Linkin Park began work on their fourth studio album back in 2008, a year after the release of their radio-pandering & painfully mediocre Minutes To Midnight. The band had returned to producer Rick Rubin, whose Midas Touch has given innumerable bands the highlight albums of their careers, in the hopes that they could plant a new flag, start a new musical movement, create something bigger than the formulaic sound they’ve boxed themselves into.
With A Thousand Suns, the LP has certainly moved beyond the mediocre, but this is no revitalization. The album is a slick, full-bodied leap in the direction of self-parodying melodrama and fashionable faux-revolution, rather than actual redemption through self-evolution. A grandly orchestrated mechanized mess of sentimentality and rage against the machine, the 15 track collection is entirely unconvincing as a call to action for uprising and activism. Not even Rubin can keep this from being a patronizingly flaccid mess.
MTV reviewer James Montgomery called the album Linkin Park’s very own “all grown up” version of Kid A – which is, thus far, the most hackish and misleading assessment the album’s been given. Kid A represented a tidal shift in the music scene, a complete stylistic leap away from what made Radiohead the guitar-rock superstars they had become in the mid-nineties. Dangerously experimental, awash with digital paranoia and completely unselfconscious, it was a musical turning point on such a grand scale that we’ll still be referencing it a full generation from now as the catalyst for the mainstreaming of the electro-indie explosion.
A Thousand Suns, on the other hand, is a high-reaching and fantastically produced melodramatic farce that once again finds the California sextet taking themselves far too seriously, trumpeting the urgency to stand up to The Man, the ever-shifting Great Oppressor that gives these young millionaires such rebellious, heavily-autotuned fire. Heavy-handed sound-byte touchstones ’round every bend remind us of the looming danger that we’ve lived with for time untold: Oppenheimer’s Bhagavad Gita quote after the first testing of the atomic bomb in 1945. Savio’s “bodies upon the gears” speech from 1964. Martin Luther King Jr’s declaration that our modern horrors “cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.”
That’s big stuff. Serious stuff. The kind of stuff that makes you want to hear a white guy rapping badly over a cheap Nine Inch Nails derivative riff.
A full three minutes of ominous atmospheric buildup pass before an actual song begins (ATS sports no less than 5 segue tracks), and when Burning In The Skies finally takes off, it’s an underwhelming radio-friendly journey through digitized beats that would find an easy home on Minutes To Midnight. In fact, it flows nearly seamlessly with What I’ve Done. Take that as you will.
The percussive introduction to When They Come For Me, rife with fuzz-buzz pulsing and Reznor apprenticeship, doesn’t change course until nearly three minutes into the track, at which point Chester Bennington drops a building, layered vocal bridge that shifts into an interesting Middle Eastern chant melody. Mike Shinoda, the track’s vocal frontman, is by all respectable accounts an abysmally terrible rapper – but a decade and a half into the game he’s still yet to realize how cheesy and damaging his “flow” is to the impression of his band. His peacocking and puffed-chest bravado on the track is laughably, pathetically juvenile.
The video for the piano-led call to arms of Robot Boy is likely being conceptualized in a Burbank warehouse right now: slow-motion shots of a young revolutionary fashionista ducking under cover amidst a blizzard of bullets, a wall of fire rising behind her as she looks on the faces of the downtrodden and suffering all around her (cue closeup shot of desperate woman clutching a ruddy-faced but hopeful toddler, who raises a tiny fist in solidarity). She is the only one left to fight, the only one able to stand and face the great danger bearing down. With the winds blowing hard on the black flag flying in the background, she utters a cry of defiance and climbs up to face the uniformed enemy, ready to fight. Cut to a solemn, downcast look of determination from Chester & Mike, fists clenched in the swirling dust as the camera pulls away to blackness.
Bennington’s search for meaning and clarity in Waiting For The End is as bald a display of color-by-numbers radio pandering as any ballad they’ve offered in the past (and that’s a shame, given the man’s highly formidable vocal skills), but the mind recoils in horror when Shinoda shits up the joint with his rasta-jam hook.
The new styling is touched on again with more potency and success on the considerably more promising Wretches And Kings, the group’s scratch-tastic indirect homage to Chuck D.
Meanwhile, Iridescent is inarguably My December 2.0, 80s romance dancepop drums with a blossom of full gang vocals that would make Chris Martin beam with pride. You’re not going to be able to escape it once it goes to radio.
The slow-burn intro to Blackout gives a pleasant impression, with plinking synth keys evoking the feeling that we’re still hanging on to the last tracers of a John Hughes film. Naturally, the moment dissolves into a hell of a lot of Chester half-rapping and screaming over an uplifting electric disco-dance midsection. Let’s hear it for Autotuned anger! Push it back down! Yeah! The track is badly hurting from the absence of a Ke$ha cameo, leaving us instead with yet another strange Coldplay-licking outro.
The production is pristine, and the depth of bells and whistles is to be respected. But strip these songs down to acoustic guitars and vocals, and you’re left with three songs to speak of, at best. The rest is so much tinsel on a fake Christmas tree, full of pretty flashing lights that serve absolutely no purpose but to invoke a gut feeling, to prep you for the payoff. But that payoff never comes, and if we’re being completely honest here, Rick Rubin hasn’t exactly been on his best game in recent years. He helps polish this turd, but his weight isn’t going to make it shapeshift entirely.
Linkin Park strike me far less as musicians than Pro-Tools-savvy art school kids who found a moneymaking formula after being let loose in the studio with a hell of a lot of expensive equipment. 14 years into their career, we’ve shifted from “Shut up when I’m talking to you” to a slick digital wannabe concept album that pounds the faux-revolutionary drum hard and makes us wonder where they’re hiding the silkscreen prints of Che Guevara holding a broken heart that’s bleeding oil.
This much anger so many years into the game immediately gives one the feeling that it’s time to call up the dads and the molesters, to finally break this long-running cycle of displaced rage against the…. the what? The establishment holding us down? To the untrained ear it’s a goddamned Tea Party rally at the Apple store after a night listening to U2 and Nine Inch Nails. Stop at Urban Outfitters on your way down, take a few serious-looking pics in the new duds and you’ve got yourself a surefire superseller.
But I call bullshit. This is anger for fashion’s sake. This is an uprising based on marketability, gluttonously self-indulgent and commercially ambitious.
This one drops a payload, fodder for the animals, living on an animal farm.
Reviews published prior to February 23, 2015 used a 1-5 star rating system.
220 Comments
I wonder if there’s any way I can get them to just play their first two albums when I see them in November?
JAY-SUS Firecloud! Jealous much? Just because you’re stuck behind a desk without an original thought in your head, don’t accuse others of being like you. There’s nothing wrong with being experimental and pushing the boundaries of genre. Why bother to “review” an album you’ve clearly decided you’re going to hate before you’ve even given it a chance? Gime a break ….
On the contrary sweetheart, when I caught wind that Rubin was producing the album my hopes/expectations were firm. After seeing LP live last year and being vastly impressed with their live show, I was ready to give them a new chance – I wouldn’t quite call myself a fan, but I wanted to enjoy this album. Meanwhile, my “desk” consists of a mountaintop, a boat, a pillow, an underground bunker if I damn well please. Being your own boss has its benefits – like not spending your workday in a crammed cubicle under florescent lights or being forced to tow the line on an album that will undoubtedly sell millions, packaging the fashionable revolution in irresistible proverbial cellophane. It’s a heavy-handed gimmick that’s tired, flaccid and unconvincing. Thanks for reading – let me know if you see that “original thought” somewhere. Still hunting.
I’m a huge Linkin Park fan from way back, but even I have to agree with you. This album is just rubbish. It just feels like the same song throughout the album and the ones that to follow their own paths just don’t do it for me. I sensed Linkin Park was dying when they made “Minute to Midnight”, but this album just proves to me they are a dead band just trying to hold on to their former glory.
I knew Linkin Park was dead when they took 4 years to write and record Minutes to Midnight. Does it really take that long to realize you have nothing left to write about? Does it really take that long to figure out a way to rip off every other band that you claim as influence? Does it really take that long for you to figure out a way to recycle all your previous material? I mean Jesus fucking Christ, I know millionaires are all “going green” these days, But theres a far cry between recycling your music and recycling a soda can. Linkin Park are terrible. They arent genre boundary breaking anything. The talent that they do have is squandered on an effort to get as many radio hit as possible. They aren’t delivering a message or breaking new ground musically, they are just beating a dead horse.
Looking at your profile, you look like a retard. No point
Very Funny!!..Gimme a break!!..
Totally agree FireCoud. I heard it before I read your review and the first though I had was that maybe they had found Jesus and this was a christian rock album. Like Amy Grant shit. What happened to the self loathing anger ? I guess now that the struggle to the top and millions in royalties, The LP fellows aren’t hating themselves and screaming about much. Since they landed the Optimus Prime theme song shit everything they have done sounds like the soundtrack to a maxipad commercial.
I deleted it from my ipod.
thank you for saying this cause i agree with you one hundred percent and thats why they made the track when they come for me…how do you review an album when you are obviously bias
Bias or not, he is right. This ablum has made me lose complete faith in the band I once loved. The album is “Shit”.
so as u are “shit”
The new album has taken a turn for the worse, it goes intro upon intro constantly, and then finally gets to a song, that’s extremely different to their old stuff and doesn’t even sound like them, then it goes back to intros, rap, Jamaican, some random political president speeches, rap and other random stuff I won’t go into. They are shit. They old stuff was a lot better.
The funny thing is that if the review agreed with what you thought, you would agree and not see it is stamped out thought just as yours, or worse yet the best, most logical, and smartest of all review. It’s an endless affair, people just have opinions. It’s just a funny thing that people who agree think others are like them and relax. You either like the album or you don’t. Peace.
I agree, this Firecould character obviously has impaired hearing.
Anyone with an open mind and the ability to let a huge rock bank like Linkln Park experiment, will unanimously agree “A Thousand Suns” is a masterpiece.
The experiment was a smashing success.
This album is gold.
This album sucked. Experimental? No terrible. Just trying to cement themselves in pop culture.
I was worried about this album before it came out, but went into it with an open mind. I heard Catalyst on the radio, and thought, well, that’s not a very good song… then I listen to the disc… and it’s the best song?! WTF LP. My favorite band you are no more…
Title of Favorite band will now shift to either Kings Of Leon, Silversun Pickups, or RHCP depending on who’s next album is better.
For all these in-mature idiots who just don’t grow up!
LP have matured like people should have, oops some fuckheads haven’t???
Have you gone through puberty??? Fuck you never were true LP fan’s fuck off useless waste of sperm idiots!!!
In-mature?
Jesus, you’re stupid.
Not to mention the fact that you sound like a fucking twelve year old.
The excessive use of question marks really shows your maturity level..puberty? Really? You sound like you were born yesterday. The album sucks.
