One of the most highly anticipated concert events of the summer was the Summer Sanitrium Tour. Unfortunately, there was no stop for South Florida, but on July 13 Orlando got a great taste of rock music. The tour included Deftones, Mudvane, Limp Bizkit, Metallica and Linkin Park. Of that group, Linkin Park has proved to be the band of the summer, with their latest release arriving in stores before the start of the tour, and two hot singles conquering the airwaves.

Meteora, Linkin Park’s second album, was one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Fans have been waiting for new work from the guys for nearly 3 years. The samplings and music on this effort sounds all too familiar, dimming the light of the emotional lyrics. Linkin Park shows the same intensity from their first album, only now the lyrics have greatly matured.

The first single, “Somewhere I Belong,” is a solid introduction to this disc. It sounds similar to past material, but songwriter Chester Bennington has an interesting way of expressing his emotions through his words. The lyrics create a clear image of pain he has endured.

Another song that stands out is “Hit the Floor.” It contains a hip-hop beat that gives the song its own uniqueness on the album. Also “Don’t Stay” has an anger-driven vibe that sounds like a more mature Linkin Park.

A song that does pull away form sounding the same is “Breaking the Habit.” According to one of Park’s members, Mike Shinoda, “This song has been six years in the making.” The song is crossing a digitally manipulated beat with strings and piano. It’s definitely the softer side of the band. The second single, “Faint,” has a hard edgy sound that makes you want to get up and yell along to Bennington’s lyrics. Also, “Nobody’s Listening” introduces samples using a Japanese flute, which gives the song a mellow feel.

On this release the lyrics unravel like a story describing pain, heartache and the extremes Bennington and his band mates have gone through. The essence of this album is like a mood swing having its share of highs and lows.

Hardcore fans may have mixed emotions in response to . It’s still a great rock effort for those who don’t like change and enjoy the band’s signature sound and desperate lyrics. With the exception of a couple of songs, it might as well been called Hybrid Theory Part 2 (or 3 if you include “Reanimation”). Meteora sounds high tech and futuristic, but through all the hype they basically sound the same — but the words have changed.