At this rate I won't be surprised if they incorporate dubstep/dance/trance music alongside the usual metal elements. Let people's minds be blown.
Yeah, but I kinda get hybridsoldier's point. By changing their style to a more radio friendly one, the only real risk the band faced was losing some of the fans from the nu metal days (which DID happen, by the way), but gaining a lot more in the process. So yeah, it wasn't really as risky as they originally made it appear. Kind of what happened with Within Temptation's latest record. They went for a more commercial approach, which is fine, but you can't really say it's a risky thing to do. If anything, is a safe way to commercial success.
If it's a mix of the "old" and the "new", then we are probably getting an album that sounds like Minutes to Midnight. THINK ABOUT IT. Hybrid Theory/Meteora + A Thousand Suns = Minutes to Midnight (which is basically a mix of nu-metal and experimentation)
If it's anything like MTM then it's going to be a weak album. Don't get me wrong, MTM was good but overall it didn't reach anywhere near the standards the band should be meeting.
Things I'm hoping for on the next album: (1) Mr Hahn singing lead vocals on a song - think Ringo Starr on 'With A Little Help From My Friends' (2) Barbershop acapella harmonies (3) ...actually, that's it. Very much looking forward to the album, however it ends up sounding!
I haven't heard the new album yet so I can't really say anything right now, but if this album has a similar characteristics to Hybrid Theory and Meteora (meaning whinier lyrics, more rock-influeneced etc), WMG could've pushed them into doing it. Let's just hope it blows us again
I think lyrically ATS is the best album so far, I hope that continues and improves on the new album. I wouldn't mind some elements of Reanimation in there too. I would also love to hear Chester sing in the soulful way he sung the Rolling In The Deep cover. Chester's got soul!
Lyrics is still an area that I think the band needs to improve on in this album. Not necessarily what the lyrics are saying, but rather their word choice. In other words, no more "the front of the attack is exactly where I'm at" shit.
Hi guys, I just want to say that I'm a huge LP fan since hybrid theory and meteora, those albums were great, I will even say perfect. When MTM came out, I was a little disapointed, I missed the "old linkin park" but I still loved the album, some songs were great, some other songs disapeared from my memory, it was a good album but not as epic as the last ones. When A Thousand Suns came out, I was scared to see LP going into more experimental stuff and leaving their nu-metal style. But, contrary to MTM, most of the album gave me sounds that became epic too ! When I thought that I was gonna listen mostly to Wretches and Kings and Catalyst, it finally came naturally that Waiting for the End is one of the best LP song I have ever heard (the best one staying In the End imo) With ATS, LP won my confidence as a fan that the next album, whatever the style is, will be a great album, and I will listen to it everyday. I would love to have some new nu-metal material from LP, but LP showed us that even with some other style, they can bring epic songs, and that's the most important thing. LINKIN PARK 4EVER
Even though you've been registered since 2010, since you haven't posted much I want to welcome you to the boards officially . Thanks for signing up for LPA and great post!
IMO when he says theres a mix of old too, i still dont think there will be distorted guitar like before but rather the vocals in the chorus with rap verses. and the sample sounds will sound like before
That's interesting that you say that! I've begun to notice increasingly that I'm far more interested in the melody or the rhythm of the vocals (in any song, not just LP) than what the words are actually saying. For example, when I stop and read that line, I agree with you, perhaps it's not the most finely arranged combination of words ever - and yet, when I actually hear Mike spit it out during the verse, I think "That's a great sounding rhythm!" I find the rapid-fire catchiness of it appealing. Here's another example - sometimes it takes me ages to actually listen to what the lyrics of a song are saying, because sometimes I'm too caught up in enjoying the musical effect of the song. So it'll take me a month before I stop and go "Wait a minute... this song is about shooting policemen... good grief, that's horrific...". I guess it's that whole thing of "We don't believe the words, we just love the way they sound." I'd say in 90% of melodic songs, I'm more interested in whether the melody or the harmonies are really cool, or beautiful, or catchy, and in 90% of rap or (occasionally) aggressive/screamed songs, I'm more interested in the rhythm and the feeling created. For instance - I really enjoy some of the MTM demos where some of the lyrics are just 'scat' lyrics, even though they're literally saying nothing at all. Anyway, that's just my opinion. I guess when it comes to the new album, the lyrics probably won't be that much of a concern for me, I'll be too wrapped up in what's happening with the combination of sounds, melodies, harmonies, and rhythms which (I hope and trust) will be awesome!
While I do agree that it was a step in a different direction FOR Linkin Park, it was not necessarily a risky move in and of itself considering the popular music infecting the airwaves circa 2006-2008. So, while I find ATS refreshing and different/risky, I find MTM regrettably less so. And to whomever said they wanted a consistently "good" album, I totally agree. There are certainly bright spots on both MTM and ATS, however there are those glaring "Meh" moments on both. Moreso on MTM.
Well, I see it differently. Also, every LP album that came out has been consistently good in my opinion. Call me a fan boy but then ask me if I give a fuck.
From what I've seen with the difference of opinions between Phoenix, Chester, and Mike, I can tell that even the band has trouble quite specifying the sound of the new album. I'm not worried about whether it incorporates old sounds because I know the band at heart knows they don't want to sound "similar" in any way. So I trust the band will do what is right and that they are in NO WAY doing this for the fans. I also believe strongly that fans are still going to get all pissy that this "doesn't sound like the old". After the ATS era, I've realized that this no longer even bothers me. I Trust In The Band Completely and I'll just wait for the album because I know whatever they do, it's for their own creative desires.
Oh wow this is pretty cool! Curious to see what will come out of this album, really pumped for the new record now.
...And the funniest thing about your qoute is that my friends dictate to me. I am my own person too and I always say "It's the Way I am." So let me correct my statement: My friends say that new LP songs have less quality and joke with me, and I agree with them. Because I think this way too. I don't have to like everything that LP (or every other artist) release. I have my own opinion: I like it or I don't like it. I don't understand why some people here say that if you don't like everything LP makes, so you are not a Linkin Park fan. I'm a fan but I don't have to like everything they make. Because I'm not a sheep.
Words of wisdom. Done! -------------------------- And about the new album, I trust the band, since they are sort of "perfectionists" and they know it, they work really hard into making every sound fit into place, and one thing I liked about MTM and ATS is that yuxtaposition of different layers in a song. I have to listen a whole album at least two times to see which songs caught my attention, but with Linkin Park, besides listening to the record and choosing my favorites, I listen to each track individually and I'm like "hey, I didn't hear this before" or "that thing in the background is awesome" .. They are really good at details and I know whatever they put out will be ear-gasmic. I remember a short anecdote where I was wearing my headphones and listening to ATS, but that time I decided I wasn't going to focus on the 'top' sounds and would pay more attention to the background, then I heard this sweet beat in Blackout where the lyrics go "Come down...." after the slow part. I don't know how to point it out but it's a little, catchy beat that pops there, it hooked me. So I can't imagine right now how the new stuff will sound like, they can amaze you with the unexpected.