@BY JOHNNY FIRECLOUD. Fuck you and your useless review. I’d punch the shit out of you head dumbshit!. Your mother belongs in a zoo of apes and you are a total waste of sperm. Abortion bucket was your mothers preferred option but she couldn’t afford it, so you popped out. you waste of life! fuck you want a fight??? You think your a musician???? lol dumbshit
This is a masterpiece of writing. I’m glad the internet has given Pulitzer-quality writers the ability to comment on some jerkface’s mean review of your favorite band. I hope he takes you up on that fight. I’m sure if you are as good a fighter as a writer, you will just kill Johnny in one punch.
Whoa! How did I miss this comment?! I’m two years late… shit.
this album is great idk how u dont like it. i guess your just a fuckin hater and thats it. i bet after minutes to midnight you just wanted to trash the crap out of they’re next album, because its am ALBUM not a collection of songs, so listen to it as an album. i mean firecloud your whole rant was off topic cause its a political album i dont know how you can be mad at them for giller songs if they still have what like 13 legitimate songs on it? like every other bands album? dumbass hater doesnt know what he is saying. i guess not every one is against nukes and i bet your one of them people who is all for nuking anyone who fucks with america
I couldn’t even finish this album…but I finished the review and pretty much a “nail on the head” scenario. This is so fucking bad it’s unbelievable. I don’t think they actually said anything original in this entire album (of course, I didn’t finish it). Just a lot of “MOTHA FUCKAS” and “WE GOTTA FIGHT!” or something. And WAY too many soundbites. Trying to pass it off like they are even on the same wavelength that those people were at the time of the speeches. This album is just a speckle of shit on satan’s nutsack.
I started to write my comment before even reading this article, because I figured it was that predictable. I thought better of it and read it, just in case I was wrong. I wasn’t.
Off the top of my head, I’m pretty damn sure you guys have never claimed to enjoy anything this band has done (despite the fact that I have seen one of you rock out to LP with my own two eyes). So of all the music out there in the whole wide world, you chose to listen to their new album. Why? You aren’t going to give it a good review. You know it, we know it, so why bother? We all know Linkin Park is the easy target for music snobs. I’m sure if someone coaxed you into a serious conversation about passion for music and this site, you would swear your goals are loftier than that kind of lowest common denominator bashing. Or maybe you wouldn’t, who knows.
Throughout the entire article “radio-friendly” is used as a negative adjective. So, songs that are catchy or appeal to a mass audience are a bad thing? Now who’s raging against the machine here? At a certain age doesn’t it stop being about that kind of shit? Based on comments you guys have made, you both listen to the radio! 100% of music played on the radio is radio-friendly, obviously. So, as you are willingly listening to it, does it hurt you? Or do you just enjoy listening to things you know you don’t like, like Linkin Park?
Trent Reznor is mentioned multiple times in this article for some reason… apply the “strip these songs down to acoustic guitars and vocals” rule to the awesome Broken album and see what’s left.
Meanwhile, I guess it should be said that i am no big fan of Linkin Park. if I had to limit my music listening to 100 albums for the rest of my life, I highly doubt one of theirs would make the list. However, they are without question a talented band. Talented players, talented songwriters. The put on a tight, energetic live show, and beyond everything else, they are original. No one can say Linkin Park is ripping anyone off or sounds like anyone else. A hipster music snob might say “Oh thank god for that!”, but really, originality is what is lacking the most these days. Retro is in, and everyone is eating it up. I hate it.
the one you saw rocking out to linkin park once hasn’t written anything on this site about linkin park. though i’ve always hated mike shinoda’s “rapping” of course.
as for the why… the only answer we care to give anyone is “because we feel like it.” sometimes we review something we have no hopes for just because someone needs to tell the truth. even then, we try our hardest to be fair rather than play the dozens and talk empty shit. now this wasn’t even one of those cases. but if johnny can approach the katy perry album honestly and with an open mind, and do a 1,000 word review when i only suggested we post some pictures of her boobs, i’m going to laugh at the notion that he half assed a linkin park review or was guided by his bias more than his ears.
I can agree that Mike isn’t the best rapper, but apparently I’m out of that loop anyway since people always say Biggy was the best rapper ever and I think he sucked ass.
But as for being the ONE to tell the truth, I mean how many people bash Linkin Park? If it weren’t for the fact that they sell 9,998,799,689 copies of every album you’d think everyone hated them. They’re just that band.
Also, approaching Katy Perry is different because she’s a new artist that you may be giving a chance. LP has been around for a long time and released many albums, all of which would get a negative review here. That will never change no matter how many albums they release. I don’t suggest that the review is half-assed in terms of writing effort, but like I said, a few points seem wildly off base… namely the talking down on “radio-friendly” music, which eliminates all Pop Music, and a pretty large percentage of rock music, including tons of Pearl Jam songs. That and the whole misguided notion that all good music should be reproducible on an acoustic guitar. By that logic 99.9% of Heavy Metal, and Hip Hop must suck.
I think for some reason people want or semi-expect LP to be some “deep” rock band. They’ve never been that, never claimed to be that, and surely will never be. Holding them to that standard is like holding Madonna (or anyone in a wildly different genre) to that standard.
I guess it’s all based off a simple selfish notion that I would like sites like this to turn me on to something. To dig a little deeper, and maybe review some rad album that I’ve never heard of and won’t be reviewed in literally 100% of all corporate rock magazines. Hearing “Linkin Park sucks” from a source that has always hated Linkin Park is just kinda… meh, all around, y’know? And I feel like I can say that here because you guys obvously have some level of passion for music to even have a site like this to begin with.
one of your more level-headed arguments, i suppose. today we also posted a new video by junip, a band no one’s ever heard of.
but it’s not like we’re saying linkin park sucks, as a bunch of other people have already done. we’re saying here’s exactly why linkin park sucks. or at least this album, anyway. had antiquiet been around when collision course came out, we would have given that a great review i think. and meteora wouldn’t have done too bad either.
No one except Jose Gonzalez fans, considering they’ve existed for 5 years.
well yeah, but that’s still like 7 people.
but seriously, i don’t hear anyone talking about ’em, so we’re still doing the important work while taking out the trash.
I’d have to argue that if somebody writes a review of this calibre for a band they hate…it just further emphasizes how much they care about all music.
“This is anger for fashion’s sake”
I love it!
The way I see it, when someone (myself included) complains that an album is too “radio friendly”, it means that there’s really nothing of substance to the album besides a collection of singles they hope to get on the radio. Which, again in my opinion, summarizes this album perfectly.
To me, a good band can strike a balance between tracks on an album that are radio friendly that bring in new listeners while offering solid tracks that make owning the album far more worthwhile than just the radio fodder. Radio, really, is just a marketing tool, so when every track seems destined to just be on the radio with little to no breakout tracks, the album just feels, fake.
Pearl Jam, by the way (since you brought them up), is a great example of a band who understood radio as a marketing tool – at least in their early years. The songs I remember fondest from Ten, Vs. and Vitalogy are the ones that DID NOT get radio play. It was the radio songs that drove me to buy the albums in my teen years, and then I was grateful I bought the albums because there were many other tracks that justified the purchase.
This is a music website. The writers of this website write about music. Linkin Park can still be called “music”, despite all the shortcomings. Do the math.
As for the other arguments: yes they do rip other people (and themselves) off; yes, they try too hard to be radio-friendly, and lose any edge in the process; and I fucking dare you to take a LP song, replace the arrangements for a string-quartet, and make it nearly as exciting as this:
After listening to these tracks, all I can really say is that they still don’t really sound like anyone else…Which doesn’t seem to make it any better. Jose has a point though – not all music can be rendered effectively solely with some acoustic guitars and a vocalist. So what. It doesn’t negate it’s potential validity.
Not that there’s any evidence of valuable song writing here. Which is to say, I won’t be paying for this…
fuck linkin park. they had their spot in the sun and they’ve fucked it up.
review the new tweak bird or quest for fire…deserving (kind of) new bands
good call on tweak bird. couple songs in, this band is pretty legit
Of course, but what’s the point in helping break new awesome bands when you can review and interview bands who had their time in the spotlight 5-10 years ago and are now just hanging on for whatever fans are still left.
Jimmy Eat World coming up next!
That came out wrong…deserving is a yes, new bands is the kind of
Not only is that probably one of the best reviews I’ve ever read, but I can also say I’ve never cared enough about LP to ever read anything about them. Kudos for title that really draws you in. The review reminds me of my freshmen year of college when someone at my school reviewed “Pretty Hate Machine” and ended it with…”It’s pretty obvious Trent Reznor just needs a really nice girlfriend.” Well done!
So which of these ‘tunes’ is gonna be playing at the end of ‘Transformers 3’?
Either “Burning in the Skies” or “When They Come For Me”.
Probably Burning in the Skies since it sounds almost identical to “What I’ve Done”.
LP has gone down hill since Meteora and ever song since then sounds the same to me now.
I think it’s a good change of pace for Linkin Park. I think Chester Bennington has one of the most amazing voices in rock (he doesn’t get to display it often enough with idealistic songs). I think Mike Shinoda will go on to be one of the best producers of the next several decades. I don’t like a few of the songs on the album, but to say they shit the bed seems a little harsh.
I really think that this album will be there best critically acclaimed, as it is already shaping up this way regardless of this lowly review. Linkin Park could produce and put out the best album ever but a lot of people would still consider it shit because it’s Linkin Park. I just have to laugh at this. It rubs people the wrong way that Linkin Park has sold 60 million + albums and is one (if not the) most popular band of the 21st century, as to NIN has sold about 1/3 of that. People just need to let go of this petty bullshit.
I know you enjoyed Waiting For The End and/or Iridescent. And if you didn’t, rest assure you know you are in the minority.
Dead wrong. I can’t speak for other people, but I know that I would never write off anything just because of the bands name. I try to listen to everything I can, and that is how I formulate an opinion.
I think Chester has a great voice…to he chooses to waste his talent with recordings like these. I’ve heard 3 of the 15 songs now, and I think it would be hard to invest my time in the other 12.
It’s boring. It’s been done…countless times. The rapping sucks. Chester’s vocals are definitely autotuned.
In other words, it is likely to top the modern rock charts this month.
And again, in my opinion, it doesn’t rub people the wrong way because they sell shitloads of records. Do you think people hate Nickleback and Coldplay because they sell lots of records?
People hate those bands because they suck. Just like Linkin Park.
I hate nickleback because they suck sure, but they also sell tons of records which also fuels my hatred. I’ll be honest about it – if you don’t want to be, that’s fine.
Also, I didn’t address anything else because I understand this is an opinionated argument, meaning; I’m not going to change your mind and your not going to change my mind. With that said, at the very least, it is FACTUAL that this band worked very hard on this record and want to be different and are trying to be different and some of the songs are like none I’ve ever heard before (blackout, catalyst, ect.). There intentions are good and they should be credited for that. If you don’t like there direction, so be it, but respect that.
