I gotta say that I've never seen the band being so proud and happy about one of their record. It actually would make me want to like it, but I guess I will have to pass this time In any cases, this just seems like the natural evolution for the band. THP really just was an odd event in the process. Mike probably always wanted to release a proper heavy record in their career. It could have been MTM, 2008 demos suggest it could have been ATS, and I guess, in the end, he just went on some spontaneous shit in 2013 and THP was born. Now that he got it out of the way, I cannot imagine them going back to a darker sound. The guys are some chill stable family guys in their 40's. Not your typical rock'n'roll stars. This is probably the start of more upbeat and happy Linkin Park.
So the only song that I didn't like at first was invisible. You guessed it..... Invisible is growing on me. I still think it's up thereally with Heavy as one of the worst songs on the album but I don't hate it anymore. This album really has no bad songs st all. But I shouldn't be surprised by that, from Hybrid Theory to Living Things I only dislike 2 songs combined from all those albums (Not counting deluxe songs). Linkin Park did it again! They have released 7 albums and I think they have 6 great albums.
I mean, maybe. But looking at their track record it would be more logically to assume the next album will be very different from this one.
As an LP fan from the early days, I'm happy to report that I'm fully onboard with this album. You can tell there is just a lot of effort here - this album is infectious. It's impressive that they've branched off into a whole new style and have pulled it off this well. I am very surprised because after hearing Battle Symphony (my least favorite song on the album) my confidence was shaken. You can just tell that the guys were inspired making this record, way more so than anything since ATS in my opinion. So bravo for that. I've wracked up my mobile data because this is not yet on Spotify, so I can't wait to give this a proper listen tomorrow. Way to go LP
After some repeated listens and quiet considerations, here's my ranking and verdict on the album for me. Song rank(best/most fav to worst/most dislike): 1. Sharp Edges(interchangeable between 1-4) 2. Sorry For Now(interchangeable between 1-4) 3. Nobody Can Save Me(interchangeable between 1-4) 4. Halfway Right(interchangeable between 1-4) 5. One More Light 6. Invisible 7. Talking to Myself 8. Battle Symphony 9. Good Goodbye 10. Heavy Album ranking(best/most fav to worst/most dislike): 1. ATS 2. M 3. OML 4. MTM 5. THP 6. HT 7. LT Overall, not a bad album! While there are certain nuances that wasn't to my liking and a few songs lacked a certain punch/depth, there are enough redeeming qualities from others that counter-balance those flaws. I love 1-4 equally, hence it's difficult to pin down which one I love more since I'm discovering new things after each listen in those songs. As plenty of people have pointed as well, there's a weird mix of contradictions between the music and lyrics which somehow works, making it accessible in listening to whatever mood you are in, whether positive or negative emotions.
Now that I've listened to it more than a few times in different settings, I do think it's better than I originally gave it credit for. It's still probably a 7/10 but it's way better than The Hunting Party which did not age well at all after repeated listens. My favorite songs have definitely changed after my first listen and some of the songs released before the album came out are not as high on my list as they were yesterday. Great songs: Talking To Myself, Battle Symphony, Sorry For Now, One More Light Good Songs: Invisible, Sharp Edges, Halfway Right Okay Songs: Good Goodbye Bad Songs: Heavy, Nobody Can Save Me As far as album rankings, I'd say: 01. A Thousand Suns 02. Minutes To Midnight 03. Hybrid Theory 04. One More Light 05. Living Things 06. Meteora 07. The Hunting Party Not counting Reanimation and Recharged, of course.
Well, let me take part in your party as soon as I've checked out the album in full. My album tracklisting top list: Talking to Myself + Sharp Edges One More Light + Invisible + Halfway Right Good Goodbye + Sorry for Now Battle Symphony + Nobody Can Save Me Heavy My IMO album chart is: A Thousand Suns + The Hunting Party Minutes to Midnight One More Light + Hybrid Theory Meteora Living Things
Great ideia this way of ranting things. LOL Well, I'll do it myself now that I've listened the album a dozen of times: Great songs: Talking To Myself (HIT!), Battle Symphony, One More Light (BEAUTIFUL!) Good Songs: Invisible, Sorry For Now Okay Songs: Good Goodbye,, Halfway Right Less Okay Songs (but not bad): Nobody Can Save Me, Heavy, Sharp Edges As far as album rankings, I'd say: 1. Minutes To Midnight 2. Meteora 3. The Hunting Party 4. A Thousand Suns 5. Hybrid Theory 6. Living Things 7. One More Light -> still not the sound I'm most fan of. And it's the newest, it has still to grow more on me. Conclusion: After listening to it so many times it has been growing on me. But it is because it's Linkin Park and I'm a fan. If it were another random band I would just bother to listen it once and then forget about it. This is why this album is "not good". People nowadays don't have to be hardcore fans to like music. And the band is lucky to have such dedicated fans who give them opportunities and end up liking their new stuff just because they're fans. For the common listener, this is just average.
Amazing songs: Nobody Can Save Me, One More Light Great songs: Battle Symphony, Halfway Right, Sorry For Now Good songs: Good Goodbye, Heavy, Invisible OK songs (still growing): Sharp Edges Ranking 1. Minutes To Midnight 2. One More Light 3. A Thousand Suns 4. Meteora 5. The Hunting Party 6. Hybrid Theory 7. Living Things This may change in a month tho
My updated tier list and comparison with THP. Using @Minus 's tier system. SS: Nobody Can Save Me, Sorry for Now, One More Light S: Halfway Right, Sharp Edges A: Good Goodbye, Talking to Myself B: Battle Symphony, Invisible C: Heavy D: F: SS: Rebellion, Mark the Graves, Final Masquerade S: A: A Line In the Sand B: Drawbar, Guilty All the Same C: D: Wastelands F: Keys To the Kingdom, War, All For Nothing, The Summoning, Until It's Gone