Linkin Park's debut sounded tense, nervous, and wiry -- rap-rock without the maliciousness that pulsed through
Limp Bizkit. But it had been a full seven years between
Hybrid Theory and
Minutes to Midnight, and many fans who were getting their driver's licenses in 2000 were now leaving college and, along with it, adolescent angst. So
Linkin Park jumped headfirst into maturity on
Minutes to Midnight, which doesn't really rock, it broods. Still, the band demonstrates the chops they need to rock, and sound comfortable doing it.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi