I listened to Hybrid Theory yesterday after quite a long. Some of the guitar-riff (POA, OSC, A Place For My Head) could hype the papum. ATS was made as a concept record, with interludes and all. good concept Record. 15 % your post had 253 words, so... Approximately 39 words would be 15%
http://www.metalorgie.com/groupe/Linkin-Park/14623_A-Thousand-Suns Opinions, opinions.... Lol. Just kidding though,. Those album reviews notes are irrelevant for the most part (NU METALZ) . Some guys made thoughfull comments on it though, and did still think ATS suck ass (which is not my case!). ATS haters are not all "brainless nu-metal heads" . Some people said there was a reason LP was mocked during the earliest stage of their carreer, while arguing against Meteora. But I've never seen those same people say they could be a reason behind all the people mocking ATS. (Other than: nu-metal head, and dumb people) This album have obviously bad sides that a lot of people seems not to hear. It's definitely not a legendary album. At this point, if there was a single LP album which people would remember in 50 years, it would be HT, not ATS. HT have something honest that ATS have not....like if LP were trying to hard to experiment and to not sound the same on it. Even Mike kind of admitted it recently ("We were avoiding something" + "Using all the tools in the toolbox"). And personnaly, I can feel that fact while listening to those 2 records. HT feels "better executed". Sorry if you don't agree with me on this, but I will definitely not change my mind.
I think its their best. I wasn't a fan of the interludes at first and then I fell in love with it. It clicked right away. The lyrics and music kick ass. WTCFM's ending is supreme!
I agree with 100% of this. To me ATS is not the best lyrically, MTM is. MTM was easily the best lyrically imo. as far as musically I disagree also, I think Musical all albums bring something different to the table but musically the first three are better. HT brought about a new sound, a great mix of rap and rock which created music that i had never heard before. Now lets move to their first change. MTM was better musically. The guitar solo and composition of In Pieces, the epic music of TLGYA, the unique music of HHH. The mix of a rock sound with some screams, some rapping, amazing lyrics, and amazing musical composition. As with the guy above me, the interludes feel off and i see no point to them, if you want to make a conceptual record either get better interludes (Pink Floyd is a perfect example) or get rid of the interludes altogether. Interludes are not need to make a conceptual record. Second, i also agree that Robot Boy (while yes it is unique) feels very weird and has a weird composition. Musically it is the most different but that doesn't make it automatically good.
I think A Thousand Suns is the best Linkin Park album in all facets without question. On a musical and lyrical level, the band stepped up tenfold from any of their previous efforts. The level of creativity that went into this album is beyond anything we've seen before. I think we have to consider a few things here, and it's that withHybrid Theory and Meteora, the band was simply perfecting the art of combining Rock and Rap. However, he practice of actually putting the two together has been around for years (see:"Step Up"). However, this album is unlike anything else they've made and it's honestly unlike anything else I have in my library. The concepts the band touches on with this record are much deeper than we've seen before. Minutes to Midnight was political, but Green Day had really made that mainstream before Linkin Park did. ATS was different and had a lot more depth. We're talking concepts about the nature of our humanity; our incredibly constructive capacities to create and destroy what we please. The only other album I've listened to that really touches on something this large-scale and does it well is Radiohead's OK Computer. That's not to say that A Thousand Suns was as good of a record as Radiohead's, but the idea is there. Not to mention, ATS is actually an album in the true sense of the word. It is an experience more so than it is a compilation of songs, and I think that's the approach bands should have going into records. A truly mastered album is one that has songs that fit beautifully within their context but can stand on their own, and the songs off of this record largely do that. One of the really big things I like about this album is especially how it breaks down the idea of lyrical structure that Linkin Park has had in the past. No longer is it about "verse chorus verse chorus" stuff. They reconstructed the way they write songs and tried doing different things. "Robot Boy" has essentially no chorus, and the chorus for "When They Come For Me" has no words. "Wretches and Kings" closes on a bridge as compared to a final chorus. "Blackout" is three separate movements in four minutes. "The Catalyst" is two different songs. Linkin Park has never done anything like that before, and at the end of the day, it sounded really good. It stands out and made a really lasting impression. I'm going to be honest, as much as I loved Hybrid Theory and Meteora back in the day, those albums grew old for me. Minutes to Midnight has a couple of high points but was ultimately nothing special. This album, however, was special. I fear that Living Things is not going to live up to A Thousand Suns, but that's solely based on how the band has been framing this album and from "Burn It Down." The single sounds like a complete rehashing of everything they've ever done, and the band has mentioned that it's not a cohesive record like ATS was. They're using all of the tools from their toolbox as opposed to reaching out for new tools. All of the things I loved about ATS, they seem to not really be going for. I worry they might in fact be settling for doing what they know and trying to make it sound new. It's not going to sound new, I feel. This approach the band had of not settling for anything that sounds remotely like what they did before and not letting it get on the table was what I really liked and agreed with. That's not to say that Living Things couldn't potentially go beyond all of my expectations and be the best thing they've ever made, 'cause it could. I have my doubts, though.
This! Only thing I have to say is I still really enjoy Minutes to Midnight with the exception of Given Up.
I should just delete my previous comment because you just said everything I was thinking far better than I did. Although I did enjoy MTM with the exceptions of GU, NMS, and WID. This also summarizes my cautious anticipation for Living Things perfectly.
I agree with everything you wrote. I had the same fears about Burn It Down until I read some the reviews which quelled my worries. But I must admit, BID reminded me of how I felt (but was unable to describe) when I heard SIB and Meteora. It sounds like a watered down version of ATS like Meteora felt like a watered down HT. It sounds good but is missing something subtle.
I'm sure what you said made a lot of sense but, I had to stop reading here many bands were doing way, way more political songs before Green Day (in which case it could be made argue their grand "political awakening" was a total of 2 songs). To say that someone had claimed "the political thing" is ridiculous.
I agree with this. Hands down ATS was their best album musically and structurally. A big factor why is because they branched out so much and experimented in "dangerous territory". It's easy to see the differences with ATS compared to their first 3 albums. And now, Living Things is not going to be any of that. Although there seems to be great reviews for the tracks, the outlook still doesn't look great. We had "The Catalyst" as the lead single on ATS, and for this album we have Burn It Down. This is where I come to a problem. Burn It Down is basically New Divide 3.0. Similar tempo, same structure, same type of vocals. It sounds more electronic, but that's really about it. And Spin (i think it was them) said that LP enters unfamilliar territory from Track 3, which is BID. So we can assume the first two tracks sound even MORE like the old days. So overall, is ATS the best album both musically and lyrically? Yes, and it will probably remain that way for a long time.
Because best is subjective I'd definitely say that ATS is the most interesting of all their albums. I think right from the vocoded harmonies on The Requiem its gripping and challenging, and the blend of electronic and acoustic sonics is great. Considering the last song I heard from LP before ATS was what i've done I thought this was alot more mature than previous efforts. Although the flaws are easily to see now, for the first year of the release it was definitely up on a pedestal of nearly perfect album. The unpredictable song structures, vocal layering and the depth of the lyrics. So from a personal standpoint I think its their most daring, and the album that they've really tried to something challenging, which is why I don't like the sound of Living Things so fa. everything thats been said about it, along with Burn It Down, sounds like they're just pandering to the radio and to the label and feels like a large step back
Oh, no question. I'm not saying that Green Day somehow "claimed" political rock. I'm saying that Green Day, at the time, was the really popular political band. American Idiot was a solid album and had a lot of mainstream success, and as such I don't think Linkin Park made political songs that were attractive to large audiences largely because others had done it before them better. Green Day was just the most recent example in my head.