I also like how this review sounds extremely negative yet it’s still 2.5 stars out of 5???
I don’t care how many records anybody sells. Records are a dead medium anyways. Sales are irrelevant.
I either like it or I don’t like it. And I don’t like this.
Are downloads irrelevant too? Because it’s the third most downloaded album in the last week. If sales don’t count, surely downloads must, right?
you’re missing the point
Care to elaborate on the point I’m missing then? Your post isn’t very helpful
The point is that it doesn’t matter if is based on record sales or free P2P downloads. Millions of people can pay for it Sept 14th and millions more will download it. But it is still a pile of shit.
If you like this music, then you simply don’t understand or have not been exposed to good music.
@Rory: Unfortunately we have an entire generation growing up not even understanding music. All they’ve been exposed to is verse-hook-verse-hook and think it’s some great musical invention.
Part of the problem is, in my opinion, too many bands are trying to make their music “politically charged”. Linkin Park, Green Day and Megadeth are great examples. LP’s last two albums tried to make all these political statements and they came out strained, at best. Megadeth did the same with their last too, with Mustaine spending time yelling at the United Nations and FEMA.
If I want a politically charged band, I’ll fire up Bad Religion. They were politically charged decades before Chester or Billy Joe got the bright idea of making some fake political statement while raking in millions. Sure, Bad Religion had some of their sellout moments, but, fortunately, their music is still decent and is generally above the average intelligence of the typical Linkin Park fanboy.
Fool. Stopped reading this review after the bullsh!t claim that Autotune was used on Blackout. If you’d done any sort of research prior to dribbling this crap out on your keyboard – you’d have quite easily found an in-studio video of Chester performing the vocal track to Blackout – with no backing audio, etc. Him, there, in front of the mic belting it out without aforementioned Autotune. Douchiest (yes, I assert that that IS a word) review ever.
fanboy alert
I’m confused…I thought the Autotune effect came after the mic feed…not before.
Douchiest response ever.
This album is a travesty.
Let’s get this out of the way: I don’t want Linkin Park to “return” to the Hybrid Theory or Meteora days. I would, however, like them to make music that ISN’T utterly forgettable.
Half of this album is filler tracks. Whose bright idea was that? Are they trying to pull a new age rock operetta? If so, they have a long way to go to touch The Who, Queensryche or even freggin’ Green Day, whose recent commercial operetta albums I cannot stand.
The tracks that aren’t filler, well, most of them sound like the same old M2M formula, and many of them will undoubtedly find their way into the rotation of mainstream alternative stations such as 99X Atlanta where they will fit in perfectly because they sound like just about everything else such stations play.
Hell, some of these tracks could go straight to “adult contemporary” stations that my 70 year old mother listens to and the listeners would never know it was from a rock band called “Linkin Park” (I’m looking at you Rocket Boy, Waiting for the End and Iridescent).
If this is all their “hard work” can produce, even with Rick Rubin behind the producer’s chair, maybe it’s time they hang up their collective hat and split off into solo acts. Chester has a good voice for music and a good ear for trends, but it’s clear he is being held back by the band as a whole.
Wow, how the hell did I misname Robot Boy to “Rocket Boy”? Channeling some inner Elton John, I guess.
Arrogant musical snobs ripping on LP. How original. You guys make me laugh.
test
Ok, looks like I can finally post a comment now.
If I told you guys that Linkin Park was one of the top 3 ACTIVE bands (and by active, I mean releasing albums at least every 5 years) of the last 20 years, what would you say? And if I said that they were arguably one of the top 100 bands of all time, what would you say? I’d just like to hear some reactions to that since I know that 99% of the people who commented on this review have hated this band since day 1 of their existence.
“If I told you guys that Linkin Park was one of the top 3 ACTIVE bands (and by active, I mean releasing albums at least every 5 years) of the last 20 years, what would you say?”
I’d laugh because there’s a lot more than THREE bands that have been releasing new albums each within a 5 year window. If you take into account all genres, there are easily dozens of bands which meet this criteria.
And if I said that they were arguably one of the top 100 bands of all time, what would you say?
I’d say they haven’t been around anywhere near long enough to earn this distinction. “Of all time” is, well, a pretty damn long time. You’re talking the whole of recorded human history. If I had to go through the annuls of history and pick out the top 100 bands “of all time”, Linkin Park probably wouldn’t even make the cut in the top 500, maybe not even the top 1000. They simply have not been around long enough to leave an indelible impression on music as a whole.
“I’d just like to hear some reactions to that since I know that 99% of the people who commented on this review have hated this band since day 1 of their existence.”
I’m squarely in the 1%. I liked Hybrid Theory, Reanimation and Meteora. A lot. They’re still in my physical CD collection to this day. Collision Course, I didn’t really care for, but that was because I didn’t really enjoy the collaboration. M2M and ATS are utterly forgettable albums. When I first heard Catalyst my impression was: “Wow, this song is the epitome of a band that really doesn’t know what direction it’s trying to go.” After hearing the full album, that initial impression was entirely solidified.
LP could be great, I’m not going to dispute that. But they seem to be stuck in a rut trying to figure out how to transition away from their original Nu-Metal roots. And their last two albums really reflect that confusion. I honestly doubt another album after this one is going to move them too much further, either, to be perfectly honest with you.
Again wrong. When I got my hands on Hybrid Theory all those years ago…I thought I was holding on to a little secret wonder. I loved that record at that time. I listened to it everyday.
Then Meteora was OK. Then the last album was shit.
Now this album is shit too.
i just wanna say ..you’re singel is the best..
hahahahah johnny firecloud you’re a fag and a loser
What a great way to vent your insecurity. Good job, Firecloud! Feel better now?
This reveiw is terrible. Its the only negative reveiw I’ve found of A Thousand Suns so far and I’ve already read 6 and all six gave the album a good to excellent rating. Its obivious the reveiwer has a bias to Linkin Park therefore they should have not been allowed to reveiw this album. The reveiwer should be someone with an open mind with no bias towards with what they are reveiwing.
CORRECTION IN BOLD FROM WHAT I SAID ABOVE:
Its the only negative reveiw I’ve found of A Thousand Suns so far that is negative and I’ve already read 6 before this and all six gave the album a good to excellent rating. Its obivious the reveiwer has a bias to Linkin Park therefore they should have not been allowed to reveiw this album.
Maybe all the other five were biased in favor of Linkin Park. I think that’s much more likely, given how terrible this album is.
Extremely unlikely that all five were bias. I just heard the album and its great. Much better than MTM. Most songs are great especially Robot Boy, Waiting for the End and Blackout.. The only song I didnt like was The Messenger and the number of interludes were annoying.
The Music Network review is critical of the album, calling it uneven and confused in their reinvention. The NY Daily Times crushes worse than the review here on Antiquiet. Spin magazine’s tiny review gave it a 6/10 (average).
As far as I’m concerned, the MTV review doesn’t even count because what does MTV know about music anymore? They rarely play it and they always back the mainstream popular horse because it makes them money.
So because it doesn’t share the same opinion of the album as the other ones you’ve read, it’s terrible?
Different opinions exist. This review isn’t “bad” because it disagrees with anyone else’s opinion. It’s perfectly justified in giving a different impression. I wouldn’t read this then go read a positive review and say that the positive one was terrible, because it could have been well written with fair points given even if I didn’t agree with it.
I did like this album nyce work by [LP] .. lot of sounds in here and good with the vocals.. a different concept 8/10
I cant believe there are people here who actually like this piece of shit
LP use to get my blood pumping on the first two albums but come on people do you seriously think any of this is good? It’s not about being musical snobs cause I was really hoping for at least a good album from them so it’s just being honest that their glory days are officially over. However, with people’s poor taste in music these days I’m sure it’ll be on heavy rotation and sell loads.
I cant believe there are people here who actually have no lives.
Yeah.. I don’t know what’s their fucking problem?!
Everyone I see now a days just LOVES to get their tongues goin about linkin park.
But you forget. YOU are the only reason Linkin park exist in the first place…
And the more you’ll bark, the more they’ll retort…
And I can put my soul on the line to say that EACH and EVERY ONE of their songs of a thousand suns are a Thousand times better than any of those crappy “public and masses friendly” posers who shove their so-called music through everybody’s throats by whichever means possible.
I don’t say Linkin Park is THE best or THE band..
All I’m saying is if you’re doubting their talent or the emotions or the turmoil that went in to put this album, I’ve a thing to say to you…
YA”LL OUGHT TO STOP TALKING, START TRYIN’ TO CATCH UP
MOTHERFUCKA’ !!!!!!!!!!!! >:@
‘opinions are like assholes, everybody has one’….waaaay too many ‘opinions’ in here. I truly respect your elaborate review, kudos to you, Señor Juanito Nube de Fuego…
aweful album….. ive been fans from the start, and even loved M2M
what a terrible album. its not linkin park, it feels like BSB or NSYNC with some mutha fuckas, and screams
Wow…. Thats all I can say
Linkin park had this ability to create albums that had every single song single worthy/video worthy.
I cant even finish the songs, except for Blackout and The catalyst, this album is a flop. Please go back to what made you huge in the first place, and what youre good at.
Terrible album, super disappointed and wont be buying
I was listening to this album and had to skip thru almost every track. “The Catalyst” is the only song I cared to hear. I wanted to check a review to make sure it wasn’t just me – and this review articulates my thoughts perfectly. In fact, I enjoyed reading the review (I found myself lmao at the potential music video description) far more than listening to this abysmal attempt at an album.
2,5 stars, seriously? Am I correct to assume that you consider UNKLE’s Where Did The Night Fall to be as bad as Mike Shinoda’s rasta vomit?
i reviewed unkle, and our star ratings aren’t exactly equal in value… i see 2.5 as exactly middle of the road, nothing good or bad to say about it. johnny tends to rate things a little higher than i would.
Ratings are overrated, it appears.
Yes, ratings are for people who’d rather gather statistics than watch the game & hear the play-by-play.
A Step Up From M2M!
The Catalyst, Blackout, Wretches & Kings and When They Come For Me are pure GOLD!
The rest of the album blahhhh…
sigh, im so disappointed. Been a fan for years, now this…honestly, please go back to the studio and bring back the noise..im sorry, this album is shit..will go back to listening to my old stuff, sigh…
this album is rubbish. getting “burning in the skies” after this intro just sucks a**
to be honest, im okay with this; it isnt half bad compared to most of the shit we’re fed today despite the incessant melodramatics, and chester puts on a damn good show with the vocals. still, nice review. i would’ve given it 3 stars for its highlights though, of which there are several. anyone who’s listened to them for longer than 10 minutes could tell you that they’re amazing live though, whatever material they’re playing, so I still have hope that they can rock some of this pretty fucking spectacularly on stage
…just heard mike say “muthafuckas” and i’ve changed my mind – 2.5 is adequate. someone really needs to tell that dude how terrible he is at rapping, he legitimately wrecks a couple of these songs when he tries
It is good with bands experimenting these days with various genres , but what the f**k was linkin park thinking ??? …… Metallica had done St.Anger experimenting with Nu-Metal but wasnt dissapointing because it still had the strong heavy metal sound … linkin park in this case went too far …… most of the songs sound like the modern hip-hop , pop culture , the only one thing that comes to my mind are that they are poser !! and freakin losers i hate them now !!
thanks linkin park ..
and for the rating … is there a ” -1 ” ???
