Linkin Park
Minutes To Midnight

THE REVIEW

If the wait for Linkin Park fans were to be compared to a hypothetical path, it would be a path stretching for miles. On 5/14 in Europe, the wait and path will end, and you will find yourself faced with a chasm.

"We will be original, no more nu-metal, it will be a more rock, hip-hop, motown, new wave sound with a hint of pop," these were the official statements from the band, released by Chester Bennington and Brad Delson, nothing more false, let me explain why.

The rhythmic opening of "Wake" is beautiful, a direct and decisive sound that paves the way for "Given Up." The band from Agoura Hills seems to have kept its promises, no more nu-metal style guitars, but more rocking sounds and a rougher, more charged 'Chaz' than ever.
Besides the excellent performance of B. Delson and Phoenix on guitar and bass, note that for the first time there should be the presence of "explicit lyrics" (I use the conditional because I haven't read the lyrics, but the words heard seem clear), truly a good tonic piece that suggests there will be a turning point as the listening continues. "Leave Out All The Rest" is the first small setback; it's a slow and calm piece, and it's too early for sappiness, we're only at track no. 3. In certain vocal solos, Chester Bennington sadly reminds of Lee Ryan, but still a salvageable piece.

"Bleed It Out" is truly beautiful, the band's rapper voice, Mike Shinoda, sounds more like Eminem than ever, accompanied by an excellent base with rhythmic applause and a killer, engaging chorus, without a doubt a chart-worthy piece and in my opinion, it will be the second single from the album. You might be wondering where all the mess I mentioned earlier is... here it is.
"Shadow Of The Day" is horrendous, the sound is a hybrid mix of electronics and pop, useful in cases of chronic insomnia, the rock from "Given Up" is further away than ever, way too much sentimentality.
After the well-known "What I've Done," we go to church with "Hands Held High," a church-like chorus (it seems you can hear an amen!) and a sadly unrecognizable Shinoda, hitting rock bottom when he tries to sing in "In Between," reminiscent of A. Kiedis of the RHCP in "Raod Trippin," pity he's a rapper and not a proper singer.

So, after the superpop "In Pieces", let me describe what should be the most beautiful piece of their career according to Chester Bennington's opinion: "The Little Things You Give Away"; over 6 minutes of heaviness and paranoia, slow pieces are not for them, in short, a tragic conclusion to a mediocre album.

Conclusions:

- I refute the aforementioned statements of the group regarding the "different" sound, there is no hint of hip-hop except in a few small flashes, the rocking sound is present in 2/12 of the album, and so on.

- Note how the so-called "stronger" pieces (stronger!) are strategically placed (2-4-6-8) to consistently break the rhythm to avoid excessive disorientation on the part of the listener.

- Analyzing the entire work, "What I've Done" seems like a foreign body to the album, because if before the release it represented a bit of a turning point in sound, after repeated listening to the CD, it seems only like a link between the old and new style, overall, it feels much more fake.

- Titanic disappointment "The Little Things You Give Away", Chester shows what needs to be said, outside of some very timid guitar solos, the rest is a sleeping pill.

- If there was hope for a rock Chester like Cornell, we must settle for a Bennington a bit like E. Iglesias, a bit like T. Ferro.

- DJ Hahn and Mike Shinoda not found.

- Positive notes? At most the album cover, in black/white that fits all furnishings.

If we were talking about an unknown band, it could have even scored a 3/5, but being a CD matured after 2 years, and I repeat 2 years of work with the support of a certain Rick Rubin, 2/5 is much more than fair.

We await impatiently the comeback of the former superband from California, or another, tragic, total collapse.