockers sold nearly eight million copies of their debut album Hybrid Theory -- it was the best-selling album of 2001, in fact -- yet we don't know a single person who bought one. Maybe that's because most of the people we know are old enough to drink legally and have outgrown backward baseball caps as a fashion statement. But whatever. Somebody must have bought all those CDs. And because they did, Linkin Park instantly morphed from just another faceless modern rock band into Very Important Artists -- at least to their record company.

So, on their highly anticipated sophomore album Meteora, the band has been given a blank slate (and, apparently, a blank cheque) to do pretty much whatever they want. Except, of course, change their sound even slightly. And being good corporate rockers -- Ragers Inside the Machine, if you will -- they're more than happy to comply.

Hence, Meteora is an album that seems to put artistic expression second to far more mercenary goals like stroking the band's ego, indulging their artistic pretensions and blatantly trying to cash in on their success. The enhanced CD -- which comes with a 40-page full colour booklet -- houses documentary footage on the band, a music video, screensavers and icons, merch offers, pitches for the band's so-called "Underground" fan club, and even links to a Web toolkit so you can build your own Linkin Park fan site (and Lord, who wouldn't want to do that?).

Plus, initial pressings of the CD include a self-indulgent 35-minute DVD about how long and hard they toiled to make the 36-minute album. (That's right, the DVD is nearly as long as the record -- what does that say about their priorities?)

And what of said album? Well, in a nutshell it's Hybrid Theory 2.0 -- the same grindingly melodic guitars, the same hip-hop verses and bludgeoning metal choruses; the same whisper-to-a-wail vocals; the same subatomic bass depth charges; the same street-cred samples and loops and scratches. And all of it is coldly, cunningly calculated to be as radio-friendly as possible -- even the band admit they rewrote many of theses songs numerous times.

Too bad they didn't try to rewrite the rules a little more instead of just repeating themselves. Then Meteora might have been more than just the mediocre cash-grab it appears to be. (More on Linkin Park)

Track Listing
1. Foreword
2. Don't Stay
3. Somewhere I Belong
4. Lying From You
5. Hit The Floor
6. Easier To Run
7. Faint
8. Figure.09
9. Breaking The Habit
10. From The Inside
11. Nobody's Listening
12. Session
13. Numb