Linkin Park
Minutes To Midnight

THE REVIEW

Unfortunately no longer exclusive, we will review 'Minutes to Midnight', the highly anticipated comeback album by Linkin Park.

In their pre-launch statements, they described it as a clean break from the past, and above all, the whole group defined themselves as satisfied with the work done, although "some fans will be disappointed", as Chester Bennington said.

Unfortunately, the new style proposed by the former Lincoln Park members turns out to be even too different from the ultra-rhythmic (and much appreciated) rock offered to us so far by Mike and company: now it's even difficult to find on the album some explosion of electric guitar that our dear Californian group used to cherish, the vaguely metal sounds have completely disappeared, the same goes for the rapcore that Mike Shinoda is so good at, which is really present only in very few tracks.

The Linkin guys have mellowed.

Surely in this album, they have lost the ability to energize with all their tracks as they did through their first albums, and it might seem like a cardinal sin to many. However, it must be acknowledged that even if in a very different way, they maintain their style, and the album itself is ultimately not bad, it's simply detached from the tradition the group has built up over the years.

However, honestly, credit must be given to Linkin Park for having had the courage to change their style and not having done what most artists do, which is to stick to their genre of compositions once they hit it. Moreover, the songs contained in the CD, even with a slightly different style, are absolutely not bad and show the world that Linkin can compose beautiful songs even without the extensive use of electric guitars. Therefore, my evaluation is positive because the group is still able to offer something musically interesting without losing their own creativity, while profoundly shifting from the style they had before. It's an album that appeals to a slightly different audience than they had reached with other albums, more adult and mature. Personally, I like it a lot because I find this less rhythmic but more melodic style very congenial to me.

Now let’s briefly talk about the tracklist:

"Given Up" is there to reassure the old fans that not everything is lost, beautiful guitar and drum melody, the exception of the album. "Bleed In Out" is a hip hop piece (one of the few by Mike Shinoda) quite successful, "Shadow Of The Day" is very syrupy and melodic but ultimately polished and pleasant, "What I've Done" is quite detached from the album because it manifests the 'old style' of Linkin Park, but still very well done, "No More Sorrow" is very rhythmic and rocky, "Little Things You Give Away" is a great song and a melodic masterpiece, but to many, it will seem syrupy, "Leave Out The Rest" is really very pleasant even if ultimately too pop and a bit trivial, "Hands Held High" is poorly executed especially in the too boring and soporific chorus, "Valentine's Day" is also too sober, "Pieces" and "In Between" are enjoyable and quite successful.

EVALUATION: just to clarify my evaluation criteria, each star has its meaning:

- One star for technical value/execution/musical choices: without a doubt, the album deserves it.

- One star for the overall originality of the work: I believe it’s fair to grant it.

- One star for the lyrics/messages/the ideology of the group: I wouldn't say so, most of the lyrics are insignificant, and that's a sad constant of Linkin.

- One star motivated by the subjective public judgment/durability over time/inspiration for future works: I would definitely say it deserves it.

- The last star for the emotions and positive feelings aroused by the album: and we’ve got that too.

However, congratulations to Gallagher for the knowledge of the topic, prince22