Linkin Park
Minutes to Midnight

THE REVIEW

One cannot expect reviews from those who do not listen to Linkin Park. This album is a sign of a change for Linkin Park. We can't say Linkin Park hasn't changed. They have. But for the better or worse?

General Impression

Looking at the album as a whole, it is clear that Linkin Park, those wild guys from "Hybrid Theory," have changed their style. "Some fans will be disappointed," said Mike Shinoda. He was wrong. Big time. Or were those strategic words? The fact is, many have abandoned Linkin Park. They are no longer a Nu-Metal band, and perhaps they never were. But many liked Hybrid Theory and Meteora. After 3 years and 100 songs, they chose only 12 tracks. An important fall in style.

Now let's consider the tracklist:

1. "Wake": Well done intro. The progression of sounds is noticeable. Nothing to criticize.

2. "Given Up": Some like it. I don't, not much. The base is well crafted, but Chester Bennington's fake scream is awful. No trace of Joseph Hahn.

3. "Leave Out All The Rest": This is where the pain begins. First song outside of Linkin Park’s norms. Lacks originality. After 10 years, works of this kind are no longer expected.

4. "Bleed It Out": This punk-influenced rock song follows the usual pattern of old Linkin Park songs, meaning Shinoda-Bennington-Shinoda-Bennington. Shinoda's rap is quite different from "One thing/I don't know why/It doesn't even matter how hard you try", even though Shinoda continues to self-copy ("Doesn't matter how hard I try"). A shame. Undeserving.

5. "Shadow Of The Day": Boring. No further comments.

6. "What I've Done": The album's very famous single. Very nice lyrics. Too bad about the base. Poorly worked.

7. "Hands Held High": This piece is peculiar. Because: the base is nice, but plagiarized. The lyrics fit the song, even though they are monotonous. Positive note: the final chorus. Really very nice. I like it a bit.

8. "No More Sorrow": Copied from Gorgoroth. Poor, I would say, although live it is and will be very nice.

9. "Valentine's Day": This rock song has emo influences, shabby, but the positive note is that Bennington didn't scream in this song because screaming wouldn’t have fit.

10. "In Between": What made them have Shinoda sing? He repeats 6 phrases for 3 minutes and 19 seconds, and, let's face it, wasn't Shinoda the rapper? Non-existent base, the band was on lunch break when Shinoda was recording.

11. "In Pieces": Superpop song. Linkin Park is not superpop.

12. "The Little Things Give You Away": Here none of the old fans might agree with me: this is the best track on the album, it's simply perfect, especially the end, but it can't compete with those of Meteora or Hybrid Theory.

Conclusions

The album is, after "Collision Course," the worst Linkin Park CD. Only tracks 1, 7, and 12 are worthy of being in an album. I can understand 2 melodic songs, but not 10 out of 12. Joseph Hahn absent, Shinoda singing, Delson playing guitar worse and worse. Fall in style. Linkin Park lost fans, they gained others. The latter, however, will not be able to boast about knowing the Linkin Park of yesteryears.

As I said before, many claim Linkin Park have grown. I see it: the first album with emo influences, the first album (except "Collision Course") with swear words... the differences with the previous ones are noticeable. And they should be noticeable. And this review is written about 6 months before the release of the new album, in the spring of 2010.

Rating: 4 and 1/2

Glances to the future

There's not much to say: will Linkin Park resume the old but never surpassed Hybrid style, or will they continue on this path?

Thank you for reading, sorry if I rambled on a bit too much.