I have to say I've waited a long time since HT and Meteora for an album like this. Don't get me wrong I love all their albums, including the remixed ones. But this...this is different. It takes away the hip-hop feel from HT since you don't hear much scratching from Joe, this is really the heavy side of LP, and I'm actually pretty glad they've experimented so much with this new album, especially since LT wasn't at all well received by fans who plainly hated EDM music and let's not forgot ATS and MTM which are way more mellow. One thing however, despite all the screaming, this isn't the LP from the angry emo teens period. It's the LP that's growing to be fiercer and more daring with their music. The one thing I like about LP is they are never afraid to try out new styles of music and then learn from it, like what happened with LT. Personal faves: Wastelands, Rebellion, A Line In The Sand, Final Masquerade, All For Nothing, Mark The Graves Note, the reason I didn't list KTTK is because it's gonna take awhile for me to get used to the much heavier side of LP, which is even heavier than HT
I've waited a long time for this album, and I'm sure many of you felt that long wait with me. I had a few mixed emotions (mostly positive) upon first listening, however I can safely say those couple negative emotions are gone about the record. I'm sure this is just hype on my end, but the 2nd and 3rd listenings of a few songs really were incredible. I like that they're doing something different. Living Things feels so bland in comparison, because it is somewhat like their old stuff. This record is just something completely different yet familiar and throws a lot of mixed melodies at you at once in a few of the songs. It's really fucking epic and I can safely say the album met a lot of my expectations. Not many people know this and I don't share this online.. but I have a lot of health problems. I can be a bit of a hypochondriac (I have every right to be having Fibromyalgia) and I sometimes feel like death and like I may not wake up the next morning. I'm not the super emotional type but after I collected my thoughts after KTTK and All For Nothing came on I she'd a tear. Knowing that I am alive and got to listen to this, something I've been waiting for so long.. It truly was an incredible experience and something I will never forget. I developed some new emotions with this record, as well as some I had with Meteora and ATS on first impressions. The lyrics aren't nearly as disappointing as LT, and it actually seems like they tried and put an effort into this record. The guitars were simple (yet full) however, quite a bit of it I haven't really heard a lot of in terms of the melodies. The only complain I have about this record is some of the vocals are purposely drowned out, and it took away from the listening experience a bit. I understand it was an 80's thing they were going with, but it took it away for me. KTTK: 9/10 AFN: 8.5/10 GATS: 8/10 Summoning: 7/10 War: 7.5/10 Wastelands: 8/10 UIG: 8.5/10 Rebellion: 9/10 MTG: 9.2/10 Drawbar: 8.5/10 FM: 9.5/10 ALITS: 9/10 Overall, I give the album an 8.5. Only song I don't care for is War, the rest is all excellence. I'm glad we didn't get songs like Skin to Bone or Roads Untraveled. I really didn't like those songs, at all.
The Summoning is incredibly and eerily similar to Slipknot's opening track titled, "(505)" from their second album, "Iowa".
Amen to that. That has been my main thought for the past two album cycles. There's a lot of energy in this album that comes from them actually JAMMING the shit out of some riffs and nothing else, and it turned out great for them. It's crafted the way a rock album is crafted. As for my reaction, I think this record really stands out for things that've been missing in LP's music for a very very long time. And the main thing is that they seem that they actually went for it this time, without holding back, without playing safe and being formulaic in ways they have been in most of their past albums. That's why this album is somewhat on the same side as ATS, in terms of trying to carve a certain musical path,recreate a specific atmosphere that surrounds it. And though I found ATS failing to live up to my expectations of an experimental record and creating that very unique atmosphere they aimed for, I find THP gets that job done. And that's because the band seems more natural doing it. Everything feels more organic,truthful and unfiltered. So, I press play and suddenly I feel like I'm in an underground gig in the late 90s, with a crowd of 500 people. I hear all these "live" moments of LP that werent present in any of the previous well-polished albums. The amount of "fuck you, I do whatever I want" in this album is pretty much one I'd expect from a band of that popularity. There's no "epic" stuff here, not the kind I'd expect from LP at least. There's that kind of guts to it. Every song is different, every song is special in its own way, except for UIG and FM, which this album can live without. That's why I could say it sounds like a more mature Hybrid Theory EP. I dont really care writting about which songs I find specificly good or bad. The best thing about it is that it's musically honest. It's raw and surprisingly well delivered for a band that hasnt been raw since forever. It's fucking rock 'n' roll. For the record, my favourite songs off of it are Keys To The Kingdom, Mark The Graves, Drawbar and A Line In The Sand.
