THIS! 100% True. That's why, I also like ATS World Tour because they take risk not just on the record but also in the LIVE set, they were able to drop songs from previous era in favor for ATS tracks to be played live. it's not because the problem of the gear or rehearsing new song, Hell, they are LINKIN PARK. they can do that for sure.
This is my take on it, after seeing the band's shows during the last 3 album cycles: they don't like seeing the fans just standing around, which 90% of them do for every song they don't know. Heavy or not, if it's not something they know all the words to, most fans don't get into the song at all. Take Wastelands for example. A song that should have no problem stirring up 50-foot moshpits (LIT reference anyone?) yet I was one of the only people even jumping for it. People like to hate on bands like OM&M because their target audience is younger but that actually becomes a good thing when you go to their shows, because their fans at least know how to appreciate them. This is LP succumbing to the casual fans not because they want to please them for the sake of pleasing them, but because they don't enjoy playing for a dead crowd. It's sad, but that's just the way it is.
Disagreed. I do think of THP as their second to third best album, but in my opinion ATS will always be far and away their best and most creative, ambitious and skillfully impressive record ever.
I agree with you on just about every point Derek, but ATS is not their most skillfully impressive album. That title will always stay with HT, with Meteora in second place. ATS MIGHT be in third, but while I certainly applaud the band for constantly trying new things, their first 2 records had a sound that was distinctively their own. You can draw obvious parallels from all their other albums to other artists. The only part of their new music that can be considered their signature sound is Mike's and Chester's voices. IMO
Shall I proceed to play all of Hybrid Theory behind my head with my eyes closed on guitar? Because it'd be incredibly easy to. There is no freaking way their most skillful albums are Meteora and HT. Brad purposefully made simple guitar riffs for those albums. And the songs were all very formulaic and similar. The songs were largely about angsty teenage themes. In fact, more than half of Meteora follows closely the same pattern: Intro, verse, chorus, verse 2 using a repeating synth that's featured in the chorus, chorus 2, bridge, chorus 3. Figure.09 follows that pattern. So does Don't Stay. So does Hit the Floor. And Lying From You, and Faint. Numb is nearly the same, only they use the guitar over the synth, and Easier to Run moves the choruses around. Crawling follows the same pattern as the Easier to Run as well, just cutting out a bridge. One Step Closer uses the same "Meteora" pattern. The rest Meteora follows the same pattern minus the repeating element. BTH, FTI, SIB, Nobody's Listening: VCVCBC. Session is really the only exception. Most of Hybrid Theory follows that pattern as well, only differing in Forgotten, Cure for the Itch, and arguably Papercut. So, should I start comparing it with ATS or is the point seen?
I get that musically, Hybrid Theory and Meteroa are definitely their simplest albums. I was talking more about the skill it took in creating the overall sound. How they made all the elements work together in a style that was uniquely their own. Take the guitar strings on Hybrid Theory for example. Great chemistry doesn't necessarily involve a lot of chemicals.
Um no. THP actually shows LP being heavy without having to have the nu metal sound. Ats is boring, lazy electronic beats, and puts me to sleep its a lullaby album.
Your opinion is wrong Seriously, i lo0ve the way ATS is more "sleepy" and "dreamy" but also energetic and electronic-heavy, love the mix of both that give the apocalyptic feeling.
My opinion is my opinion whether its wrong or right. I mean Crickets? Really I know its a concept album, but come on
I can respect that, but I think the band could afford to be a little more selfish. Their setlists lean heavily on old hits, and their last two albums, whether intentionally or not, both seem tailor-made to appeal to people who like their older, heavier songs. Yet even with all that fan-appeasement, each album does worse than the last one, and their shows aren't exactly selling out on a regular basis. What's the point of catering to a withering fan base? I'm one of the few long-time members around here who doesn't consider ATS sacrosanct, but even I have to admit that everything the band did in that era was a little more fun and adventurous, quality aside. I think it's safe to say the band has a lot less to lose now, so why not say fuck it and have some fun? Linkin Park has remained somewhat relevant because they at least make an effort to evolve and not turn into some nostalgia act that plays state fairs.
Yeah, that's my problem, if they make their newer songs fun live, people will catch on, I mean that UIG performance at Milan was pretty magical. Or the Reanimation Pushing me away they did live in texas or QWERTY summer sonic, HT songs are fun and catchy but nothing more really. I agree that LT songs are that too, I think ATS or THP songs have enough depth to give a different and memorable live experience. But again, that's just me.
Well in that case, THP has lazy lyrics for a lot of songs ATS has some of the best lyrics they've written, it flows great as an album, the lyrics stand out on their own and as a whole. And I don't think it was lazy, they were experimenting a lot. The album is also pretty layered, there's all these different sounds buried I don't really like when people here bash other albums while gloating about ATS but you can't really put down all the effort the band put into ATS like that man.
I didnt say ATS had lazy lyrics i said lazy beats like they didnt put any effort into any instrumental things, its just computer beats. Anybody can experiment and make computer beats. I think ATS lyrics are sad depressing like every LP album.
"I will never be anything till I break away from me I will break away, I'll find myself today" Is more depressing than "God save us everyone When we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns" Hmmmmmm