Yeah just to say, mikes not a bad rapper.
is that the guy from disturbed in the chorus of “Wretches and kings”? LMAO…chester’s voice is whinier than ever, autotuned or not.
lmao. this is more of a hate rant than an actual review. did this guy even listen to the album? i doubt it. dude is a straight up hater the way he wrote his “review”.
sorry. AIDS rage.
Respectfully, I didn’t like this album.
I listened to the album a few times in the car, and the way it made my subwoofer bounce around made me feel like it was more of a dance album from Ke$ha, rather than a LP album.
This album would be good for a movie soundtrack.
Not very good for general listening though.
Wow, you sure do use a lot of big words in your review. How many college degrees did it take you to write this eloquently, and would you consider writing any songs?
i am a hardcore linkin park fan. i hate to say it. but i find this album so meh. i just don’t get what they are trying to do with this? they are a rock band. but this album is …. i don’t even know what it is.
i LOVED there last album. it was a good balance. but this( a thousand suns) is just trying so hard to be something it’s not. electropop but trying to be electro pop and being electro pop are 2 very different things.
i just hope that linkin park have gotten this ” trying to find a new sound” out of there system. and they go back to what they know. rock.
IMO i rate this album 2 stars.
Good songs on the album.
The Catalyst.
i like this song. it’s very catchy and has a good beat
Wretches and Kings
this is an ok song. and thats really all you can say about it.
Iridescent
this song starts to get good at the 3min mark. but then fades off.
i forgot to say this.
to sum up the album in a sentence. it feels like this.
if you bombed the shit out of someone, threw in some electro. then asked them how they felt about it. this is how the album sounds. anger filed with hate and electro.
Ok, I give up. That’s it. For now on, I’m done with reading comments. In youtube and here, most of people are always criticizing. THEY’RE TRYING ORIGINAL STYLES, THINGS THAT THEY NEVER TRIED BEFORE. That’s THEIR band and THEY have the right to change. If YOU don’t like, just don’t listen to it and DON’T CALL YOURSELF A FAN. Real fans know that they’re humans with the right to change, not machines that make a music according to YOUR preferences. That’s it.
Hell Yeah!!!
HELL YEAH!!!
i agree HELL YES
i just know one thing that if any music sounds good…then it can be listened…i havent heard the whole of rock music and am sure that guys like freddie mercury,neil peart, porttnoy petrucci and many more are exponents of it..
But still if the music can make you jump on ur feet..its gud enuf.
I can guarantee that if this album goes down…u will again see the old Lp…
They are experimenting….and an experiment can well fail.
Also to all the shitholes who think Lp do these kind of songs for publicity; the band may not even be thinking of it……for all the charity work these people do…i have a little doubt on the intentions of these people.
I just came to put in my piece, after reading the review and all of these comments.
For the longest time Linkin Park has been my favorite band, and I valued them high above all of the other bands I listened to.. I can’t say why really, they just had that effect on me.
I loved Hybrid theory, I listened to it countless times, I loved Reanimation, the remixing of all of the Hybrid Theory and Hybrid Theory EP songs worked well in my opinion. Meteora was great too, I liked it alot. I even liked Collision Course, it was different.
When Mike did the Fort Minor album, I loved that album also. Then Minutes to Midnight came out, and I had to listen to it several times, before I could honestly get into it, it just didn’t sound like Linkin Park to me. But I thought for a long time, and agreed, the chance of pace from angry heavy metal, to softer still sounded good to me.. Chester’s voice I still liked. I don’t care if they ripped music from anyone, it sounded good and that was all that mattered to me.
Then this album came along… I am almost completely biased in favor of Linkin Park, because they are one of my favorite bands, but even I cannot make many positive comments on this album..
The opening took forever, I was like what the hell? When do I actually get to hear a song? And then the song came on and I thought, alright, same ol’ M2M style, not bad tho. Then When They Come For Me came on, and I honestly couldn’t stand listening to the whole song. I hated the song, it was kinda like how I hated High Voltage.
The rest of the songs were decent. But in truth, I wouldn’t give the album a good rating. I love LP, but this album is their worst. Most everyone hated Catalyst, but Idk I’m weird, cuz I like techno lol, so I liked the way the song was.
So in conclusion, I would say this album didn’t necessarily suck, because it will be catchy to some people, not by me though. But I dislike the path they are taking, and maybe they will hurry up and find their groove again.
Sure, you can try new things in your band if you want! Does that mean it’s going to sound good or create something concrete or well? Nope! That’s the point of an experiment – to see what works and what does not. LP’s experiments prove that this style isn’t quite for them. While I like ATS much better than M2M, it’s still very poor compared to their old works. And I’m all for moving *away from the rap/rock hybrid. The problem is simple: you can change – either for better or for worse. I think a lot of us can agree they may have changed for the worse. :D
The album is definitely different from what they’re used to doing but it’s not that horrible. LP just always reminded me as a Puddle of Mudd type where you listened to them when you didn’t really know any better. But seriously the guy who reviewed this, if you wanna hear complete and utter horseshit music listen to Limp Bizkit.
hmm. I’ll look into those guys, thanks for the tip. I did it all for the nookie.
Don’t even bother, they have like 2 tolerable songs.
Oh man these guys are amazing! The way the dude screams and throws tantrums hits such a powerful note in my heart. If only he sang a song about breaking stuff…
This album is full of pseudo intellectual bullshit, the speeches, the sanctimonious lyrics, the meaningless ambient tracks, Linkin Park are trying to be profound but failing, and their fanboys are struggling to defend it by proclaiming it “Conceptual”.
I been a park fan for yrs saw them in 2001 at ozzfest they were great live. even eventialy got to like 2m2 m , but this album is complete fuckin horse shit. 7 real songs that and only 4-5 are even listenable , should have been an ep at best. Chester sounds like an emo fag now fuckin garbage, i will not buy this and the last song is just horrible my ears were bleeding, alternative check at the new volbeat which does it right or even the new stone sour great albums.
I must admit that my expectations for a similar sound (Meteora & HT) led to my initial semi-disappointment with Minuets to Midnight. Likewise, my hopes for a revitalization of that old sound to be showcased in their newest album also led to similar feelings in Thousand Suns. Yet, I only feel this way when comparing it to their old sound, but by listening to each song without the common relative comparison of previous works, I can say that I definitely like this style of music (but it is not the Linkin Park I had expected).
Altogether, I think this review is fucking hysterical! The way the author attempts to impose his/her presumptions on the veracity of the bands proposed message reminds me of those ’emo’ kids I used to see in high school crying about how no one can truly understand them because they haven’t gone through what they’ve gone through. Most of all, I love the criticisms toward the idea of revolution, as if any mention to this notion automatically renders the person as “unoriginal” and “insincere”. Perhaps the authors perspective of novel themes is limited to the one-dimensional and unexciting rhyme scheme of Brother Ali. Or, perhaps, his devotion to music lies within the boundaries of the band’s members and is absent in the quality of sound—thereby taking a likening to Them Crooked Vultures. Also, it is blatantly apparent that the authors degree of open-mindedness tops off at “acoustic guitars and vocals”. Although the author takes a likening to the old style of Linkin Park he/she fails to realize the fact that most of what this band has done (both present and past) relied very little on the sole use of acoustic instruments. I would say that this author releases most of that similar fashionable anger that he claims is so apparent in the album’s affective expression within the contents of this “hey-look-at-me” review.
The author would like to thank you for being such an avid reader of Antiquiet, and encourage you to continue your entertaining character evaluation of the author. The author enthusiastically applauds your creative deduction tactics and eagerly anticipates, with narcissistic fervor, your next assessment.
hmm, thought i was reading a review and not a diary
not a fan of linkin park, but am diggin’ the new album
i love classical. why do i enjoy this, who knows?
i was soo pysched to workout to the new linkin park cd the old songs never getold but i wanted sum new shhtuff.. but MAN that album was weak. i knew if their singer kept that screaming up he would lose his voice!!! and now theres no1 out there to make songs like “feint” not even fort minor >:o
ITS CALLED ORIGINALITY! I dont want my favorite band to write album after album that sounds the same…this is amazing full of fresh ideas that you dont hear from any other band….amazing…simply amazing work.
i like some songs of ATS, wretches and kings, is the only song that makes me feel im hearing the old linkin park style again, but i have to accept this band is dying, they never get back into their old style again.. I love the 2 first albums, M2M I only like bleed it out, and this only 2 or 3 songs but i hope they get back into their old style again
A Thousand Suns is destined to be the next Pinkerton…..just wait and see.
I lol’d
This reviewer clesrly hates Linkin Park. Just another one of them jealous people that can’t take it when a band they sont like are popular. Get a life dickwad
Damn right.
I love Linkin Park. But I still think this album sucks.
I’ve just got this album and listened right away, with lyrics. I am a Linkin Park fan also. Im gonna try to type my feelings about it while it is a fresh experience.
Clearly, this is not Linkin Park. It is some fuzz-buzz electro thing. Mike’s rapping is just… pointless.
And what is this about the feeling as if im watching some Terminator movie? Why machines? Why now?
Why does the album includes 15 songs, when it is only 3-4 which is listenable more then one time?
I dont get it? Doesn’t the Linkin Park guys feel that this album is waaaaay to weak? I mean come on!
Since im not a musician expert, i cant use professional words, but I can tell you this guys. Im not a hater but a liker of Linkin Park, and im so disappointed right now.
I wont say “garbage” but, eh………………………………………………………………………………..
And I know a few ppl like me, they are all saying the same things as I am. Im gonna be on their gig in november in London, i hope they wont gonna play this album or i demand a cashback right away.
My suggestion for all the Linkin Park fans, who’s hearts are bleedind right now: Run away from this album as far as you can and pretend not to hear it! Dont spend a single coin on it!
But wait. How was the lyrics again?
God bless us everyone
We’re a broken hearted people listening the old songs
And it can’t be outfought
It can’t be outdone
It can’t be outmatched
It can’t be outrun……….
