The perfect album.

This isn't an ordinary review, so moderators and contributors, please don't move this and stuff this in a random opinions thread. I would love to have this on its own, and maybe others can post their opinions as well.

01. The Requiem - The echoing flanger and piano keys really set an eerie tone for me. When the haunted choir came in, I started to get the chills, but when I thought that was all I could get, a robotic female voice comes in an innocently sings the lines from The Catalyst. This introduction really made me feel weird and stunned. 9/10

02. The Radiance - A continuation of the last track, the digital alien beat in the background really set a fast paced tone, but Oppenheimer's monotone speech didn't add to this at all, the speech without the instrumental is more emotional in my opinion. This didn't do much for me. 5/10

03. Burning In The Skies - Soft echoing flanger and a heartbeat kicks in. An electronic / jazz piano kicks in and Mike starts to sing. The "first song" is usally a heavy song for Linkin Park but this one was alot softer and mellow. I absoultely love this song. The singing is outstanding and the drum beat is extremely catchy. 9/10

04. Empty Spaces - Two wolves drinking a glass of chocolate milk. N/A

05. When They Come For Me - A tribal-heavy electronic song, with Mike rapping in the verses, and the chorus is like a Middle Eastern chant. The lyrics made me feel relieved that Mike is standing up for the band and shutting down all of the critics. The second verse was filled with classic hip-hop shout outs, and it was awesome to hear them. The electronic bridge/marchsinging/chanting part was simply amazing. 9/10

06. Robot Boy - Starts with an nice grand piano tune, and the beat kicks in. Mike and Chester sing together over a nice thunderclap beat. The song lacks a chorus, and that is my favorite part. "Hold on the weight of the world will give you the strength to go" is a nice positive message that means alot to me. The synth part around three minutes in blew my mind. I absolutely love this song. 9/10

07. Jornada Del Muerto - A continuation of the previous track, but Mike is singing "lift me up, let me go" in Japanese, and an amazing synth solo kicks in. Left me wondering why that message showed up so early in the album. 9/10

08. Waiting For The End - The distorted guitar riff and Mike's reggaeton verse left me thinking this would be a heavy track, but when the ballad breaks in, I was really excited. The simplicity of the song reminded me of The Beatles. When Mike began to rap again I knew something big was going to happen. His second verse meant alot to me, considering I just came out of a relationship months before I heard this. 9/10

09. Blackout - The synth pads and marching drums set a really awesome tone for this song. The piano keys sound like they were coming from a toy or something. Chester's rapping was awesome, his screaming verses were awesome, the dubstep and reanimation breakdown was sick, but the ending part, oh my. Mike's singing was at it's best so far. The beautiful electronic melody in the background and the metronome thuds excited me so much. An epic track. The most original song Linkin Park has ever created. The lyrics didn't do much for me though. 9.25/10

10. Wretches And Kings - A cool speech by Mario Savio starts this one, and the electronic guitar riffs melted my face so much I had to freeze it and put it back on. Mike's rapping was incredible. Simple lyrics, but made him look like a big time manager or dictator. Chester's reggae-tinged singing was so awesome. His character in this song reminded me of the opposite of Mike's. This is the best Mike-Chester back and forth song I have ever listened to. 9/10

11. Wisdom, Justice, and Love - A very emotional piano in the background, and bits and slices of a Martin Luther King speech. His voice slowly progresses into a dark robotic voice. Very spine-chilling and cold. 9.25/10

12. Iridescent - A song that builds up with each verse. Starts with Mike singing in a very soft and sad voice over another sad piano tune. The song builds itself into an explosion with the whole band singing. The chorus is incredible. "Remember all of the sadness and frustration, and let it go". That touched me. Great song. 9.25/10

13. Fallout - A nice bridge between Iridescent and The Catalyst. Mike's singing in a male robotic voice, the lines from Burning In The Skies. Very eerie. 8/10

14. The Catalyst - An epic track. An adventure from start to end. Another song that builds itself up, but it calms itself down and brings itself back up. "Lift me up, let me go" reminded me of a redemption, last moment in your life kind of thing. An epic track. I loved the instrumentation and the vocals. The whole band sings in this one too. 9/10

15. The Messenger - Um, this is the best song that Linkin Park has ever written. Yes, I said it. A simple stripped down song, with Chester pouring his whole heart out. "When life leaves us blind, love keeps us kind". I can't agree anymore. I should copy and paste all of the lyrics here, because they mean so much to me. A very positive message, and an amazing intention behind the song. Bravo, Linkin Park. What an ending for the album. 10/10

The lyrical themes of this album made me think twice about my own position in life. This album is perfect. The beautiful music, the shock value of the artwork, and the simplicity of the cover is the complete package for the greatest 50+ minutes of your time. I have never doubted this album. Since June 2010 I knew I was in for something big. No other album has given me chills, almost made me cry thinking about my mother who I lost, or anything like that. Thank you Linkin Park for giving me an exciting summer, and an album that will last for a lifetime. This album is a journey. It took me through burning bridges, a tribal jungle, a trippy pyschotic world, different dimensions, back down to earth, and it took me home. The only place it didn't take me was back in time with lyrics like "you try to take the best of me. go away".

10/10 A perfect album. Flawless.

 

I don't think you could explain the album better, it is truly amazing and flawless. My favourite tracks are Iridescent, Wretches and Kings, The Catalyst, Waiting For The End & The Messenger, for all the reasons you described above.

 

I'm going to be a sniveling little asshole and ask A) Why is this review so much different than the other member reviews that it deserves its own thread and B) wouldn't a "flawless" or "perfect" album get 10/10 all across the board? Is 9 the new 10?

Oh well. I love the album as well. Happy you felt similar.

 

NIN - Pieces Form The Whole.

Lots of <10's for a 10/10 album.

 

Yeah, it's not a perfect ten if there are hardly any tens in there.

 

Well, I think those scores are for listening to each track separately, and the total score for the album is the score for the whole journey.

 

I really don't think the lyrics in Wretches & Kings are supposed to represent opposing perspectives. At most it's two that differ slightly to begin with.

 

I would also agree that I don't see anything special with this review that warrants its own thread. I'm reporting for a merge.

 

It's my favorite album ever, but I still recognize that it's not REALLY a 10/10 kinda album. But 9/10 for sure.