What do you want? LIVING THINGS so far sounds too familiar. Burn it Down is What I've Done part 3. What I've Done used real instruments. New Divide used a bit of electronics then Burn it Down comes out and is filled with electronics but they all have similar chorus and structure. It's not exciting like The Catalyst was. The snippets of IN MY REMAINS AND I'LL BE GONe sound like the generic structure of an intro followed by power chords that most of their older songs and the what I like to call 'The What Ive Done trilogy' Fans would rather a more familiar album then A Thousand Suns. Is it true? I loved the way they changed their sound and am a bit disappointed that they are taking a step back. Hopefully LT will have some experimentation. I can't wait for LT though. Only a few more days. Sorry for any errors. This was done on iPad.
I like the direction Living Things is going in, so I'd like to see something more familiar to older fans and experimentation in the future too.
From what I've heard and read, it seems like tracks 1-8 are going to be pretty generic/HTish, while tracks 9-12 are going to be more experimental. I expect Skin To Bone to be the most far out track of the album.
Living Things being more of the same? In my opinion, besides BID, LGM, along with the 3 snippets we've heard, are all pretty heavy on electronics - more so than they've ever been. Now, I'm not going to ramble on about how I don't really like what I've heard so far regarding the snippets (I'm not a huge fan of simple synth beats in LP songs, and that slight club-sounding beat at the beginning of LITE irked me), because that's not why I'm typing up this post. I just wanted to say that, again, from what we've heard, other than BID, the sound of LT is noticeably different from their past albums. Yes, it's not nearly as experimental as ATS, as this isn't a concept album, but even so, to say that it sounds too familiar...Well, I don't really agree with that. If anything, what's taking a step back is the complexity of their music. Their instrumentation has almost never been absolutely fantastic, but from what we've heard, I really don't like how simple it sounds in comparison to their past albums.
I actually sort of felt like BURN IT DOWN was also a "What I've Done" part 3 and would have easily fit with Transformers 3. I also agree that the snippets of I'LL BE GONE and. IN MY REMAINS have the similar build up as What I've Done, I wouldn't say they are taking a step back. Its more like a small pause to put together what they already have. Lyrics similar to HT, Guitar usage like MTM, electronic-synths from ATS, and Together it has the smooth feel of Meteora. This album should just have its own genre by now lol. Either way, I absolutely love the direction the band has taken. Its helping us relax from the experimentation and return back in familiar territory, but at the same time I hope they attempt to create new sounds In the future because doing exactly that is what created ATS <- best album ever!
I want more experimentation, dammit. I can't understand the mentality of being happy with more of the same. To quote Hova, "Want my old shit? Buy my old album."
You say more of the same like its a negative, its such a great sound, and it's a natural progression: HT+Experimentation.
It's like your saying a concept album means experimenting. A concept album is an album with one idea. A Theme. Nuclear Warfare was the theme of ATS. LT doesn't have to be a concept album to be experimental. Well you could say experimentation was the concept of ATS but that's not why it's considered a concept album
This is like the whole argument about Minutes to Midnight. Back when that album was coming out, people were complaining that it wasn't enough experimentation. But the thing is, it's STILL experimentation. The experiment with MTM was doing something they weren't known for doing (just going with anthem rock or something similar and straying from their formula), for which they succeeded. The experiment for LT was trying to take the creative edge of ATS and the energy of HT and melding it together. It's still experimentation.
I don't mind where they go stylistically/genre wise as long as there is something meaty in the songwriting. Depends what it's more of. More of SIB, WID, BID (i.e. ridgid, boxed in, radio songs)? No thanks. More of TLTGYA, WTCFM, The Catalyst(i.e. creative, well written songs that have some meat on their bones)? Yes please. I will say that if they want to revisit something or stick with something for a while then there better be a lot to still explore in that particular thing. More specifically, the songwriting style/lyrical themes for Meteora is incredibly limited, being reliant on basically one formula which LP have long since beaten to death. There's nothing more to be drawn from that well. Conversely the songwriting style for ATS is wide open because the songs are not built to a specific formula, there's so much more to play with and explore there. So far the LT songs are much more in line with Meteora than ATS.
I like your ordering of albums. Mine is the same way except I have Hybrid Theory= Minutes to Midnight.
I want whatever Linkin Park is willing to give me. I love their "old" stuff. I love their "new" stuff. I love their "experimental" stuff. I love their "more of the same" stuff. I like how anything they are making now, no matter what it sounds like, is a surprise.
I want them to only do ballads, whether it's traditional radio numbers (LOATR, Iridescent) or experimental (Little Things, WFTE) I don't care. I think softer songs are where LP really shine.
Ah, sorry. I'm still standing by my opinion that LT is experimental, though - albeit much less blatantly than ATS was. As for what I personally would like more, I'm going to agree with what Hybrid said. I've always enjoyed Linkin Park's music, and so long as they keep producing quality albums, I'm going to continue to enjoy them.