Initial thoughts? I put What I've Done/The Catalyst as they were the first singles from the two last albums, also rate it out of 10.
As mentioned in another thread, the song is underwhelming. Quite frankly, I'm not feeling it at all. Burn It Down is an interesting, yet curiously bland piece of music that never really takes off.
Good song, but once again there is no live drumming or guitar, it will be Chester and Mike singing alongside a laptop live, I really hope the band can at least make a rock version out of this. Also: I hate Chester's lyrics, I mean it's almost set up for people to take the piss out of :/ Mike's rap part with the instrumental is amazing though. Just putting this out there though.. [video=youtube;zgEKLhvCCVA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgEKLhvCCVA&feature=g-all-u&context=G2e30a5aFAAAAAAAABAA[/video] [video=youtube;2Abk1jAONjw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Abk1jAONjw[/video]
I would say this - if I heard Burn It Down and it was not from Linkin Park, I'd be obsessed with it. But LP set huge standards for themselves, increasing our expectations with each album, so I'd say 'Burn It Down' does feel a little underwhelming. Not so much going on in the background, not enough sound, which I'm used to. New Divide was similar to Burn It Down, yet it was rich with beats, hidden melodies and so on. Burn It Down seems almost minimalistic. Maybe that's the point?
The Catalyst is much better But this song is very amazing. It's better than all the lead single except The Catalyst IMO
Say hi to electronic drum kits and the guitar that's playing in the chorus. Also, synthesizers. You know, the shit that Mike has been playing live for the past few albums? Jesus.
I like it its growing on me i expected it to grab me straight away.......... but it didnt i was sort of expecting a lot more
I really like Burn It Down! It had great lyrics and Chester sounded 'really' good! Also about the last minute and a half was the best with Mike rapping. The Catalyst was better but this is still a great song. I also think there will be much better songs on the record. My only problem with this song was that from the descriptions, Chester explained this song as being energetic. I felt the song was on a medium tempo. It didn't take off at any point.
The song is OK, I gave a 6/10, which is far better than The Catalyst IMO. I enjoy the 2nd verse, I love the way Chester and Mike sing together. I just don't understand why the song doesn't take off. I mean, if you add some drums and guitars on the last chorus, the song deserves an 8/10.
copy/paste from news thread: The following is my own opinion, so don't get all riled up: After the initial listen it sounds like a generic electro-pop song. The melody doesn't strike me... the chorus sounds very clunky and Mike's rapping bit seems forced and out of place. Production-wise it sounds formulaic/repetitive a la Meteora. Plus the lyrics are really simple.... seriously, I thought LP were done writing these type of lyrics back in 2003. Overall it really left a bad taste in my mouth (or ears). Expected something more ambitious from LP. I'd also like to add that The Catalyst to me is a million times better in every sense. I wish they'd kept walking down that road instead of making another radio-ready tune. Blah.
I'd give it a 7. Since we seem to be comparing it to The Catalyst (unfairly), I'd say it's on par with it, or slightly better. I'm not a huge fan of dubstep, so that might influence my opinion in that comparison. It's fairly generic, but catchy, poppy, and what suits Chester's voice the best. Sticking to their strengths is a good idea.