"Minutes to Midnight" Review
I still remember when I first borrowed the Hybrid Theory album from my brother roughly six years ago. At first, all the songs sounded the same and blended into a faux-angry rap/rock mess I didn't care for very much. But after repeated listenings, I started to sort them out and realized one day that it had rocketed up to being my favorite CD. Linkin Park hooked me early and I paid them back by buying every album that they released in the ensuing years, no matter how silly they were (and let's face it, Reanimation was stupid).
I still listen to Hybrid Theory some days in my car. The other albums haven't held up so well, and most of the time I just change the station if a song from Meteora is on. So, with that in mind, instead of buying the newest Linkin Park album, "Minutes to Midnight," I cautiously listened to it on Rhapsody briefly before taking any other actions.
The bottom line? Way better than previous efforts. I've read some complaints that it's slower and softer than previous albums; point conceded. But the slow songs are still very well done, and interspersed with loud, angry, raging songs that make me want to hit somebody. There are certainly a few misses with the album: I wasn't crazy about Shinoda's anti-Bush rap song (not because it's anti-Bush, but mostly just because it seemed so out of place), I didn't care for the Valentine's Day song until about two minutes in, and the first single, "What I've Done," sounds way too much like previous outings. All things considered though, I think this is fantastic stuff. It actually shows growth on the part of the band instead of rehashing previous efforts (which we all know that they're good at).
I give it a B+; not perfect, but better.
I still listen to Hybrid Theory some days in my car. The other albums haven't held up so well, and most of the time I just change the station if a song from Meteora is on. So, with that in mind, instead of buying the newest Linkin Park album, "Minutes to Midnight," I cautiously listened to it on Rhapsody briefly before taking any other actions.
The bottom line? Way better than previous efforts. I've read some complaints that it's slower and softer than previous albums; point conceded. But the slow songs are still very well done, and interspersed with loud, angry, raging songs that make me want to hit somebody. There are certainly a few misses with the album: I wasn't crazy about Shinoda's anti-Bush rap song (not because it's anti-Bush, but mostly just because it seemed so out of place), I didn't care for the Valentine's Day song until about two minutes in, and the first single, "What I've Done," sounds way too much like previous outings. All things considered though, I think this is fantastic stuff. It actually shows growth on the part of the band instead of rehashing previous efforts (which we all know that they're good at).
I give it a B+; not perfect, but better.