First Listen: Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight Fails to Shine
Will the Real Linkin Park Please Stand Up?
When "Minutes to Midnight" hits stores, it will be one of the year's most eagerly awaited offerings, but a first listen shows that it yields little of the excitement of the band's major label breakthrough "Hybrid Theory." The same ingredients are mostly in place- the guitar lines are strong and Bennington's fine vocals are front and center, but the sound has been tweaked until it is only a shadow of the music that sold millions of CDs. Bennington seems to have taken on the mantle of undisputed front man, and Mike Shinoda has been relegated to what amounts to "special guest star" status on a few of the songs. The only track that comes close to capturing the magic of Linkin Park's early recordings is "Bleed It Out," the stand out cut in a CD where each song blends into the next with little to distinguish any of the tracks.
Linkin Park inspired a lot of bands that populate modern rock radio, but by staying stagnant, the new CD sounds the same as most everything else on the radio. "What I've Done," the first single from the CD, reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, but after only four weeks on the chart it has dropped to number 25.
The CD isn't a total loss, and it's not even bad, but it's not the splendid album that Linkin Park has proven they are capable of creating. Expect major sales the first week, but watch as the album sales sink like a rock without solid singles to give the CD legs.
Individual tracks to download from iTunes are "Bleed It Out," the fine "The Little Things You Give Away" and "Shadow of the Day." The rest of the CD is for die hard Linkin Park fans only. You have to admire Linkin Park for taking a risk by reworking their sound, but change isn't always good, as "Minutes to Midnight" shows. This CD is little more that a place holder on the charts until the real Linkin Park stand up.
Published by Kari Livingston
Kari Livingston is a freelancer writer living and loving life in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She specializes in local restaurants, attractions and family events. Her work has appeared on HubPages,... View profile
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16 Comments
Post a Commenti love linkin park! dude, ive heard songs off of every CD and i have a couple of them. the "minutes to midnight" CD sounds different from the other ones, but, its amazing cuz it sounds amazing. listen to the lyrics not just the way it sounds and you will see what i mean. listen to "hands held high" and then "no more sorrow" in a row and hear the contrast. listen to the other songs and then listen to some songs off of the other albums and hear the difference. listen to the lyrics and u will see. they have changed and a lot of people don't like that, but it happened. if you truly like linkin park then you will like the new album cuz it ROCKS!!
dang straight man, linkin park is da best!
Ever since i've heard "numb" and "in the end" i've been addicted to Linkin Park. Hybrid Theory and Metemora are the best. And i am sad to say their new album sucks and doesn't kick as ass.I know a lot of people agree and those who have never liked LP probably are thinkung or saying aloud "this proves they've sucked since the beginning".
I know a lot of people who love LP and are addicts like me to the music. Then there are some who think their are way better bands out their.
But in my perception yes some of their songs may seem unpoetics and easy to write/record.But the way it connects to many fans is deeper than it may seem to other people. LP's music reaches to me by pulling and tugging on my hopes,memories, and relality of life and my perception of it. So you may not think LP is any where near great as some people claim, but all I can say besides that they are one of the best to me and "at least they don't create utter garbage and pointless songs and are not one hit wonders or
this album blew all there others out of the water
I've waited so long for the LP cd to come out.I think that it was worht the wait because it was the best album of LP.Altough they changed their sound a little I still apreciate what their bringing to the fans.Theres a lot more of chester and a bit of mike thats what makes this cd diffrent from the others.but mike i love your rhymes cause their so cool!
I didn't want to be admit I was disappointed.. but it just doesn't last as long as the others. I first got Live in Texas for Christmas, and was surprised that I listened to that CD only, almost every day for nearly a month. I will say that Wake, Given Up, and Bleed It Out are pretty darn good and No More Sorrow is excellent, I love the every part of that song, but I just can't decide on a great CD with 4 awesome tracks.
when expectations are too high and the album decent disappointment is inevitable. this is a good album...its just not up there with their last 2, still worth a buy though!
wish they had left the F- word out of this one like the others. It was the reason I taught my kids to love them. Now we are all disappointed.
I waited four years for this? Please give us more mike, a little less chester and music like the last two cd's. I know they want to explore other creative outlets, but they were famous with their old sound for a reason. I won't give up on them- unless the next one sounds like this one.
Its just that no one is giving it a fair shot. Listening to it once isnt gonna do much for you. Ive listened to the over 40 min album song by song for more than 3 times, and that's when the songs get better. Its a change, that's true, but their direction isnt a loss, its just people are SO used to the "old" lp that this is kinda a let down. But listen to it more, youll like it =)