Minutes To Midnight

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Well the new album is finally here and after listening to it, it certainly is different. It's got some of the hard rock elements from their Nu-Metal days, and it's got a surprising amount of softer songs (which I really enjoyed but many fans will probably be disappointed). So here's my review:

"Wake" is a cool intro, it's a lot different than what Linkin Park has done to start their other 3 albums. Starting with crackling sounds like an old vinyl record playing, numerous other sounds come in and build-up as eventually the band's instruments come to life to get the album going.

"Given Up" has some great pieces of hard rock which I like, but I think the intro clapping-like sounds are stupid and I HATE the cursing. I always thought Linkin Park was a cool group for not needing to curse to have some powerful songs, and they just threw that out the window on this song. The latter half of Given Up is VERY loud and angry which I know a lot of people will like it, but I don't. I'm not emo enough to listen to that part of the song in public.

"Leave Out All The Rest" is a GREAT song, I love it! It's a softer song along the lines of "My December" (it sounds totally different, but it's the same kind of easy-going song), and I found myself reminiscing about my past when listening to this song. I hope this song gets a lot of radio play as this shows some of Chester's great vocal ability. The song reminds me a lot of Saliva's "Rest In Pieces" song.

"Bleed It Out" made me think of a country ho-down when it started (it's got clapping and a lot of people in the background hootin' and hollering). Bleed It Out also marks Mike's first appearance on the album and I'm not sure what genre this song would go into. It's got Mike rapping (kind of) and Chester doing his thing, lots of clapping in the background, and it's a fast paced song (and short too, only about two and half minutes).

"Shadow of The Day" is another slower song, and very different from anything Linkin Park has done before. Chester goes solo on this song as well. It starts out with low tone beats and fills out with some violin and electronic sounds, later on the drums come in. I really like this song too, but if I came across it on the radio I wouldn't have thought it was Linkin Park, so many fans might not like it. It reminds me of a band called Audio Adrenaline. This is one of the longest songs on the album clocking in at 5 minutes.

"What I've Done" everyone already knows about. Another song I like! And many people will like it since it sounds the most like Linkin Park's previous albums out of the rest of the new songs.

"Hands Held High" is song number 2 with Mike (3 if you count his background on What I've Done), more unneeded cursing, starts with some church-like organ, drummer boy percussion, and features background chorus from non-Linkin Park singers. Mike puts out some nice lyrical work here, and Chester comes in at the halfway point. This is a VERY POLITICAL song, which is critical of many of the things going on involving the United States in various places in the world. Cut the cursing and I believe this would be a more powerful song. This song didn't work for me though, felt too much like a song that could have been done by the Beatles or U2 just based on the song's melody.

"No More Sorrow" is a hard rock song with Chester doing his thing. I haven't soaked up the lyrics yet so I can't really say what it's about, but Linkin Park is angry about people with money (maybe another song bashing President Bush?). I was surprised by how abruptly it ended, it just stopped. Another Mike Shinoda drought on this song (I didn't hear a peep out of him), but other than that, its definitely my favorite song on the album since it reminds me why I became a Linkin Park fan to begin with.

"Valentine's Day" is another softer song, not surprising based on the title alone. People listening to this song will probably be able to name a dozen bands that sound just like this, not to say it's not a good song, but it does sound familiar. I do like the song and the second half is really good when it kicks into higher gear.

"In Between" is Mike's biggest song, and it's the first time he's ever just sung lyrics; there's no hip-hop coming from Mike on this song, it's just him out there singing. This is a softer song as well and it's very melodic. I like this song too, but again, it could easily be mistaken for a non-Linkin Park song, and unfortunately it's somewhat repetitive and easy to forget which part of the song you're at.

"In Pieces" reminds me of Reanimation a bit, it's got lots of sound effects and about three quarters of the way through the song guitars will come out in full force (similar to the slow build ups in Reanimation), and is another Chester-only song. This is a good song and is very active and it sounds like it has a guest singer behind Chester but I don't know who. This song had another abrupt ending.

