Review Summary: They may have matured, but they've ended up singling out former fans and turning potential fans away.
You really can't describe
Minutes to Midnight. In one corner, its another
Hybrid Theory begging to be noticed by the nu-metal crowd and the legions of eight-year-olds that are in love with the lead singer Chester Bennington. In the other corner, its an alternative rock album that wants to be taken seriously by fans above the age of eight. Bad news guys; this album accomplishes neither. What this album does is give promise that their next album will continue to follow in the direction this album has taken them. They are no longer the bland nu-metal group that released a solid album then fell apart on their next release; they are now a band that wants to release solid releases with every album. But can Linkin Park actually be taken seriously?
Possibly. If you can sort through the garbage in this album like
Valentine's Day and
In Between, you'll find a much more matured, refreshed band trying to make a good album. There's plenty of memorable hits like
Leave Out All The Rest and
What I've Done, but the album just comes off as boring and bland. What made Linkin Park cool back in the 'day was the awesome, graffiti-inspired artwork, the turntables, Shinoda's raps...but that's mostly all gone. The only thing that made Linkin Park different from all the other nu-metal bands was those things, and the fact they didn't make the overly-dramatic ballads that every nu-metal band seemed required to publish. Well, Linkin Park feels that way now, the album is full of ballads, love anthems, and slower songs.
What ever happened to the swagger they had in classics like
In the End? Its all been traded away for the likes of the mindless repetition of
Bleed It Out? Are you kidding me? Where
Hybrid Theory was great,
Meteora average, this album comes out a little bit better than
Meteora, but far under par from
Hybrid Theory. There's a few great listens;
Leave Out All The Rest is an immediate classic and radio smash-hit upon first listen. Hahn's traditional electronic noises are abundant in the introduction. The song starts out slow, before speeding up into a louder, catchy ballad that is a carbon copy of the mega-hit
What I've Done which is another very good song, and much more memorable than any song on their last album.
No More Sorrow is a lot like any song off
Hybrid Theory without the rap. The song kicks off with an e-bow solo before it kicks into gear with a metal-tinged guitar riff. The song slows down into a verse before blowing up into the catchy, metal-influenced chorus.
Those three songs sound like traditional Linkin Park; there's not much else that sounds familiar to old fans.
Given Up is a very good song, it feels so much 'dirtier' and almost 'punk' then the rest of the album. Chester Bennington shows off his screaming voice in this song; especially in the bridge where he manages to scream for a very, very long time.
Bleed it Out tries to recapture former glory but falls short because Shinoda's rapping part feels so disjointed from the rest of the song. That's not the biggest issue; the song is horribly repetitive and manages to drag you along whether you like the song or not.
Hands Held High manages to come off as the worst Linkin Park song of all time with a chorus as mindless as
Bleed it Out. The song feels more like a Fort Minor B-side then a Linkin Park A-side.
In Pieces starts out with some of Hahn's electronic noises before the chorus and a completely elementary guitar solo which ruins the song from the get-go.
Harder songs? Who needs harder songs when you've got ballad skills. Well, maybe not...because the rest of the album is hit or miss.
Shadow of the Day comes off as a heartfelt, catchy ballad, while
In Between manages to showcase how truly bad of a singer Mike Shinoda, the rapper, truly is.
Valentine's Day is the biggest mishmash of emo crap ever to grace my ears, and
The Little Things Give You Away tries to be an amazing epic a bit
too hard. Chester Bennington's vocals in the verses knaw into my brain in this song which ruins the chances for a great epic; because the chorus is great.
The album is just a makeshift often messy attempt for Linkin Park to mature their sound; age it, or whatever you call it. Linkin Park has officially alienated their fans more then Marilyn Manson does with each release. The album comes off as a bit better than average; but nothing more and nothing less. Some songs feel like they should have been off a previous album, while some feel like they should be on a break-up album. The lyrical work is amazing, though. Its always been, but they've really progressed lyrically in this album. But the biggest thing I noticed is that it seems the band members are becoming more and more singled-out and alienated from one another in this album. Mike Shinoda, previously featured in mostly every song, has been moved down the totem pole, to a guy who is only featured in three songs. Joe Hahn's scratches and electronic noises are mostly gone, and it just seems as if what made Linkin Park unique is gone and they are
trying to break-up the band by pissing off Shinoda and Hahn. Whatever Rick Rubin did to this band by producing it might have helped them grow, but has stunted their fan growth for years to come.
DOWNLOAD:
Leave Out All The Rest
Shadow of the Day
What I've Done
No More Sorrow
This Message Edited On 05.15.07