Comment of the day. You had me at Terminator.
i was ok with most of the album. i loved waiting for the end solely because i never though linkin park could make a song that beautiful…. but on the down side the lst track was probably the worst… solely because Chester went out of key a lot
that song it self could have used synth and drum machines… but i digress
Blackout felt like the most experiential song on the album due to the parts where chesters voice is being scratched like crazy it felt like the old them… you know the one everyone wants back.but as i said earier the really expermented with the album & it was a win and a fail… a win because the overall production is amazing but a fail because of the filler songs.. the 1st 2 songs could have been 1 song ant the jornado del mundo (journy of a dead man felt like it could have been louder and accualy part of the song that followed.(wating for the end)
(i may have jumped around alot)
i love The Catalyst~ been playing it over and over again =.= i havent listened to the rest since reading all comments here makes me afraid i’ll lose my fangirlness when i listen to the whole album,,love Chester’s voice though, as always,,and yeah LP please10000x snap back to yourself like HT and Meteora days :( (I HATE M2M)
Next time you write a review remember not to be ******* biased cause you haven’t got any sense of music . You are clearly frustated and ****** up cause you don’t have any original ideas and aren’t making money. You don’t have any ******* talent to show off and all you can do is ******* criticize others
Well, ****** ******* ******* ******** ******** in your mother’s ******** .
Biased or not, the album was still a piece of shit.. A failed experiment.
Regardless of the reviewer’s actual bias towards/against LP, they still made a bad decision with this album. I love LP tho, so it hurts to say that.
I just found it hilarious he thought Mike Shinoda was a quote “white guy”. It’s Shinoda, how much more obviously Asian can you be? Only if his name was Toyota, Nintendo, or Honda would it be more obviously Japanese lol. Talk about being melodramatic, your review is pretty over-the-top and obviously biased with a preconceived notion of what you were expecting to hear and what you think they are (if Eminem puts out a love song ballad and it’s actually good, I won’t grade him down 3 points just because it’s Eminem).
he’s not BLACK…
Mama’s Russian, nitpicker. If the president’s black, Mike Shinoda’s white.
Yeah but Obama eats fried chicken and loves the purple drank. Mike Shinoda has Japanese on his website, he watches anime, and plays pokemon and is presumably a bad driver. Obama is obviously black and Shinoda obviously Asian. And technically RUSSIAN could be considered Asian, as it is in the Asian continent. Whether or not the race is Aryan we’ll leave out for the sake of me being right ;)
not gonna front firecloud, this kid kinda pwned you there.
i still like the white guy comment, but because of its inaccuracy. close your eyes and he’s totally the white guy rapper. oh, and i totally love the cock.
oooh got me on the russian asianness. If only I read Mike Shinoda’s website.
why, does it explain that russia is in asia?
Nah, then maybe I could’ve been more enlightened about Shinoda’s Pokemon/anime love, further confirming his “official Asian” status. I’d never have called him a white rapper. Shitty asian rapper has a better ring to it anyway.
Just one thing to say to you “Firecloud”…
Fuck you. Just… Fuck you.
Listen to actual music and then try making a review…
You’ll never be even in the same range of any single one of the band…
Get a life Poser.. :D
Used to be a big LP fan, even considered myself a fan. Minutes to midnight dissapointed a bit, but this isnt funny anymore.
Why can’t they keep the same sound (or evolve that sound positively) and just change their lyrical subject matter in stead of going a full 360?
Totally agree with you’re review. Thanks.
This is an awful review of this album. This album is the definition of creativity and originality. You all seriously want a band that fucking produces the same sounding music on every album? This album is amazing to me. Grow up and open your minds. You are all stuck in ruts and only listen to things you know and like…break out of the box here…im sick of the music industry being stuck in this rut of making music that sounds the same. This is so pleasent to hear because it is to much different than everything else out there. The lyrics are amazing. I dont care what you “LP FANS” think….true fans wouldnt talk crap about the bands music and stick through the bad and good….btw there has been no bad in my eyes from LP. So…STICK IT!! \m/
-From a true fan of originality in music
Holy fuck, this is too bad for me to just gaze over. I HAVE to reply.
Ok, FIRST, who says we wanted Linkin Park to sound the same as they did before? They sounded fucking terrible on their previous albums, why would e ever want a band to keep sounding shitty? We WISH they would change and finally turn into a good band.
Second, we only listen to things we like? Every album that gets a bad review on this website has been listened through thoroughly, and every reviewed album is given a fair chance.
Third, “This is so pleasent to hear because it is to much different than everything else out there. The lyrics are amazing.” ARE YOU SHITTING ME? DIFFERENT? Have you ever heard of industrial music or rap-metal? Originality? Is this the first record you ever listened to?
Lastly, “true fans wouldnt talk crap about the bands music”??? So, basically, you’re saying that being a fan means enjoying any piece of shit the band puts out, regardless of its quality? “Stick through the bad and good”? It’s pretty clear here that you’re stating “I have no opinion, I just listen to this band that MTV told me to love 10 years ago”.
Timothy, you are exactly the type of person who justifies Linkin Park’s sorry existence. If it weren’t for brainwashed guys like you, the band would’ve either: a)disbanded; b)actually made one good album.
…end rant.
Fuck you lol. You think you have the right to say what a true fan is or not?
Just because we say the album is a piece of fucking shit, doesn’t mean that we don’t still support Linkin Park.
How can you even stand to listen to the fucking lyrics, for example, that annoying fucking sound in When They Come For Me, I couldn’t even stand to listen to the damn lyrics mike is rapping cuz of it. The lyrics might be amazing if I looked them up online, or took out the fucking instruments.
When you have a band that defined themselves in the beginning when people said they wouldn’t make it, for being the style they were, then of course you are going to want to keep hearing that, because it was already different and awesome. When they stop doing what they defined themselves as to be, it’s not always guaranteed that they are gonna be successful on their first or second try. So you can shut the fuck up, no one cares what you think either. :P
I hate the album, I think it’s a piece of shit, and so I won’t buy it. Not that LP will give a shit, 1 person in millions doesn’t mean much. It doesn’t at all mean I don’t support them and look forward to their next album to see if they have learned and grew.
I liked it. I liked Minutes to Midnight a bit. I liked Meteora and i liked Hybrid Theory.
I’m going to guess some (won’t say all) of you people flaming this album didnt like the other ones either, if i’m wrong i apologize, but some folks around here seems to flame just because they want to flame.
Nah, I liked Meteora, Hybrid Theory, Hybrid Theory EP, Reanimation, I even liked Collision Course and Minutes to Midnight a bit, obviously not as much as the previous 4, but this album just didn’t do shit for me :/
agreed
Agreed as well. I was a huge hybrid theory nut and I think if that band really wants to gain back any of its former glory it need to look at all the things it did right with that ablum and freshen it up without trying to fit into the standard of the music most kids listen to these day, because 99.9999999% of that stuff is just rubbish anyway.
@Johnny Firecloud-
I would argue that I have a slight ear for music. I play several instruments (yes, I acutally play, not just say that). I listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix… well. the original pioneers of rock music. I think that your review is based on a music listener’s point-of-view and not something more insightful. I say that because there is such a huge scope of things being done on this album that it is hard to say it sucks, whether you personally like it or not. I think that you need to really look into the music, how it’s crafted, and not just the typical “oh, it sucks. it’s the same corpo bullshit” blah blah blah. Anyone can say that. If you’re going to review music (whether it is good or bad music), give us the facts. Give us solid details, talk music. You filling a review with nothing more than slams and derogatory remarks is just as bad as the fanboys praising it just because it’s Linkin Park. To me, this was nothing more than a profane replication of something allmusic.com would post. I do like, however, that you have some prior knowledge of decent groups that have made an impact on music, and you compare Linkin Park to them (in a negative light). Too bad the groups you chose to pick (Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead) are no longer “original”. They are what everyone points to as a reference. So update your reference points as well.
We’ve seen the first wave of Guevara tees on completely uninformed kids revolting for fashion’s sake. We’re not falling for it the second time, either. And how does one go from original to “no longer original”? Is originality retroactively retractable? Hm.
How did Green Day go from punk to sell-out? How did Muse go from indie gem to mega-success? Yes, originality is “retroactively retractable” in the sense that you use the same “greats” as ever other person that claims to have a say in what is good music. So, you’ve put on your “Guevara” tee and jumped on the bandwagon. You like the fashion of being independent, but I would bet you never heard a thing from Radiohead before Kid A, or cared much after. So stop reading what is great and form your own opinion of music and let people decide for themselves.
Also, if you want to talk music theory (if you know any), I could explain to you why Linkin Park has been and is able to make good music.
I have a question, How can you say an album has too many radio-friendly songs, when it’s damn near impossible to find ANY songs at all on it.
I’ve loved LP since i was a young teen..so angry and such, but this cd…makes me sick.
It is one thing pure and simple… SHIT.
Having loved them since the Hybrid EP…it hurts to say all this, but they’ve turned and may as well go tour with beiber.
I really wish Target gave refunds for opened CD’s…i’d go get my $9.99 back
This is the exact reason i download music, So i don’t waste my money on this kinds of shit.
I’d like to see any of you make an album half this good… It won’t happen. Besides, they are making the music that they want to make Do you all honestly think they give a fuck about what you all are saying? Keep listening to the first to cliche albums if you’re gonna complain….or go listen to some Limp Bizkit.
Big LP fan, but I am really disappointed :( . I thought at least this album would feature heavy stuffs like their earlier album, but a got a big NO as the answer. The song “Wrenches and Kings” is just included to show the Old fans that they still can do heavier stuffs……First LP has to stop using Rick Rubin as he producer. He makes all these rock bands sound like boy bands. And the best example would be the new LP :(
dude… who ever wrote this…you’re such a idiot…. grow up..pull your head out of your ass and just enjoy the music…you sound like a can’t hack it musician who got cut from their band, and the only thing you can think of is to down grade their album. This album is sick, and very enjoyable. I am in shock on how you reviewed this album.
Well, let me just say that I could sit down here and write a response just as lengthy and just as “clever” as this review. After three seconds of deep, soul-searching concentration, I decided that it was not worth the time that it would waste. I will say only this: you have every right to criticize them if you do not like the album, but don’t act like Linkin Park, one of the most famous and commercially successful bands of our time, is just a bunch of stupid kids who have a bunch of time around all this fancy technology and are taking a piss out of it. They are hard-working professionals who are dedicated to their music, and nobody, definitely not some asshole like this reviewer, has the authority to condemn them for being true to themselves. I’d love to see JOHNNY FIRECLOUD go into the same studio for 12 months and emerge with a brilliant work of musicianship that would change the world as we know it. You are not forced to like this album, just as I am not forced to read the end of this retard’s rant, for I stopped halfway in disgust. I only hope that you can accept this album for what it is, instead of raving about it like Linkin Park personally shit in your bed.