"The Little Things Give You Away" has a very soft-singing Chester start things off. Things build up consistently throughout the song and there is another big guitar piece here. This is also VERY political based on the lyrics, mainly influenced by the events in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This is the longest song Linkin Park has ever done on an album clocking in at 6 minutes 25 seconds, and Mike is mostly absent from it until the second half. The tone and lyrics don't work with Chester though, it feels more like a song that should have given to perform by a diva. Final song of the CD.

iTunes is going to release an exclusive song called "No Roads Left".

Well, Linkin Park did accomplish one thing they laid out, and that's to totally change their sound. This is, for the most part, nothing like Hybrid Theory, Reanimation, or Meteora. It'll be easy to spot these songs on the radio based solely on Chester's voice, but aside from that these are quite different from previous songs. There are songs here which are hard rock for the Nu-Metal LP fans out there, and there are lots of songs for people, like me, who have always enjoying LP's lighter and more lyrics songs like "My December" and "Numb". I really like "Shadow Of The Day", it's just a very enjoyable song and the sound is smooth with some great lyrical work from Chester.

I've only listened to the album about a half dozen times through and I'm still soaking up the meaning of the songs, and perhaps I've missed Mike's contributions on some songs, but I was still surprised by how little he seems to appear. On the previous albums I always enjoyed how LP mixed opposites, they'd have hard rock pieces with Chester and the hip hop element with Mike, I thought that formula worked. On this album however it's hard to guess where'd Mike will come in and what Chester will do. I guess you could say it's a more seamless sound in the songs. Also, I imagine Joe Hahn must have been bored out of his mind at times, there are very few instances of his trademark turntable work ("What I've Done" would seem to be his biggest song), but I'm sure he did lots of the artwork and that he'll be in charge of Linkin Park's music videos for this album as well.

One thing I was expecting based solely on the title was a kind of story being told throughout the album. When I heard the title would be Minutes to Midnight I thought it might be a build up to a huge song at the end, with a common meaning linking all of the songs together. But that's not present, and even though the last song is the biggest, there isn't a noticeable theme to the album. Three of the songs do have political contexts which are decidedly critical of the Bush administration, and while the members of Linkin Park are entitled to their opinion, I don't appreciate artists trying to shove a political statement in my face. I want to be able to just listen to a song and enjoy it, not to hear political propaganda. Besides, when the United States' involvement in Iraq is wrapped up (and when President Bush leaves office), those 3 political songs will lose their relevance and eventually people will begin to forget their meaning.

All-in-all this is an okay album with some enjoyable songs, and even though it's very different from previous efforts I'm sure real Linkin Park fans will come to love it while alienating other fans of the band at the same time. I hated Reanimation when I first listened to it, but it really grew on me and I think that's what might happen with Linkin Park fans when they first listen to Minutes to Midnight.

[Matt Young 0]

I doubt this will get many positive responses here, but thanks for sharing your opinions.

 

I enjoyed Hybrid Theory and Meteora (Reanimation was meh) but after hearing "What I've Done", I was ready to completely write this album off. However, I heard "Given Up" on KROQ the other day on my way to the gym and I must say it is quality.

 

I'm mainly worried about the lack of Shinoda. He's my favorite part of the band, and I was hoping for more involvement after the awesome Fort Minor album.

[SamoaRowe 0]

Yeah, second me on the Shinoda love. After hearing "What I've Done" a coworker and I were looking at the new cd in the warehouse when it first arrived to see if he was even still with the band.

[cd213 0]

I got this album 2 weeks ago and have tried to listen to it more then once to try to get into it since I am a very big LP fan, I have every album they have come out with (including the LP Underground cds), but this cd is shit. I can't get through it without turning it off. This is their worst album to date. I consider it their Load or Risk. It is up to them to figure out if their next album will be Re-Load or The World Needs a Hero.

[Guest George's Box]

Quality thread.

[Slayer 0]

Quality thread.

SHUT UP WHEN THEY'RE TALKING TO YOU!

 

SHUT UUUUUUUP!

[Guest George's Box]

I'm glad we got some expert analysis from Bob Van Dam!

[Ripper 0]

Yeah, add me in the "meh" group of people. The softer songs were some of the best, but like you said, they sound pretty cookie cutter. Shame. I will still probably listen to it, but not as much as I listened to Hybrid Theory and Meteora.

