Minutes To Midnight is out and after the first listen i was blown away. By the time i got to about the 50 something listen I just let it sink in. There is a feeling i get when i listen to this album that just makes me wanna jump around or lay on the ground. This thing is amazing. So i went through the album and thought about the raw sound and how the new stripped down sound elevated this record to great heights. During the track "In Pieces" i noticed the emphasis on chester's breathing in between the singing. It adds a nice touch and a feeling like chester is out of breath. There are some key moments during the album where the raw and stripped feel just explode and just amaze you. The A Capella layered vocals in The little things give you away or in hands held high are some of the best. Linkin Parks found a way to deliver a sound without going overboard with layers, reverb or effects. So which parts of the record do you think is the best, in terms of the new stripped down sound?
I just like how the guitars and drums don't have a million different effects on them; the sound as a whole is more raw yes, but the individual instruments being more raw is very noticeable. If you compare Given Up with Lying From You, I think you'll notice a difference in both guitars and drums.
i think the new stripped down sound goes hand in hand with their new maturity. but my favorite part about this album in terms of this whole new sound is that they seem to have taken a big step lyrically. meteora had some crappy, crappy lyrics, but the music was just fun. m2m is a much better blend of chill music and really improved lyrics
There were some bad lyrics on Meteora; such as the ones on Figure.09, Nobody's Listening (though I'll compliment that it was a different feel compare to the other tracks on the album) or Hit The Floor. But overall I don't find anything else too terrible. For the music, its pretty much that I'm used to listening to ballads and such. It didn't seem absolutely pop music to me which is total crap with the mainstream right now, so eh.