I sincerely hope you will someday pull that stick out of your ass-
Yours Truly
But it feels soooo good up there…
“…slick, full-bodied leap in the direction of self-parodying melodrama and fashionable faux-revolution, rather than actual redemption through self-evolution.”
damn! i thought this site was anti-pitchfork. oh well, time to find a new one
A long time fan, but this album is just crap, feels like a cheap electro-india like demo. Not like what we are used to hearing. Who approved this crap? There is no way Chester digs this crap. I personally enjoyed Minutes to Midnight, and back when there were touring they wrote over a hundred new songs, where are those songs now? Surely they had some better ones in the pile then this. This album is a keyboard demo, nothing more, two good songs, some ok bass, and that is it. Time for LP to take back their own rights and stand up for the music that made them, the music they enjoy, not this mickey mouse attempt to make some greens.
I’m not gonna lie, from the previews of the album, I was expecting another Minutes To Midnight with a little more rap. I was disappointed. But, I still rock out to a few songs like “Wretches and Kings” or “When They Come For Me”. I’ve been a LP Street Soldier since 2001 and I supported MTM cause of the rock. But this album.. wasn’t that great. I’m still a fan of LP, not so much of a THousand Suns.
Since when did they turn to soft rock??? So dissappointed…that was like Eminem turning over to R&B
In the end (no pun intended) Linkin Parks new album…though “experimental” its not my cup of tea! This Is my favorite band of all time and they are actualy what got me into the rock scene growing up. So i have to say as much as i dislike this album….They still gave us Faint, Breaking the Habit, One Step Closer…..Shit the entire Hybrid Theory album owns!! Even Minutes To Midnight had some caatchy songs!! Its like when your favorite director makes a crappy movie…your not gunna just stop seeing his movies, just hope the next ones better and try to forget about what you just watched!!! Hopefully ill like A Thousand Suns over time….. Hopefully!
Sorry, but I think your review is a little disappointing. Though I’ve recently got into some of the older Linken Park albums (and personally find this one a little disappointing) I feel that your finding miniscule things to criticize, things your backing up with emotion rather then true fact.
For example when you said “This much anger so many years into the game immediately gives one the feeling that it’s time to call up the dads and the molesters, to finally break this long-running cycle of displaced rage against the…. the what?”
You gave answer that allowed for a listener to make up his own mind about what the band means, which is what they want you to do. The albums are designed to make you think about the probloms of the world rather then shoving them down your throat. a song entitled “goverment fucks up again” is more of an uncensored headline then a song.
While disappointing, The album “A thousand suns” is in reality a musical call to awareness and to look around us a bit, with the added feature of entertainment. I believe your review is focused on being cynical and critical, rather then being helpful and reader friendly in any way.
I wonder how my ears would have processed these tracks had they preceded the negative title of your review. Not that these tracks are any better than the worst of the self imposed retardedness of the worst sloppy stoned down syndrome off beat Cypress Hill tracks… but still. Just curious how your reviews would hold up had your rearranged your style script.
delete
GRINDERMANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
for anyone considering “acquiring” this album. do yourself a favor and acquire this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Leaves
Johnny, I’ve been looking for an articulate, well thought out criticism of this new LP album and your review fits the bill. I’ve been a Linkin Park fan for years. Hybrid Theory and Meteora are powerful albums with amazing lyrics and a unique sound. I understand that bands mature and change and I don’t expect every track from LP to sound like Papercut or Faint. My December and Breaking the Habit were departures from the rock/rap combo and these songs were amazing musically and lyrically. What I do expect is for artists to remain true to themselves and I really believe that these talented artists sold out and forgot themselves. This is a six person band and in this new album it seems like a 2 person band most of the time…with lots of synthesizers. They’ve lost their unique brilliance. Maybe it’s the producer, maybe it’s something happening in the lives of the band, maybe its the label demanding an album and creatively these 6 guys just weren’t ready. Whatever the case….here’s my message to LP> “Do something revolutionary and come clean to the fans about this album. It’s awful guys and you know it! Dump whoever you need to dump (producer, label, other assholes who are just out to make money off of you), take long vacations away from each other, and then come back when you’re ready and only when you’re ready. If it takes 7 years, then it takes 7 years. Return to your roots….or do something different…but listen to yourselves”
this cd is flat out dogshit…i hope LP themselves hear this. its fucking horrible
sigh. you’re right about stripping back the pro-tools and you only have three songs. and that’s being generous. however the guitarist in this ‘rock’ band (who has been banging out three power chords for over ten years) sleeps very well at night on his very expensive king sized bed in his million dollar plus mansion. this is essentially re-hashed shit from a band of rich kids who ran out of ideas after their second album and have been kidding everyone since. if it wasn’t for fan-boy loyalty and pubescent adolescence this band, along with countless others, would have vanished long ago. i’d love to know what the pe man has to say about the cringe-worthy mike shinoda openly name-checking and paying homage to a real rhymer.
I find your review quite narrow minded.
While the album was less satisfying then some others by the band, “Waiting for the end” was actually an awe-inspiring song…the album wasn’t all bad.
You evidently have a lot of time to waste when you expand a 2 minute idea into a long winded essay.
Seriously a simple, “The new album was disappointing in comparison to the previous albums” could have sufficed.
After listening to Minutes to Midnight–although not a bad album by any means–I had lost interest in the band. Heard a free stream of this album with absolutely no expectations and was left…impressed. It’s much more interesting than Minutes to Midnight musically, but I can see how die-hard fans would be disappointed. It still lacks the exciting hard-rocking tracks akin to “Faint” and “Don’t Stay” from Meteora and prior.
One of my gripes with the album would be some of the lyrical choices and delivery of them–such as Mike’s “catch up mutha-*****” on track “When They Come For Me”, and the idea of writing a pre-to-post apocalyptic album; an idea–according to wikipedia–that was not their own. You can definitely tell they were stressed while writing (atleast that’s was the impression I was given after watching “Meeting of a Thousand Suns”; the making of the album documentary). They received a lot of pressure from the label higher-ups to deliver a certain sound with certain content, and it drove them up-the-wall. But in the end, it’s an interesting and respectable effort (on certain things) that’s sure to receive a lot of attention.
They’ve definitely freed themselves of their nu-metal sound; a sound that will only re-enter themselves after playing old songs live. I just hope there’s no post-apocalyptic world so we may have the opportunity to listen to more of their stuff.
They will never out do the Hybrid theory, Meteora was ok, everything else is hot radio garbage, stop trying too hard and face the reality
best group ever!!!
Lyrics from Linkin Park’s (Hybrid Theory) song “Step Up” off the Hybrid Theory EP before they were even major…
“You can’t tempt me with rhymes that are empty
Rapping to a beat doesn’t make you an MC
With your lack of skill and facility
You’re killing me
And a DJ in the group just for credibility”
and again
“… But mentally you don’t have the hip hop energy
With a tendency to make up stories
Sounding like the only hip hop you’ve heard is top 40”
I’m sorry but these words remind me too much of their new album. If you haven’t heard “Step Up” maybe check it out. It’s pretty experimental and innovative… unlike this…
Sad that they have become just like the sell outs Mike was dissing. RIP Linkin Park nuff said.
To be honest, even as a long time LP fan, I have to agree with this guy. They take themselves way to seriously with this album and at the same time have become cheap deployed like Lady Gaga or Ke$ha. Anyone with something between their ears will realize that the whole album is void of any talent. How can you call it an album when half the songs aren’t even full songs?
When AC/DC’s latest album came out, respected reviewers panned the shit out of it, citing the similarity to their old albums and musical style.
That’s when i knew it would be awesome. Fucking awesome.
Linkin Park have been quite experimental, but have strayed so far of the path its not funny. Changes to their tried-and-tested formula needed to occur gradually, in order to not alienate their fanbase.
This album however, is a pile of shit. The only opposition is coming from the fans, who deep down, realize that yes, it is a piece of shit, but need to justify and validate and Linkin Park’s “vision”.
i totaly agree with the review..
i’m looking forward to a decent Growl,screamin & rapping old fashied LP album..
I’m a pretty big music snob who spends a lot of time actively seeking out new music. I generally dislike the majority of what’s on the radio, and I love making fun of Linkin Park. I’m actually a bit embarrassed by the fact that I enjoy this new album. It’s a lyrical travesty, but musically I really enjoy it. They’ve not invented anything new (not that anyone should ever expect LP to do so), but this album has a distinct feel to it and it’s quite diverse in itself. I think Chester is the only member of this band with true musical talent, and I honestly hate when other music snobs instantly discredit famous singers for using autotune without having any proof of it. It’s like, “ohh that’s popular! they MUST use autotune!” I have a pretty good ear for autotune and I could see it maybe being used here and there on this album, but Chester has a very, very good voice and I can’t see him needing it. I do think the album is well-written, though. It has a great flow, and I always appreciate it when it feels like I’m breaking some sort of law if I stop an album during its play, or just listen to select songs. I may be an elitist who loves to hate on Nickelback, Coldplay, and yes Linkin Park, but I’m not too proud to admit that this album is actually pretty good.
I honestly cannot imagine how you have a job and what imbecile pays you for this. I think in your haste to impose your opinion onto others, you forgot what the word Review, Intellect, Analyze, Art, and Subjective means and the result is this useless waste of space rant posing as a “Review.”
Not even a single word you have written on here deserves any sort of re-bottle. I have to actually feel passionate about something either it be love or hate to actually go on the defensive or offensive. And your rant inspires neither. I just feel pity for you.
we are well acquainted with RIAA.
I don’t deserve a re-bottle?! Aw maaaan. I could use a good bottling.
Johnny, I’m disappointed to find out that, while intelligent, you’re one of those people who decide that living a life full of witting bullshit is more important than happiness. Bad choice, Mr. Firecloud.
And cute name.
I definitely AGREE with Mr. Firecloud and pretty much everyone who listens and loved LP years back and says, duuuuuude… whattafuck ?? i thought i bought an album that’ll fill my room with self-loathing screaming insecure music and all but whattafuck ??
haha. well, i’m a FAN of LP back then and i’m still much of a fan NOW. i see NO HARM in them going into different directions as long as they are LP. their songs are LP’s and they still SOUND LP. when they came out, they were known as the group who experiments on music that others don’t/never touches because it’s a risk of acceptance and selling.
people of many kinds including such as yourself Mr. Firecloud (oh btw, awesome name), reject the change and pretty much natures of music that is beyond your own. and it’s fine because perhaps they are not ready. LP has changed and no matter how you DENY, grown up to be something else.
i mean come on, those bastards can’t stay all insecure and suicidal after all this years *regarding their music style & lyrics*. and about the thing you said about their songs sounding practically the same next to each other, fyi, this album was made based on ideas/storyline (about the war and stuff). and like any story, they need to build a momentum.
i suggest you listen to the album back, from track one till the end and UNDERSTAND the music, even if it’s NOT YOUR TYPE OF MUSIC. I honestly loved it and though it sounds paradoxical even (kinda) for you to feel the same, maybe you’d come to a better conclusion or review about their album, one that is made with an vast open mind and a wider perspective. TQ
All these people talking about how bad this album is need to grow up, like LP did. After Meteora (which is a great album btw), they realized their sound was getting old. Everyone had copied it. Did you guys not hear the lines “‘Cause even a blueprint is a gift and a curse; ‘Cause once you got a theory of how the thing works; Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first,” off When They Come For Me? They grew up, and came out with a great album, Minutes to Midnight (btw Shinoda is a great rapper). They have continued the maturity, coming up with ATS, a masterpiece. Look at the art in the album and how they have grown up, something the haters have failed to do. Grow up and listen to this album again. It isn’t cool when someone does the same thing for every album. Radiohead matured. They are known as great. Weezer has changed the style of their music. They’re awesome. Same with LP. Grow up and hear ATS. Best album of the year (Hurley at #2, B.o.B. album at #3).
oh and listen to some LP demos if you don’t like this album, like “step up,” and listen to some LPU, like “standing in the middle.”
