Okay, for me this album is just growing and growing on me. I like everything except In Between and Hands Held High. The chorus to Hands Held High is so cheesy it's embarrassing to me. Also, until I put In Pieces in a religious context for myself, I didn't like the 'your lips say you love eyes say that you hate' crap. The lyrics on this album are the worst part. Some of the lyrics are good. They're really really really good on some songs, but the majority of this album shows me an attempt to sound deep that fails. Not all of it is like that, though. In Between was too monotone for me. It just.. wasn't that great. Sorry, Mike. Bleed It Out was good, except I wish they would have done more with the chorus. After it's all done, I really see what the reviewers were saying about this. It didn't have the "holy shit, this is awesome." for me. It didn't have me jumping up and down shouting how brilliant this new album is. It left me somewhat satisfied, and I keep getting more and more satisfied, but I'll probably never be able to give this album a 5/5, and, for me, Meteora and Hybrid Theory are near 5/5 albums.
Well, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the album. It isn't something I'll love or listen to for years to come, but I was so bored by Meteora that I am just glad they tried something new. Chester has an amazing voice and I'm glad he decided to use it. Though, I really do miss the presence of Joe. The best songs are No More Sorrow and The Little Things you Give Away. I seriously dislike the two rap songs. Not a good flow at all, in my opinion. Only one listen, but my initial score would be a 7/10. To put that in perspective, I'd give Hybrid Theory a 9/10 and Meteora a 5/10.
Mike should produce the next Linkin Park album by himself, this album seems like they were confused about their identity, like someone said above, they are trying to do many things. They need to implement Joe and Mike a lot more like they used to. They can have a rapper/singer/dj and not be Nu-Metal IMO. But who really knows, another LP album won't come out till probably 2013. lol
Im getting tired of hearing everyone talk about "maturity" half the people using that word are 12 year olds on here. Quit being sheep....baa baa!! You cannot honestly say that this is a beautiful display of art and talent cause its not. What this is, is Rick Ruben and Linkin Park attempting to change themselves into something that they arent. Im really pissed that they sold out like they have. The video for WID isnt that great compared to all the others Chester has turned into some Bono/Mr. Rock Star wanna be from the recent photos and video images. Mr Hahn might as well quit the band cause thier showing that thier not going to use him. Mike's rapping is blah at best on this album. If Linkin Park cares about thier fans, which im pretty sure they DO they will release another album very soon. If i wanted to listen to emo shit id just turn on mtv or fuse!! As for people saying they are trying to get away from Nu-Metal...who do you think helped create that genre? I like 1 song on this cd and thats it. So overall i would rate this a 1/10. Cmon LP put out something heavier and something that sounds more like you, not who your trying to be!!
Ironic you mention maturity. Look, a band doesn't just put out records for the fans. A band makes the music that they want to make. Clearly they don't want to sound heavy at this point in time. That means that this new mellow sound IS what sounds like Linkin Park now. It is one thing to not like an album, everyone is entitled to that. What you are NOT entitled to is accusing a band of not caring for their fans or themselves by putting out new music that they love and put themselves into.
that's true though i've never really understood the logic behind it. To me, Meteora sounded different and even better than HT, i felt it had a more emotional and deeper touch to it. Every good band has their own "signature sound", otherwise they would all sound the same. Now this is what IMO happened in MTM, like someone else said, they sound like any other band.
The album is great! The words are coming from their hearts They done a great job I liked Mike singing, but he's best as a Rapper Can't wait for the next album! I hope Mike will do more his vocals on the next record
honestly i found a couple songs a little bit boring, my favorites would be bleed it out (it gets me hyped when i listen to it =p), hands held high, given up, in pieces and no more sorrow. The litttle things give you away was a bit of a dissapointment in my opinion.
