I realize there's already a thread for this, but I spent a lot of time on this review, and wanted to make a new thread for mine. --- A THOUSAND SUNS The Requiem – Without doubt, this is the way to start an album. I think this may be the best intro to an album I’ve ever heard. It’s eerie, haunting, and captures you immediately. The digitized voice reciting the well known lyrics “God save us every one / Will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns” is chilling, to say the least. 10/10 The Radiance – It’s a cool piece, but I feel it might’ve been better placed elsewhere on the album. Time after time, I listen to The Requiem, and just want Burning in the Skies to start. The 50 second track has a voice, which to me, greatly resembles the voice at the beginning of the High Voltage B-Side from Hybrid Theory. Overall, a nice piece to listen to, but I think the placement on the album is a little off. 7/10 Burning in the Skies – Although this seems like one of the least experimental tracks on the album, it’s still one of my favorites. Following the intro/verse/chorus/verse/extended chorus/bridge/chorus/outro formula, this song still manages to sound fresh. The piano at the beginning is the perfect way to kick off the song. The chorus definitely sounds like something you’d expect to hear from Linkin Park, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Chester delivers ace vocal performances time and time again on this album, and this song is no exception. An interesting aspect of this song is the verse, which Mike sings in a very unique way. Overall the song flows very well, and is a great way to start off the album. And, is it me, or does the guitar finale in the bridge sound exactly like the chord progression for the bridge (before the synth breakdown) in New Divide? 8.5/10 Empty Spaces – Might as well have been added onto When They Come for Me. It doesn’t even transition fluidly into the next song, which is the one part of the album where that happens. The atmospheric effects are nice, however. 5/10 When They Come For Me – Nobody expected a song like this. Eastern influenced drums, tribal chants, and Mike with an absolutely dominating rap performance. This is obviously a “fuck you” to anybody who criticizes Linkin Park for expanding their musical horizons. Very little of Chester in this song, but what there is, is a perfect fit into the song. Definitely an album highlight. 9/10 Robot Boy – I will admit, this song took a long time to grow on me. The lack of any real change in the pattern definitely hurt my opinion of it, as it’s always the same “You say _____________ , But you know ___________, And your heart ________________” (you get the picture). That, and the vocal effect makes it hard to distinguish exactly who the singer is. Chester is definitely the dominating role, but there’s so many other vocals and harmonies layered on there that it gets diluted. The song definitely picks up after the synth solo, however. And while it did take a while to grow on me, it definitely has. It went from “not listening worthy” to “definitely an enjoyable song”. It just took some time. 7.5/10 Jornada Del Muerto – An absolutely beautiful interlude. Honestly, I wish some of the synth work and harmonies had been incorporated into Robot Boy. The Japanese “Lift me up / Let me go” is amazing as well. It’s such a seamless transition from Robot Boy into this, it’s hard to ever tell where exactly one ends and the other begins. Honestly, I consider this an extension of Robot Boy, which helps me enjoy both of them a little more. 9/10 Waiting For The End – When I first heard this song, there was so much I was skeptical about. Mike’s reggae rapping style, the mix of that and Chester’s EXTREMELY soft vocal presence in the first verse, I wasn’t sure if it would grow on me. Not only did it, it has become my favorite song on the album. After listening to it multiple times, and hearing it performed live, there’s not much I can complain about anymore. The song has a beautiful buildup to an absolutely epic climax and ending. Mike’s rapping on this song has grown on me a ton. In my opinion, it’s the best song on the album. 10/10 Blackout – This song is weird. Just weird. The synth intro at the beginning definitely fits in with the rest of the albums sounds, but hearing Chester scream over it is a little disorienting after being used to hearing him scream over crashing drums, heavy guitars, and generally raw material. Not only that, but the transition from the first half into the second half is a complete 180 for the song, when Mike comes in with the slow vocals. A very experimental song, yet they did to it quite well. Bringing back the synth from the intro into the latter half of the song was very smart, and definitely helps. Overall, it’s a very different track. Chester rapping, Mike soft singing, Reanimation-style breakdown with Chester’s screaming bit, and a very ominous synth piece. So many different styles mixed into one song would be hard to pull off, but I think Linkin Park did it quite well. 8/10 Wretches And Kings – Another album highlight. If I had to choose one word to describe this song, it would be dirty. The exchange between Mike and Chester on this song is incredible. Mike representing the “machine” Mario Savio speaks of in the beginning of the song, while Chester represents the “Abused worker”. Aside from the political aspect of it, it sounds amazing. Definitely some Fort Minor influence hear. Mike’s rapping is once again mind boggling, and Chester’s performance is one of a kind. You’ve never heard him sing like this. 10/10 Wisdom, Justice, and Love – An absolutely beautiful interlude. Morphing the elegant and uplifting voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior into a demonic, bone-chilling voce is indescribable. When I heard it for the first time, it literally gave me chills. Combine this with the following song, Iridescent, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a one-two punch. 10/10 Iridescent – Definitely the most uplifting song on the album. Mike delivers another beautiful soft singing performance for the verse, which is complimented perfectly when Chester picks up the chorus immediately after in just a slightly faster tempo. The song continues the Mike/Chester interplay for another verse/chorus combo, and then the most incredible part of the album starts – the entire band singing “Do you feel cold and lost in desperation” as well as the rest of the chorus. This, to me, represents the resolution of the album. If we as mankind are the cause of our own misfortunes, then this is the turnaround telling us we can change. We can let go of the hate, frustration, and anger. We have the ability to change. We just need to let go of those feelings. It’s a beautiful message, before going into what I consider the action scene of the movie. 9/10 Fallout – The recital of Burning in the Skies lyrics are performed by a robotic-like voice, which slowly morphs into Mike. A nice break between Iridescent and The Catalyst. 7/10 The Catalyst – If Iridescent is realization of what we as humans need to do in order to save ourselves from our own self destruction, then The Catalyst is that act carried out. Another review considered this the “battle scene” of the album, that’s a completely accurate representation. It builds up to an insane, fast synth solo with fast electronic drums, Chester singing one of his most aggressive pieces on the album, all leading into a beautiful piano riff where the song slows down with some more nice Mike/Chester interplay. It picks back up again at the end, ending with the “God bless us every one” lyrics. 9.5/10 The Messenger – This song fits perfectly at the end of the album. In no way does it sound like anything else before it, with only Chester, an acoustic guitar, and a slow piano in the background. Chester delivers some seriously emotional vocals, perhaps too emotional. There’s no doubt Chester is one of the greatest vocalists of our time, but the “Waaaah’s” at the very end of the song don’t bode to well for me. The song definitely had a lot of potential, but I don’t feel it was reached. Not bad by any means, but it could’ve been so much better. 6.5/10 OVERALL: This album is just art. You can't really compare it stylistically to anything else they've done. However, in terms of enjoyment and quality, I would say this album trumps anything Linkin Park has ever done before. My Final Rating: 9/10