I loved LP during Hybrid Theory and Meteora. At first I didn’t like Minutes to Midnight, but I eventually came to partially enjoy it – even like some of the songs. So when I say this do not take me for another LP-hater, for I loved them and still love their older songs, but the album that they have now released is a disgrace – and here’s why!
The original idea of LP was to find the balance between Metal and rap, which they did great on Hybrid Theory (the album is even named after just that mix of the two most agressive music genres known to man). Songs like “Papercut”, “One Step Closer” and “Crawling” is proof of this. And even on this first album there were signs of outside influences from other less agressive and more atmospheric genres, shown on their band-classic “In The End” or the weaker songs of the album “Runaway” or “By Myself”, but they were never allowed to manifest and push out the core concept – which is why Hybrid Theory remains their overall best album.
On Meteora they pursued the same concept and came out victorious. Just as on HT, the mix was very balanced, seen on “Breaking the Habit”, “Faint” and their arguably most successful song, “Numb”, and here you can also hear the outside influences on tracks like “Easier to Run” or “From the Inside”. The differences between the albums are so slight, that one could possibly claim that the band did indeed no evolvement between them – which would not be such an unbiased claim.
And then came Minutes to Midnight. What happened? Let’s try to get it straight, for this is essential to understand why A Thousand Suns is their failure, and not Minutes to Midnight.
For in Minutes of Midnight LP made a turn in their musical direction. This of course made some call “evolution” and some “de-evolution” of the band, but this is not that important. What is important that in Minutes to Midnight they close-to erased the formula they had used in HT and Meteora – because they had to. Their sound was great, but needed to evolve to remain. And I will not claim to know why they chose to take the path they took, but for whatever reason they may have had they began to forsake their metallic roots for more rock-orientated music. But more so they almost flayed the rap off the album, with only allowing Shinoda to shine in the fast-paced (and best track of the album) “Bleed It Out”, and the slow and actually pretty good (despite being quite, cheesy) “Hands Held High”. In truth the entire album had seemed to be slowed down overall, for there are only 4 faster-paced songs on the entire album, (Bleed It Out, Given Up, No More Sorrow & What I’ve Done) with the rest being heavily atmospheric poprock songs that indeed seemed made for a wider audience (which could explain why they cut down on the metal, since the great majority of people doesn’t seem to comprehend the genre). Upon reflection, the only song that would scarcely fall in line with their previous works would be “What I’ve Done”, being somewhat “Numb”-ish.
But setting the differences apart – how good was the album? Well, “Given Up” was raw and filled with punches which in my books is a +, “Bleed It Out” was a great song that almost reinvented LP because of the excellent mix of rap and rock, “No More Sorrow” was emotional and played to an excellent sound, “What I’ve Done” is indeed the only song that would fit the older LP, and amongst their remaining slow-paced songs both “Leave Out All The Rest” and “Shadow of the Day” were honestly good songs. So on the overall this was a good album, but it just wasn’t Meteora and especially not HT. The change in direction may have given them some new fans, but it also made them lose their older fans. And it was also becoming apparent that LP wanted to be taken seriously, which made them go for the rebellious path. This worked in the entirely other direction, for they come off as a self-parody rather than a true revolutionaires because of their lack of originality in lyrics. But it’s not so bad that it damages the album unless you’re the kind of person who really can’t take that.
Where is this going? Minutes to Midnight was a pretty strong change in direction for LP on more than one part. They changed sound, they changed lyrics and they changed their appearance. While they still remained a good band, they sort of shook themselves in their own foundation by breaking with their past for a future that too many metal fans have seen their bands walk into. But when I heard the soundtrack they made for Transformers 2, I was hoping for some restoration of their own side – oh how wrong I was.
Now, while it may be clear about now upon which side I stand in the “radio-friendliness” scale I’m not so ignorant that I cannot accept that others do not like my music. And I’m fine with that. I have no true issue with pop musicians (other than I don’t think they have the right to call themselves musicians since they obviously twist the music they make to work accoordingly to the latest trend and not to what would actually evolve the sound and in truth the music itself – wait, now I’m going off track) nor people who listen to pop music. But I become greatly disturbed when a band who I once admired decide to completely abandon their sound.
Because that’s what happened on A Thousand Suns.
Where are the guitars from “Papercut”, “Faint” or “Bleed It Out”? Where are the drums from “Points of Authority”, “Figure.09” or “No More Sorrow?” Where is that mixture of music that made metalheads and popheads alike listen to songs like “In The End”, “Numb” or “What I’ve Done”? Gone. Vanished. Replaced.
Now I can barely recognize any trace of rock or metal. There’s no agression, no rage and no passion in their songs. There’s not much instrumental prowress, everything is hidden under layer upon layer of the same reused sound that you hear on a daily basis from pop and dance music. They have entirely thrown away any connection to what they made before – and for what? Do they truly believe that this is an improvement? Of course, now all the fans of the new album will rise up against me and call me a hater but I will only say this: Will they be proud of this album when the music that now is pop is passé? Will they look back and think, “Yeah, that’s the kind of music we wanted to make and I stand by that to this day” or will they realize the sad truth that this album is an expensive sellout to fit into the pop music of the era.
I have said mine. I loved LP because they were different, and now they’re just… common. There was a time when I would have gone to their concerts, defended them against the metalheads who said they weren’t metal or played their music on max volume with pride. That time is gone. If they play a concert near me, I’ll make certain to miss it. If a metalhead come and say “LP sucks”, I’ll nod in sad agreement.
But I will still play their music on max volume with pride, as a reminder of what they once were. – And who knows, maybe they’ll wake up and realize that they still have a strong fanbase who long to see those days of greatness again?
Nothing new, where’s the news :o
Ok here’s my take on this.
Linkin Park started off great with Hybrid Theory, got even better with Meteora, got a more mature sound with Minute to Midnight (which was different, yes… but it was still good music, and still had a few songs like What I’ve Done and Given Up that had shades of the old LP), but this new album is just… I’m sorry it’s horrendous.
Listen, I’m a HUGE LP fan, always have been, always will. My wallet is LP, my satchel is LP, and I’ve got at least 4-5 LP shirts that I wear regularly… BUT, just because I love a band, doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly be their drone fanboy and be like “Anything they make I’ll buy, they’re LP, they CAN’T make bad music, doesn’t matter WHAT they decide to do.”
I don’t care how much I respect LP, if I don’t like an album they release, I’m NOT going to get it or listen to it. I really hope LP wakes up and cleans up their act. I’ve seen other bands do it before. When Breaking Benjamin’s “Phobia” album came out, I bought it cuz I loved their music, and was thoroughly disappointed in that particular album. Then recently they came and released “Dear Agony”, which was a MASSIVE step forward from the failing of Phobia. So I went out, bought it, and loved it, still do.
Just a note to all of the snarky people who think those who don’t like the album are the “Minority”… consider this: Minutes to Midnight sold a whopping 625,000 + records in the first week, while A Thousand Suns only sold 250,000 or so the first week.
And don’t waste your breath cussing me and throwing mindless insults my way. The only thing that’s going to do is make me laugh at you and discredit you as having any logical point in this argument. Grow up, children.
This is to do penance. At first I jumped on the WTF bandwagon regarding this album. Now that I have listened to the whole thing through, I think it is a powerful piece of music. I love their first two records too by the way. MTM is uneven so I am not a blind fan – I only really started listening to them this year as a matter of fact.
sounded useless after the first time, but grew on me after 3 or 4 listens. Better than minutes, but meteora still the best one
This review is a mess. They aren’t trying to do what you claim they are. They’ve grown as a band, and this album shows.
Mr. JOHNNY FIRECLOUD, you don’t necessarily be a D.I.C.K… Linkin Park is a band only for mature listeners, people who have heard all types of music can move to a new genre named Linkin Park. They are very firm and fine, i could not read your sick review. When you hate a band and you have to review them, how can you write good things? Your review clears the fact that you are 11 years old and your parents blocked your access to the porn sites, so all you could do was write about the band you hate.
An artist makes songs for the rest of his life in a genre, Linkin Park makes a song in multi genres in a single album. The album is diverse, true, aggressive, very definite and kicks the asses of people like you who are stuck at listening to “baby i love you, baby i wanna take you to the club, baby i wanna hold you ” and bla bla bla.
No hard feelings, i just wanna kick you hard! and break your machine that lets you type such sick words. Tell me, are you being paid or was it an employer frustration that came out on Linkin Park ?
Sick Review Johhny A.S.S.B.J.D.I.C.K! You should quit your job and work for Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift! Linkin Park won’t keep you!
“No hard feelings, i just wanna kick you hard!” That’s in the running for my favorite quote of the year. Even better than “Chock on Dick” and “She’s got an infection in her Kashyap”.
You are absolutely right karan
Hey johny if dont like LP’s music dont hear them giving some lousy and badass critical comments on someone’s effort is far easy rather to make an admiring piece of art fans know that ATS goes down commercially than their previous albums but it not as bad as you criticised it.
You shouldn’t get all worked up, some people have different tastes in the music they like, such you may not like pop, or country (Just examples).
this album sucks
I’ve loved them ever since Hybrid Theory, loved everything they’ve done, always. When Minutes To Midnight came out, I didn’t make note of their change, but I loved the album, it was my favourite at the time. I stopped listening to them completely after a year since Minutes To Midnight, I thought of it as…growing up from “that kind of music”. After a few years, I turn on Much Music, and Linkin Park was playing. I went. “wow, they changed a lot”. I was attentively listening through the whole song, waiting for the, “OOoooh!”, part to come on, it was my favourite part. Then the piano kicked in, with that Synth loop, man I was loving it. The song was over ad it said:
The Catalyst
LINKIN PARK
I loved this song so much, I wanted the album. I went off like a little fangirl waiting for the album to come out, and I bought the album “A Thousand Suns” the day it came out. Listened to it from beginning to end, loving every single song, some more than others. And now today, I’m here, STILL listening to this album, it stuck with me for that long, my favourite song on the album STILL is Wretches And Kings, and I listen to all the songs everyday. This album got me listening to all of their albums again, Hybrid Theory, Reanimation, Meteora, Minutes To Midnight, and A Thousand Suns. Currently, Minutes To Midnight is my least favourite. This album has proven to me that they have grown up, they have squeezed every bit of talent they’ve got, and wow, I cannot wait for their next one.