after listening to the album a few times round keys to the kingdom - 9/10 all for nothing - 8/10 guilty all the same - 9/10 the summoning - 7.5/10 war - 9/10 wastelands - 8.5/10 until it's gone - 7.5/10 rebellion - 9.5/10 mark the graves - 9.5/10 drawbar - 7/10 final masquerade - 8/10 a line in the sand - 8.5/10
My song ratings KTTK: 9.0/10 AFN: 8.5/10 GATS: 8.5/10 Summoning: 6/10 War: 6.5/10 Wastelands: 7.5/10 UIG: 6.5/10 Rebellion: 8.5/10 MTG: 8.5/10 Drawbar: 7.0/10 FM: 9.0/10 ALITS: 9.5/10 Album is an 8/10. I was kinda disappointed with Drawbar and War. UIG was lackluster when compared to the rest of the album. The vocals being overshadowed by the music did get a bit annoying at times but that was it. It was a small complaint. But other than those 3 songs and the vocals bit, this album was spectacular! A Line In The Sand should become a LP classic. Rob and Brad really stepped up this album. Especially Rob who needs some award for just how much he has shown in this one album when compared to any other LP album. Brad really needs to play like this so much more often. He would be an amazing guitarist if he played like this for the past 6 records. I made sure my expectations weren't through the roof but I still had huge expectations just by reading comments and reviews about the album in general and I wasn't disappointed at all. This album left me so surprised in the first listen that I had to listen to it at least another 3 times to understand what I was hearing. A Thousand Suns was the only other LP album that left me so dazed because of how unexpected it was. Great job LP.
Ok, after a couple of listens, albeit only through my apple earphones, I'm beginning to find my thoughts on the album. Keys to The Kingdom: LP's greatest opener, and they've had some beauties. Scratch that, THE best opener ever. All For Nothing: Though many aren't fans, I really like it. Has a nice flow through Mike's verses and Page is solid with Chester GATS: Still a big fan, even more so when put into the context of the album The Summoning: Never been a big fan of interludes, and this one daoesn't really get my attention War: Loving War. It's like a fly kick to the face. Wastelands: Solid LP. Nice melody. Until It's Gone: Growing on me even more, as it fits much better than I thought it might. Rebellion: A highlight. I'm a big SOAD fan too, so this is just brilliant. Mark The Graves: This will require further listens, as it really has so much involved.I'm sure it will find my appreciation soon, but really haven't had an uninterrupted listen Drawbar: See The Summoning. Morello is wasted. Final Masquerade: A standout fof me. And I've always been a fan of LP's heavier stuff. This just sits right with me. Beautiful. Chester, Chester, Chester. ALITS: Once again, so much depth, taht I really haven't given it the time it truly deserves.
Similar to ATS, I suspect those transitions were supposed to build up or act as a progression from one song to the next? Just a personal opinion but I feel The Summoning was a build up to War since War is pretty heavy, though it's a short track. Not sure about Drawbar though, since MTG was pretty heavy and FM isn't, maybe Drawbar was supposed to tone it down for FM?
Revised thoughts. KTTK: Yea. AFN: Hell no. GATS: Yes. The Summoning: Yea. War. Yea Wastelands: Sometimes Until Its Gone: No. Rebellion: YES. Mark the Graves: YES Drawbar: YES Final Masquerade: Yes. A Line in the Sand: Mikes Part? YES Chester? No.
This is just what I think: The end of Keys To The Kingdom: One of the band members' children singing the chorus (The "I fuck up everything I say...." part) but obviously is not supposed to cuss so they say "I'm not supposed to say certain things. RAWR!" Then Mike saying to try "that other thing" and it goes into All For Nothing... The end of All For Nothing: Brad and Mike discussing which track to put after AFN and deciding to go with "the heavy shit" a.k.a Guilty All The Same. The end of The Summoning: Chester mentioned in that Metal Hammer interview that he enjoys doing simple things like going to his kid's baseball games. In the little interlude it sounds like he is at a game for his kid and you hear the sound of an aluminum baseball bat hitting a ball (those who have played little league would recognize this sound immediately) and then what sounds like Chester saying "Yea! RUN RUN!" cheering his kid on to run after hitting the ball. He was probably recording his kid at bat on his phone and decided to use it for the album? There are no other ones that are really mysterious after that I don't think.
had a solid couple of run throughs. gonna try this again. keys to the kingdom - b. it's a solid start to the album. all for nothing - b. dope feature! love Mike's verses. guilty all the same - c. Rakim is my dude on this one. bit long. the summoning - c. kinda cool, but also kinda pointless. war - d. sounds like Metallica, but still a bad track. wastelands - c+. Mike kills it. until it's gone - c. it's okay. not much to say. rebellion - c. yeah, it's okay. nothing special. mark the graves - c. much like rebellion, doesn't do much for me. drawbar - b+. love it. cool as. final masquerade - b. i like this softer stuff. awesome track. a line in the sand - b. i absolutely love Mike's parts, but Chester's parts feel forced. i want multitracks, so i can edit track 12 into my own.
Agree for the most part. I still think UIG is a really really weak track and the worst on the album. MTG's melody sounds like it was straight up lifted from Blackout, I still can't look past that. Also, a better hook would have made Wastelands one of the standouts. I like that little outro on AFN. I wish there were more moments like that on the album, at least on the interludes.
There might not be a big significance behind them, they just wanted to include some weird samples to throw people, and some studio chatter to make for some funny/cheeky moments.
First 5 tracks are damn near flawless. Dig all of em. Then it dips with Wastelands (mainly the chorus) and UIG (worst track). Then it picks up with Rebellion. The rest of it stays solid for the most part.