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And the album for today is...
First of all, let me just say this. I have been a fan of LP since their mainstream success and as much as I want them to incorporate more of their signature nu-metal sound, I think the chances of them going back to that is slim. They've been experimenting with other sounds in their "Minutes to Midnight" and "A Thousand Suns" album and I think they're happy with the direction they're heading to. And I can respect that.
If you're expecting another MtM or ATS album, I don't really know how you're gonna feel with this one. This is somehow a mix of their previous albums, albeit the elements of the previous two albums being the most noticeable. Lyrically, however, they've gone into more personal matters rather than having a single, main concept throughout the album. Personally, I was surprised at this release. After listening/seeing the "Burn It Down" single, I thought, "Oh, I bet it's gonna be another 'New Linkin Park' album.". As I got a copy of the album, gave it a listen, and realized it's better than I thought it'd be.
Even if the cover art looks some person with his skin shedding off, it gives off a somehow subtle, calming feeling (probably because of the white background). What I think this represents is that the band is breaking off from their image, finding themselves and starting anew. With that said, I think this cover art represents this album perfectly.
This is a short album, actually. With the album playback time at around 37 minutes, it's an album for a quick listen. I was actually listening to it and before I knew it, I was already in the middle of the album. Unlike A Thousand Suns with a lot of filler tracks in between songs, this album actually only has one instrumental filler, "Tinfoil". Unlike most albums, the album starts off right away with a song, "Lost In The Echo".
(BTW, Only recently have I appreciated the storytelling that A Thousand Suns was doing. Those filler tracks were there not just for the hell of it.)
Most of the songs on the album start with played samples, with the synth being the noticeable part of the song and Rob's drumming and Phoenix's bass carrying the flow of the songs. The guitar parts still comes in intros and choruses and makes use of the standard tuning or drop D tuning, which I think, is fitting for this album. I still miss their drop C# distorted guitar days, though. :P
As I said earlier, the lyrics and the themes in the songs are more personal this time. With some lyrics negatively talking about getting up from criticisms and failures, about being alone, about how "you" treated "me" badly and whatnot, some tracks actually remind me of their old songs like "Points of Authority" and "A Place for My Head". A good example of that from the album would be "Lies Greed Misery". Chester's singing and screaming really brings out that emotion. Yep, that's right. Although not by a large margin, Chester screams more in this album than in the previous two albums.
Mike's singing was a new addition in the Minutes to Midnight album and as of now, his singing is becoming more and more prominent in the tracks. With most songs Also, one thing that I'm kind of disappointed with is the speed of Mike's rapping. I don't know about you guys, but I like it better when Mike raps fast. Although an exception to this is the rap in "Until It Breaks". It has that more hip-hop feel because of the sloppy-like rhyming accompanied by the pounding bass. Generally, though, the raps may be slow because of the tempo of the songs themselves.
Now, "Victimized" is the second shortest song in the album but is one of the tracks that would stand out. This song will get your attention not just because it's short but also because of the snare-pounding, Chester's screaming, and Mike's rapping. Basically, this whole song is hard to miss.
The last song, "Powerless", is an interesting ending song for the album. Although t's a whole song, it feels cut off. It's interesting because it makes you listen for more when it's actually the last song in the album. It's a song that has this kind of...umm...pop-style chorus (listen to it, you'll see what I mean), which is actually kind of new to me. I've never heard LP do this before.
TL;DR: Overall, it was a very refreshing album. This is the album that Linkin Park felt comfortable with. This is not a part 2 of a previous album. It's album of itself. And I liked it for some reason. I'd give it a 4/5. Definitely will listen to this again.
Notable songs:
"In My Remains"
"Castle of Glass"
"Victimized"
"Roads Untraveled"
"Powerless"
This is a short album, actually. With the album playback time at around 37 minutes, it's an album for a quick listen. I was actually listening to it and before I knew it, I was already in the middle of the album. Unlike A Thousand Suns with a lot of filler tracks in between songs, this album actually only has one instrumental filler, "Tinfoil". Unlike most albums, the album starts off right away with a song, "Lost In The Echo".
(BTW, Only recently have I appreciated the storytelling that A Thousand Suns was doing. Those filler tracks were there not just for the hell of it.)
Most of the songs on the album start with played samples, with the synth being the noticeable part of the song and Rob's drumming and Phoenix's bass carrying the flow of the songs. The guitar parts still comes in intros and choruses and makes use of the standard tuning or drop D tuning, which I think, is fitting for this album. I still miss their drop C# distorted guitar days, though. :P
As I said earlier, the lyrics and the themes in the songs are more personal this time. With some lyrics negatively talking about getting up from criticisms and failures, about being alone, about how "you" treated "me" badly and whatnot, some tracks actually remind me of their old songs like "Points of Authority" and "A Place for My Head". A good example of that from the album would be "Lies Greed Misery". Chester's singing and screaming really brings out that emotion. Yep, that's right. Although not by a large margin, Chester screams more in this album than in the previous two albums.
Mike's singing was a new addition in the Minutes to Midnight album and as of now, his singing is becoming more and more prominent in the tracks. With most songs Also, one thing that I'm kind of disappointed with is the speed of Mike's rapping. I don't know about you guys, but I like it better when Mike raps fast. Although an exception to this is the rap in "Until It Breaks". It has that more hip-hop feel because of the sloppy-like rhyming accompanied by the pounding bass. Generally, though, the raps may be slow because of the tempo of the songs themselves.
Now, "Victimized" is the second shortest song in the album but is one of the tracks that would stand out. This song will get your attention not just because it's short but also because of the snare-pounding, Chester's screaming, and Mike's rapping. Basically, this whole song is hard to miss.
The last song, "Powerless", is an interesting ending song for the album. Although t's a whole song, it feels cut off. It's interesting because it makes you listen for more when it's actually the last song in the album. It's a song that has this kind of...umm...pop-style chorus (listen to it, you'll see what I mean), which is actually kind of new to me. I've never heard LP do this before.
TL;DR: Overall, it was a very refreshing album. This is the album that Linkin Park felt comfortable with. This is not a part 2 of a previous album. It's album of itself. And I liked it for some reason. I'd give it a 4/5. Definitely will listen to this again.
Notable songs:
"In My Remains"
"Castle of Glass"
"Victimized"
"Roads Untraveled"
"Powerless"
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