I dislike how the album as a whole feels like a copy paste of Hybrid Theory. There are songs that literally feel like copies of their HT counterparts, and lyrically Somewhere I Belong to me is just dreadful. Not to mention the album's lyrics as a whole (to me) haven't aged well. When I was 17, I thought the album was great. With time, I've seen it for what it is. I consider it to be at blame for why the band has been dogged down with 'BRING BACK NU METAL' chants their entire career. It established a 'Linkin Park sound' in some people's eyes (given that there were two subsequent albums with the same sound), and the band has been dogged by the 'this isn't Linkin Park' complaint on every risk taking album ever since. It did the band more harm than good, and I honestly believe that's why the band doesn't play many songs from it live anymore. I think they grew to despise it as well.
So Sorry for Now is led by Mike not by both? I'm sad. Hopefully it's better than I'm picturing in my head. Yes I realize Chester raps on it as well.
Even on Mike lead tracks there are parts where they both sing together. Don't you worry. My favorite is going to be different than everyone else's...but I like Sharp Edges and Sorry For Now the most right now.
I wish there was more rap on it. I was OK with Good Goodbye being one rap song, but one rap verse from Mike is too little. At least it is there, I guess. Sorry For Now and One More Light are most anticipated for me.
I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, but it makes an interesting case for Meteora to me. I don't think the band has ever made a poor album, but maybe "uninspired" is the word I look for when describing Meteora for exactly the reasons you listed here. Which can feel a little unfair, because I almost feel like I'm judging the album based on its place in the band's progression, rather than objectively considering the album on its own. Hybrid Theory is way too angsty for me these days, but listening to it gives me some seriously positive nostalgia and still gets me fired up. A lot of tracks on Meteora do the same, but I tend to think lesser of it for some reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ By the same token, I would say Minutes to Midnight is their "weakest" overall as a cohesive album on as objective a level as possible, despite sincerely loving that album for a lot of its individual tracks and for more or less leading into A Thousand Suns.
This. It has Given Up, which is one of their most iconic songs for me, plus No More Sorrow, TLTGYA, but there are abominations like In Between, and a bunch of mediocre pop rock songs.
Derek, do you think this is an album that will stand the test of time, for you at least? When you reviewed THP with all the hype surrounding it, you were pretty ecstatic about some of it like with OML, but over time you've been a little more critical of it and have pointed out its flaws though still liking it nonetheless. I guess my question is, is it the hype ? Or will it be an album you think you'll still reflect upon as containing some of their best work at that point? A good though risky move by them? Like when THP came out, some of the songs I thought would easily rank among my favorites of theirs and other parts of it I really disliked, but now I'm indifferent towards the album which makes it not often I feel like listening to any of it. I think it's a solid album, but the hype got to me then and I had some pretty strong opinions on it. So, I'm curious how fans will feel about this album now as well as years from now.
I'm worried about not liking it. As of this moment, I don't like Invisible. I also do not like No Roads Left. Even though it's rapping, Until It Breaks is my least favorite song on Living Things. I haven't enjoyed a Mike led tracks since Minutes to Midnight. In Between and Hands Held High are both fantastic songs. I'm just not as big of a fan of Mike's singing voice as everyone else seems to be.
It reminds me a lot of Fireflies by Owl City in the verses for some reason. Even though the melodies of the song aren't remotely similar. Maybe it's just the sound/vibe. The issue with THP is that I was going through a rough period in my life and I needed the aggression. Over time as things got better, the aggression on that record became a tad fatiguing. So much now that I can only listen to the record when I'm pissed. It's why as much as I stand by my review, I don't listen to it as much because I gotta be in that 'frame of mind' to listen to it. OML on the other hand is an album you can listen to when you're sad, angry or happy. It's a record that you don't need to be in a special frame of mind to enjoy, because it's a 'fun' album.
Sharp Edges sounds pretty interesting. I am hyped for OML thanks to you Derek. Even if i think it wont beat THP for me, because if i am honest, i am also somehow a rock elitist Maybe with a little bit more open mind. OML will be the first pop album i ever buy
Hi Derek, thank you for the wonderful review. Are Sorry For Now, Good Goodbye and Invisible the only tracks that sung by Mike? This is one of the issues that I'm worried about the most in this new album cycle since I am a big fan of Mike's vocals Thank you.
Your review made me so much more excited Derek! I really enjoyed reading that and dare I say your your enthusiasm is quite infectious. I'm usually Metal, Rock and Hardcore/Punk to the bone, but my music taste is in fact quite open minded and diverse. I absolutely love Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass and some solid Pop music. Lana del Rey, Florence + The Machine, Purity Ring and Coldplay are amongst my favourites. (just to name some softer stuff I regularly jam) I'm super excited for OML. It will be a nice change for LP after the aggresive, Metal/Rock driven THP. It's just a shame many Rock & Metal fans are so ignorant and intolerant. Not everything has to be loud and heavy to be good and enjoyable.
If I'm being honest, this review reads more like an attempt to defend and justify this album's direction as opposed to a review of the music itself. More telling us why it's okay they made this kind of music instead of telling us whether or not they did it well. Which I understand. Derek is so involved in the hardcore fan community, its natural that his review would be a response to other fan reaction.
I will agree that I was defending the sound change at parts yes. But it's because elitist rock mags aren't even giving this record a shot. They're basically going "derp. Remember when LP was rock? Lulz pop sucks. This album falls flat" and calling a day. As much as I do love this album I know that not everyone is going to agree with me when it comes out in a week. I will be getting some hate and "what the fuck were you smoking in that review?" comments when it comes out. And I'm okay with that. I stand by my review.