"MTM proves this: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it". To me this album sounds like a demo-tape of a young band: "listen to all these different styles that we can play: punk, ballads, synth-pop, hiphop... please give us a record deal!" I feel confused and dissapointed. To me linkin park on their previous albums had this unique and full sound that felt like it had been worked and worked with 'till it was perfect. MTM feels like it has been left half-done. i don't like the raw and classical sound. Changing and experimenting isn't bad, i enjoyed collision course, FM and the remixes cos they all had a lp twist, but to me MTM doesn't feel like lp at all. it sounds too cheap. i will give it a chance to grow on me though, and i'll need to listen it in full cd-quality but at the moment it doesn't feel worth buying." I couldn't agree more. Hybrid Theory had a definitive sound with plenty of distinction between the tracks... but Meteora did well on shelves because it stayed true to Linkin Park's sound. Minutes to Midnight is a collection of "does this work for us?" tracks... some yes, some no. You'll notice that the songs the general fan base seems to love: Given Up, Bleed It Out, No More Sorrow They are all significantly different than previous LP tracks, but they still stay somewhat loyal to LP's sound... Blaring Guitars and Screaming mixed perfectly with melodic singing... The music isn't bad... not by a long shot. At the same time: I don't love every track like I did with previous LP cd's... Look at Disturbed: they are still around and their newest cd sounded similar to their first record... different but similar... alot of the tracks sound very similar... and I like them all. The way to prove you are capable of making more then one genre of song is not proved by making a cd that sounds like pop tracks with rock tracks with punk tracks with emo tracks with hip-hop tracks... shuffled up. Sorry about that rant. LP still rocks
This is a great little rant. There's no better person to believe than someone who's never set foot in a recording studio or has never been in a multi-platinum rock group. Being in a band is about finding your own identity. If bands wanted people like you to tell them what to do, they would hire you as a producer. Last time I checked, you weren't hired so you have no input. Like people have said before, it's ok to dislike an album. Criticism like this is totally uncalled for. Bands like Linkin Park stay true to themselves. To me, selling out would have been making another Hybrid Theory or Meteroa. Instead, they've gone in a new direction despite what others thought should have been released. And once and for all, people need to grow up with their emo comments. It's getting a bit ridiculous. Recently, it's odd to find a post without the emo label describing music. It's almost like this, "If I don't like it, it's emo."
I've listened to the album about 15 times and I can say it gets better with each listen. Compared to Hybird Theory, it lacks a little energy, but it still makes you wanna move. But musically, and not to sound mean, but musically it makes their previous efforts sound like shit
I found it funny that I scrolled through that entire quote just for that little line. You should cut that down.
I didn't know what to expect from 'Minutes.." but I am pleasantly surprised... FIRST OFF...anyone who thinks Mike can't rap, doesn't know rap...granted he was outshined on a couple of Fort Minor tracks, most notably by Black Thought on 'Right Now' but he definitely more than holds his own on this CD...i.e. (Hands Held High) What is really good about this CD: 1. New Sound (hints of vintage U2 in a couple tracks..i like it) 2. Songwriting definitely stepped up, some songs have superb lyrics (got tired of the formulaic song quality of Hybrid and Meteora) 3. Greater use of Chester's voice...in particular, besides his screaming, his melodic voice is really brought out and it really shines on "leave out all the rest', 'what i've done", and 'shadow of the day" What is not so good about this cd: 1. Doesn't really flow well from one song to another. 2. There 'aggressive' hardhitting rock songs backed by the turntables are lacking (i.e. Crawling, Papercut) which I believe is an important part of their sound... Overall: 8.7/10
"MTM proves this: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it". To me this album sounds like a demo-tape of a young band: "listen to all these different styles that we can play: punk, ballads, synth-pop, hiphop... please give us a record deal!" I feel confused and dissapointed. To me linkin park on their previous albums had this unique and full sound that felt like it had been worked and worked with 'till it was perfect. MTM feels like it has been left half-done. i don't like the raw and classical sound. Changing and experimenting isn't bad, i enjoyed collision course, FM and the remixes cos they all had a lp twist, but to me MTM doesn't feel like lp at all. it sounds too cheap. i will give it a chance to grow on me though, and i'll need to listen it in full cd-quality but at the moment it doesn't feel worth buying." Agreed. Very true to me. Honestly, I don't care for this album much...but I do enjoy it at the same time. I think MTM's review of the album is pretty spot-on (IMO). The go for alot of different styles, some they pull off, and some just fall flat. Examples... In Pieces - While it may have a rad guitar rift towards the end, the song just sound flat and unfinished. In Between - Uninteresting track. Feels much too raw. Valentine's Day - Bad start IMO, finished strong. The song sounds too, dare I say, goofy at the start of this track for me. Now I do love quie a few songs on this album. Given Up, Shadow of the Day, What I've Done, Hands Held High, No More Sorrow. All great track. But I have to say overall I feel let-down...simply for one reason. I don't like every song on this album. I love every song on LP's two major releases (HT and Met) and I also loved there other works (Reanimated and CC), but MtM just has me in a limbo feeling. I want to love it, because I love LP, but I just can't bring myself to enjoy MtM like I did the other CD's. And thats disappointing. =/