I was reading some MTM reviews and they all say that the new diection is a misstake, that they sould've kept their Rap/Rock style... But what amazes me is that those same reviewers bashed Meteora because it was too similar to HT, i just dont understand... And all of the reviews in Amazon are pretty negative... i like it but it seems that most people hated it... Things aren't looking so well for the future of this album...
Don't worry about it too much. Critics tend to review solely based on what they think people want to hear. Fact is, Linkin Park is a favorite to blast and ridicule in the media. Now that they've released an album full of ballads, it is probably only going to get worse. Sure, if they'd released an album of rap/rock they would have been attacked for not evolving, but they are going to get it just as much for actually evolving, too. Double edged sword.
Majority of those critics are heavy metal lovers, who wanted and expected something more powerful and harder from Linkin Park. They have yet to develop a mature genre base. A small contingency of fans who are critical of the album show a better argument on why they dislike MTM and I respect that. But majority I don't.