[Darthtiki 0]

After listening to it, I think up until What I've Done was really solid and then it drops off. I think the "political statement" songs drag the album down, not because of my own beliefs but because of the fact come 20 years from now they won't hold up. Only a few bands can get away with being political in their songs (Rage, U2, Bad Religion), here my reaction was "Awww Linkin Park's gone political, how cute", while I was thinking "Awww how retarded". In the long run, I don't see a lot of people embracing the album like the first two (it will sell well initially because of the brand, but in about 6-8 months it will be readily available in the used bin).

 

Edit: The Special edition is a rip-off, which I bought because I thought it had a cool ringtone maker program that I could use to work on some other tones as well as the "What I've Done" tone. What they don't tell you is that you have to buy the tone you create. The making of was interesting but all the other features weren't impressive.

[Guest George's Box]

Edit: The Special edition is a rip-off, which I bought because I thought it had a cool ringtone maker program that I could use to work on some other tones as well as the "What I've Done" tone. What they don't tell you is that you have to buy the tone you create. The making of was interesting but all the other features weren't impressive.

Yeah, bummer that you can't use a Linkin Park song for your cell phone, man.

[snuffbox 0]

Let's take a TSM Road Trip to Project Revolution!

[Darthtiki 0]

Edit: The Special edition is a rip-off, which I bought because I thought it had a cool ringtone maker program that I could use to work on some other tones as well as the "What I've Done" tone. What they don't tell you is that you have to buy the tone you create. The making of was interesting but all the other features weren't impressive.

Yeah, bummer that you can't use a Linkin Park song for your cell phone, man.

 

No I bought it for the software to plug in my own songs to make tones on

[MrRant 0]

Let's take a TSM Road Trip to Project Revolution!

 

We are going over to Nintendo? Traffic on 405 sucks though, so let's care pool. I can be there in 25 minutes.

[snuffbox 0]

This is even better! They spell Project with a 'k'! All the coolest bands will be there...Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday!

 

!

[The Man in Blak 0]

[The Niggardly King 0]

What a great album this is. A great new direction that many people will not be able to handle. It shows how Linkin Park have matured and can now be considered Rock greatness. This album puts them in at least to Top 25 of greatest bands of all time.

[snuffbox 0]

Indeed. Right between Journey & Winger.

[Matt Young 0]

I still haven't listened to any more new stuff yet, but I intend to go to Projekt Revolution on July 28th (2 days beore my birthday).

 

As mentioned, I liked LP's first couple albums a lot. Taking Back Sunday is a favorite of mine and puts on one of the best live shows I have ever seen. I have been an MCR fan for years, and Saosin and the Bled will be there as well.

[Perfxion 0]

My five favorite tracks

 

"What I done'

"Bleed it out"

"Given Up"

"No More Sorrow"

"Hands Held High"

[Guest Vitamin X]

Let's take a TSM Road Trip to Project Revolution!

 

We are going over to Nintendo? Traffic on 405 sucks though, so let's care pool. I can be there in 25 minutes.

 

I can be there in 3 hours! traffic will have died down by then, right?

[BUTT 0]

Indeed. Right between Journey & Winger.

I hope you aren't implying that Journey is a bad band because if so YOU MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Predictable thread.

[BUTT 0]

I think it's funny how butthurt Czech is getting over this thread. Like it shocks him that dudes on a wrestling board would listen to nu-metal.

[justsoyouknow 0]

I think it's funny that you're getting butthurt that Czech is butthurt. Circular logic.

[Henry Spencer 0]

"butthurt"?

[justsoyouknow 0]

Yes, you know. When one's BUTT hurts, they will rage.

[Slayer 0]

Like it shocks him that dudes on a wrestling board would listen to nu-metal.

On this particular board, yes

[BUTT 0]

I think it's funny that you're getting butthurt that Czech is butthurt. Circular logic.

Dude, I'm not butthurt. I'm not here to stick up for freakin' Linkin Park. It's just......come on, he knows the deal around here.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Linkin Park is quality gentlemen

[Slayer 0]

come on, he knows the deal around here.

I'd say the ratio of Shrimp Bizkit/Slipknot discussion to (for ex.) Tom Waits/Wilco discussion is fairly low around here