LOVE this review. Waiting for the end is mary had a little lamb. Every line is the most obvious rhyme imaginable. Yawn.
Dj
I can see why this reviewer didn’t like the album, despite the fact that I do enjoy it as a whole. Are there a couple of tracks on it that I don’t care for? Sure. Do I miss the sound of their old stuff? No. I have iTunes if I want to hear their old stuff, and I frequently do. Their old stuff still exists, so I can go back to it whenever I want. I don’t blame Linkin Park for wanting to expand their horizons.
Linkin Park is very much like your average human being. Their early stuff is like a kid who is still in the angsty teenager stage. It’s undeniably good, but rather juvenile. Then that teenager goes to college, and like many of us do when we reach that stage in our life, we become “faux-intellectuals”. We talk about news, politics, religion, anything to make us sound smarter. We’re searching for a new identity to call our own, and desperately trying to convince the world that there’s something more to ourselves than just the angst we’ve been known for for years. The result, in Linkin Park’s case, is Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns. It’s good, but not entirely theirs. Yet. I still have faith that Linkin Park can find who they are, because the potential is there. Until then, I will continue to buy their albums so I can be there when they do finally create that magnum opus I am sure is coming.
The Beatles went through a similar change. Granted, the Beatles are infinitely better than Linkin Park, but to be fair, they are infinitely better than just about anything else that has ever been produced. The point remains that if you were to listen to “I want to hold your hand” and then “A Day in the Life”, you’d hardly believe they were made by the same band. They evolved into the band they wanted to be. Linkin Park is trying to do the same thing, but they are in the awkward phase where they know they want to evolve, just not what they want to become once they do.
Keep it up, LP. You’ll get there one day.
There is something wrong with you ppl. I mean it.
A Thousand Suns dont deserve this shit comments. Many things left unsaid but not here, this is a hatred place.
why does everybody hate this album so much. if you would all just sit back and just forget about the music that they used to make and just listen to them as if they were a new band, you would love this album. the only reason a lot of people dont like it, is because you all just sit there and compare it to there old music. well guess what, every person in that band is just another human being, they live their life and have their own views on life just as you do. and guess what. they have changed, just like every other human on the face of this earth, they have changed. maybe back when made hybrid theory, thats what they liked at they liked at the time and thats what a lot of other people likes as well, because theres a lot of angry people out there. but as time has gone by these people have changed and they dont like making that kind of music anymore. they like what they make now. and to sit there and just cut down other people for changing and telling them to be the way they used to be is just wrong and ignorant. i know that for some of you this your job, but music is much more than just a job. its poetry. and the fact that they are not listening to you and they continue to make music the way they want and the way they feel shows that they arent week people who will change because someone else wants them to. this music that they are making now is so much more powerful and meaningful than what they made years ago with hybrid theory and meteora. and if you cant appreciate their new music then you are just ignorant, to sit there and say that there old angry and emo music was far better than what there music is about now. i liked their old music too, i was a really big fan of their old music, and i know that there was no real meaning behind it, it was all about being angry and emo about some woman. who cares, i mean ya a lot of people can relate to that and it made a lot of money, but there was no meaning behind the music, so really who cares. music is poetry, and since when has good poetry had no meaning behind it. good poetry has always had great and powerful meanings behind it. so really think about it, why do you hate this music so much? if its because its not angry and emo then you might want to rethink your reasons, and maybe grow up a little bit as well, and stop being so angry and negative, because its really ignorant. listen to their album a few times over and dont compare it their old stuff, and i mean actually listen, dont just try to rock out and mosh, and get hammered when your listening to it. thats not what its about. sit down and really listen to it. be a little bit more open minded. its poetry. you might find that you like it. and if not, you can at least appreciate it. but dont say that their music sucks just because its not the same. are you the same person you were 10 years ago? no. so why should they be?
also, linkin park has new fans. more mature fans. not a bunch of kids who dont know anything about music who just wanna hear some screaming and start a mosh pit. just because linkin park is loosing those fans doesnt mean that they dont have fans. they have gained more fans, fans who actually appreciate music for what it is and not some ignorant teenagers looking to party. so dont waste your time dissing their new album. just get over it and walk away. they dont need you, and their not going to listen to you, because unlike most of you on this “review”, they are mature. so go waste your time making fun of some band you dont like who actually gives a fuck. excuse my language. linkin park doesnt care about you, and neither does anyone else. you are arguing like a bunch of little kids with gown, mature, adults. has that ever worked in your favor? grow up.
Linkin Park’s 2010 CD “A Thousand Suns” is a 4.75″ polycarbonate piece of dog crap, and the most repulsive product ever produced by modern man. Each of its fifteen tracks is an amalgam of incessant whining, superficial liberalism, non-melodic political banter, and completely uninspired electronic gibberish that defies the term ‘music’. If by 2012 the band’s six members are not tried in The Hague for crimes against humanity, vigilantes must take action before Linkin Park can be allowed to release yet another travesty of incomprehensible proportions upon the masses of unsuspecting humanity.
what the fuck is this guy taliking about? the verry idea that someone couldnt apreciate somthing so amazing and so buitifull sumpily pisses me right the fuck off. i love linkin park and i absoulutly loved this album.
so, you know what jonny?
FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, this is kind of late, probably nobody is going to read this, but I recently discovered this album and felt like giving my opinion in this matter as well.
I was a big fan of LP years ago, loved HT and Meteora, listened to both cds a thousand times, never getting tired of them, but eventually, I kind of abandoned them, my taste in music took me to other “places”, and I left those albumes in my memory, just listening to them occasionally in a nostalgic way.
When MTM came, I didn´t pay to much attention to it, I listened just a few tracks to see what my “old friends” were doing, I didn´t find them bad, but neither really interesting.
Some days ago, a friend of mine showed me that he had the last linkin park cd, I didn´t have expectations of any kind, I was just curious, and my surprise was really big when I heard it, I ended up listening the hole album over and over, and I couldn´t believe I was listening to linkin park again, a band that was just part of the past for me, it´s like they knew it was time for a change, like creating a new band, still same soul. In my view, it is a great album, not for everybody and certainly not for people obsessed with “numetal” style or whatever, it may have it´s problems, but it seems to me like a real album, a great story, with a lot of energy despite lacking the guitar power of the previous albums. I understand a lot of negative reviews, but I think this one has gone too far, I mean, have you actually listened to it? At least without expecting another Hybrid Theory? Maybe MTM sucked, but clearly A Thousand Suns doesn´t, it may be avarage for some people, but this review is exaggerated, makes me think that people are right and here are just haters speaking, hope I´m wrong…
And finally, “commercially ambitious”… come on, isn´t it easier for a band like LP to just copy themselves again and again in order not to loose fans and don´t risk to have extremly bad reviews? They took a big risk right here, it may seem like a bad path for some, but I think there´s not doubt that comerciality wasn´t their first ambition in making A Thousand Suns…
Too long, but whatever, great album in my opinion :)
This discussion is the perfect accent piece for the Linkin Park 1000 suns album. LP does something labeled by some as breakaway, on par w/ a Pink Floyd album, and suddenly they are making “mature” music in the eyes of millions of dilettantes. I’m no musical expert myself, but I know phoney when I see or hear it. Check out the Wayseer Manifesto on youtube for another canned revolution. Any professional band (or group of artists for that matter) that laments the horrors of the nuclear world and then teams up with Michael Bay to create a music video for Transformers, then,without blinking, scores a trailer for the war celebration video game Medal of Honor, hasn’t done the type of introspection necessary to bring any authenticity to their craft. Anyone who believes this kind of garbage to be “mature” probably should spend a few minutes with a dictionary and a few years actually trying to understand the world’s problems (with a mind for solutions, artistic and otherwise.) Until then, we will continue to see massive sales of LP “concept” albums right alongside near stampede level attendance at Transformers films and hundreds of thousands of hours spent at a screen shooting phantom enemies in a programmed reality, even as the world outside burns.
Oh man you need to learn how to write a review. You make this sound like your own personal diary. The album doesn’t sound like the others…wow big surprise…if it sounded like the others you’d be ranting about lack of originality. It’s a solid album but it lacked a couple of booster songs, but still solid nonetheless. You sound like you’ve hated Linkin Park from day 1. Calm down kiddo.
All through this monumental piece of shit you’ve typed, I was looking for one sensible phase that really made this an ‘unbiased’ review. Well, there is one, the ‘Radiohead’s Kid A’ bit, but, that won’t suffice. Asshole.
How the hell, are you here on a site of such international reach, writing completely personal interpretation of a so intense and multi-layered record.
I’m not a fan really, but this album, blew off my mind dude. You seriously need to get the dust on that tiny brain of yours wiped off and look at things ‘clearly’.
No.
[…] Linkin Park Shits The Bed With 'A Thousand Suns' @ Antiquiet ads […]
big whoop….dont get wht d fuss is abt….the only purpose a song has is to sound good…and it does serve the purpose….it’s not as good as thr earlier albums but not that far behind cos it actually sounds mch the same.. the thing is the video seems over the top and this is no break through for LP…its thr same music packaged maybe differently…..
[…] fifth studio album and a followup to 2010′s A Thousand Suns – which we had quite a few pointed thoughts about. Check out the video for the album’s first single Burn It Down below. […]
[…] my review of Linkin Park’s last album A Thousand Suns, I called the music “anger for fashion’s […]
i was hoping when this album came out that i would at least like one song on it.i heard the first single off of it and thought, about time linkin park stop jerking around and go make the angry music that put them there in the first place, but alas its just more synthpop the more i heard of the album. so this goes right into the garbage next to minutes to midnight. sorry to say but they have lost touch with their sound.
haters are gunna hate. I’d like to know what you enjoy listinaning to Johnny Firecloud
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Waiting for the End is one of the better songs they’ve written. Although, you’re partially right about some of their music generally sounding too disingenuous; Waiting For The End was a very catchy song with great vocal reach by Chester. I loved it.
This is literally the only good Linkin Park album.
Minutes to midnigt had maybe 1…at best 2 good songs…the rest sucked and the key jingling was the worst! Not looking better for this album. Their sound before mtm was unique and refreshing AND evolving but consistantly LP; each album sounded like them but better and advanced…last two sound nothing like them and are just horrible sounding to folks that liked their original sound. I don’t deny some folks, all beit new fans, like the new sound…but it isn’t linkin park anymore…new stuff won’t play on the same radio stations…different genre kind of changes and its not a genre I like. Boocoos to you if you do but fans of their original sound dont…you can’t hate on them for that, the band changed their sound and its not the same style, i dont hate on folks for liking the new stuff but don’t tell me its the same style, its not and its a style I dont like in general. like if metallica started playing boy band style…not cool