LT: My Final Thoughts

I've always been vocal with how under-appreciated Living Things has been on this forum, however it's not a perfect album by any means. Two years after its release, the album is definitely not as grand and exciting as it once was:

LOST IN THE ECHO:
A class anthem for the modern era of Linkin Park. Easily one of the best choruses the band has ever written, and Chester's delivery (both singing and screaming) is perfect. Mike's verses needed some serious work though.

IN MY REMAINS:
The song is solid all around except the chorus feels loud simply for the sake of being loud. I feel as though if the song followed an "In Pieces" vibe and stayed acoustic/piano until the bridge and then explodes in the final chorus it would have created a much bigger impact. The song is nothing bad, but nothing special either.

BURN IT DOWN:
Generic cookie-cutter song. That is all.

LIES GREED MISERY:
In my opinion the most "fun" song the band has ever made. It and "Bleed It Out" are some of the few songs the band has made that I can enjoy no matter what the mood. And Chester's screaming at the end is incredible.

I'LL BE GONE:
Primo did it better, minus the lyrics. How the band ever decided to drop so much from that demo is beyond me.

CASTLE OF GLASS:
While the song is amazing, it feels like incredibly wasted potential from start to finish. If they had only expanded the song beyond 6-7 minutes and a cookie-cutter structure, we may have had another TLTGYA.

VICTIMZED:
A pure, unadulterated, 1:47 badass punch to the face.

ROADS UNTRAVELED:
I believe this track will go on to become a sleeper hit for the band, much like "In Pieces" is from Minutes to Midnight. Definitely the most uplifting song the band has ever released.

SKIN TO BONE:
This song feels like it's electronic for the sake of being electronic. It needed to remain as a folk-rock/acoustic track.

UNTIL IT BREAKS:
LPU13 showed me how much potential each individual piece of this song had separately from one another. Instead we got this experimental clusterfuck, although the end result is still pretty entertaining.

TINFOIL:
Should have remained an extended intro to Powerless instead of a separate instrumental.

POWERLESS:
I agree with the notion that the song is predictable, but it's "predictable-ballad-Linkin Park" at its absolute finest. Chester's vocals here are divine, however I still wish he would have screamed the last "Powerless" in the final part of the song instead of shouting it.

Overall - A Thousand Suns > Minutes To Midnight > Living Things > Reanimation > Hybrid Theory > Meteora > Recharged > Collision Course

 

It seems like your perception of LT kind of depends on how much you liked ATS. I liked LT well enough, but I think that's because I never had high expectations for it. It was just a solid Linkin Park album, which is the most I expect from them. ATS has 3-4 of the band's best songs, but it's uneven overall. Typical for LP.

 

Most of my issue with the album has already been said. I feel like the music overall just sounds bored with itself. Skin To Bone is a nice example. Super cool synth involved, nice variations, but it doesn't sound like it has enough punch. It sounds bland. Then, when the vocals come in, it sounds like Mike and Chester were going for a haunting sort of vibe but didn't really bother that much, leaving emotionless vocals. Then, songs like Burn It Down, which seem to lean toward wanting to be a pop / alternative rock song, just didn't hit any mark on anything. It's just there, not really with any specific direction. Which reflects most of the album.

ATS = MTM = HTEP > REAN = LT > M = HT > RECH

 

When LT was first released, and for a couple of months afterwards, it was my favorite album by the band. Over time, my opinion of it has changed pretty drastically. I love LITE, IMR, COG, IBG, RU and Powerless, and I never really listen to the other songs off of the album. Skin to Bone just really isn't a good song to me, and Burn It Down got overplayed so it's boring now. Until It Breaks has some cool ideas (like Brad singing), and it isn't a bad song, but I just don't really listen to it. LGM has some good parts, such as the bridge, but it's really just a pretty cheesy song. Victimized is decent, but it's kind of just there.

I don't really know where I'd put LT in my favorites list. I never really thought much about the order, but it is probably in the bottom two.

 

I remembered last June 2011 where the band stated in an article that they headed to the studio to record a new album and it was said, "IT'S GOING TO BE A POLARIZING RECORD". They loved the direction they're going through about the record but it went to a different path leaning to a more radio-friendly approach.. I thought it will continue what they've done about A Thousand Suns that gave them the freedom to experiment and proved to be something special but I'm totally wrong. I think it just it reflects to where Chester stated at the end of Meeting of A Thousand Suns where he said, "Lets go back just being fluid, in coming with ideas......". That's why they gave us LIVING THINGS in order to compensate the hate on A Thousand Suns.

LIVING THINGS was a solid album but not their best album to date nor it can't even match to the caliber what A Thousand Suns have. Tracks like I'LL BE GONE has so much potential in its demo form, Primo but its elements were shaken off and BOOM! the demo is so much than the final version, instrumentally. It would be interesting to hear that 6:00-minute version of CASTLE OF GLASS or even original recording of TINFOIL but it would never happen again unless for future LPU releases.

 

Dislking half of an album may make your experience while listening to it inconsistent, but cannot make the album inconsistent.

That flat-out sounds like something the nu-metal fanboys would say. As though "crushing guitars" immediately make songs better. But if that's your opinion... fine.

 

As someone who likes MTM a lot, it is a really inconsistent album.

Or maybe just someone who likes heavier music in general? That's not a bad thing.

 

Here my toughts : Living Things is a mediocre record. It IS good but...I don't know. i have the feeling that is album is too...plastic. What I mean is : I can't feel nothing while I listen to most part of the song. I don't see the "heart" of the band here. Since The Hunting Party is going to be a heavier album,I see LT as a transition between A Thousand Sun and THP. Let's see the songs :

LOST IN THE ECHO

My favorite track on the album. I love the chorus,there's a great scream,good instrumental. The rap isn't that bad. The Music Video is...strange,but I liked it (the un-interactive version,obviously. Watching MY pothos in that contest is just stupid).

IN MY REMAINS

It's not bad,but it's not great either. I like the lyrics,but the whole song is pretty bland. Good rhythm,tough.

BURN IT DOWN

Meh. Commercial song. The Music Video is insipid.

LIES GREED MISERY

I have strange feelings for this song. It's like they tried to put every electronic effect they had in this song and the result is pretty messy and confusing. The live version tough it's likable.

I'LL BE GONE

My second favorite track. The lyrics are cool,I really like the instrumental,Chester is really good in the chorus. The ATS version,"Primo",tough,was better.

CASTLE OF GLASS

Really good. Mike's and Chester's voices feels like one here. Plus,I really like the "soft" atmosphere of the song. I like he build up to the final chorus.

VICTIMIZED

There's a good rap by Mike here,but nothing special

ROADS UNTRAVELED

I like this one,finally I "feel" something while I listen to a song. Very,very good.

SKIN TO BONE

Forgettable. Nothing good,nothing bad.

UNTIL IT BREAKS

Cool song,not bad. I like Mike in here. And I love the "Give me the strength of the rising Sun" line.

TINFOIL/POWERLESS

A good way to close the album. I would love to hear the ATS demo of the song.

As you can see,I LIKE the album,but it's just a let down after A Thousand Suns. You can really skip a lot of songs here and hear just Lost In The Echo,I'll Be Gone,Castle Of Glass,Roads Untraveled and Powerless. So in the end :

A Thousand Suns > Hybrid Theory = Meteora > Minutes To The Midnight > Living Things

And not because Living Things is bad,but because the rest is just better. Oh,by the way,why does everyone hates Meteora here ? I loved that album

 

Thank you.