I was looking at Google’s Music Trends this evening and noticed that Linkin Park’s In the End was at the top of their chart. Bizarre, I thought, that’s been out for ages. As it turns out, the single was released in 2001 (the Hybrid Theory album came out in 2000).

Naturally, I headed on over to YouTube to catch the video, and I was not disappointed. The interplay between Chester Bennington’s vocals and Mike Shinoda’s rapping is absolutely fantastic, far better than anything Limp Bizkit were doing at the time. I sometimes wonder why Linkin Park didn’t go further. Fred Durst was certainly more media friendly and controversial, while the Linkin Park guys maybe come across as a bit geekier? What do you think?

Whatever, I really love this rap/metal fusion stuff. Shinoda is definitely the cooler of the two vocalists, but Bennington really wails on the chorus. In The End is simply a great song to scream whenever you’re in a terrible mood and you need to let out your frustrations. I heartily recommend it!

A bit about the video. Very sci-fi! The band are playing in a surreal desert landscape and on top of a mysterious obelisk. It’s a CGI masterpiece, gloomy and dark and brooding. The thing I loved about this type of music was that it was straightforward, heavy hitting, and no messing around with extended guitar solos. Not that I mind guitar solos!

Anyway, if you missed In The End first time around, or you haven’t heard it in a while, time to check it out again!