Heavy is my favorite song out of the 5 I've heard. It shouldn't bring down Derek's grade of the album, we'll all feel differently about it. Ratings are abitrary, music is subjective
I've been wondering ever since I watched the Good Goodbye video if the added intro is part of Nobody Can Save Me. I absolutely love that 80's synth sound, and hope the track sounds like that.
Heavy has more of an impact when its in the middle of the album as it is. On it's own it felt short, but in the context of the album it's a great middle track between Invisible and Sorry For Now. Nobody Can Save me starts with glitchy vocals, and has a very dreamy sounding synth through most of the verses. The choruses sound a lot like Battle Symphony's 2nd Chorus instrumentally, and overall it feels like a twin brother of Battle Symphony. Down to the glitchy vocals in the beginning, synths in the chorus, and soft start. It's a solid track, but given it's similar feel to BS I couldn't really find a spot for it in my review. It's a strong opener and sets the tone for the rest of the album in terms of the 'foreign' feeling to older LP works. Sample lyrics: "Stare into this illusion For answers yet to come I chose a false solution But nobody proved me wrong" There. Now people can stop asking me about NCSM . Maybe they should expect a critical review? I don't blindly defend everything the band does. I think Meteora is the band's worst album. I find the first half of LIVING THINGS to be uninteresting. Just because I like Linkin Park and gave this album an A doesn't mean I'm not critical. This is a good album, and I'll defend my score. Even if you hate it.
TTM isn't the best song on the album, but it's a good one. And yes, I feel it's probably the most 'Linkin Park'y of all the tracks.
Excellent write up Derek, thanks. I've come to digest the 4 songs released so far. I was negative at first but Invisible has really struck a chord with me. As bad as Good Goodbye was, Invisible is the opposite. Such an excellent hook. Definitely want to hear more from Mike and it sounds like Sorry for Now will scratch that itch. Seriously, about that Invisible hook though... would you say there are others on the album that compare? Such a simple song but I find something more to appreciate in every listen. I've even figured it out on guitar, something I haven't been inspired to do by this band in years.
Thanks Derek for clearing up on Nobody Can Save Me. Can't say that I wasn't disappointed but we'll see. Out of the 6 songs I have heard so far, only two(OML and TTL) are my absolute favorites which I will listen to outside of an album context. I like the newer songs. They are personal and relatable. But I just miss a little bit of violence and aggression in the music. But I am still hopeful that I will find more gems on the album. Again, thanks for the great review.
Man, if nothing else, I'm really enjoying the variety of reactions to the different songs. Some people are straight up trash talking Heavy (likely due in part to First Single Syndrome™ plus vocals from a female pop artist), and then you have a couple people pop up saying it's their favorite of the tracks released so far. I don't think I've seen much of a trending consensus yet, and each of the songs out so far has been mentioned as someone's favorite/least favorite. I myself am having a hard time deciding on favorites out of the releases so far, because they've all grown on me in different ways. I'm really looking forward to studio versions of Talking To Myself and One More Light, though, because at least based on the live versions, those are two strong contenders. The idea of Nobody Can Save Me sounding a bit like Battle Symphony as a strong opener has me pretty optimistic about that one, too. I'm ready to dig into the album this week!
Derek has a habit of praising every LP album at release, just to admit a few months/years later that he was a bit too enthusiastic (this was the case with LT and THP as far as I remember). Still, this is promising.
Respect for reviewing this album on it's own merits rather than what it isn't, or comparing it to another album. I'm finally ready to hear this record! I also agree with your sentiments towards Heavy in context with the album. Just listening to it after Invisible already makes it so much better.
Thanks for the review, Derek. Interesting read! I am not a big fan of Good Goodbye, and so far I feel like it seems so out of place with the rest of the studio songs released (which I all like to different degrees btw). But how do you feel about its place on the album? Would you have prefered another traditional pop leaning track or is it nice with a change of pace?
I still think THP is a good album. Still a B+. Lyrically it's very silly compared to the rest of the album, but sonically it works.
THP for sure is a good album. Such a shame it was toned down by a couple of safe tracks, because the hights (Keys, Guilty, MTG, Rebellion, Final Masquerade) are absolutely amazing. Anyway, nice review I'm actually sorta excited. Invisible -> Heavy flows really damn well, and I really dig how smooth sounding some of those released tracks ended up
[QUOTE="Derek, post: 1431499, member: 4" Maybe they should expect a critical review? I don't blindly defend everything the band does. I think Meteora is the band's worst album. I find the first half of LIVING THINGS to be uninteresting. Just because I like Linkin Park and gave this album an A doesn't mean I'm not critical. This is a good album, and I'll defend my score. Even if you hate it.[/QUOTE] Wait why is Meteora that horribly bad in your opinion?