New Track by Track Reviews (With Ratings)

1. Wake

To begin their long awaited album, Linkin Park choose to gently set the wheels in motion rather than forcefully kick-starting lively music which fans have come to expect. Instead, they present a slow, short intro track with a synth-heavy melody and a nice building ambiance, which gradually increases in volume. 4/5

 

2. Given Up

The smoothness is soon thrown out the window however when the scratchy turntable sound of this second track transforms into a gargantuan heavy rock riff. This is possibly the most in-your-face song on the entire record – the punk rock style drumbeats are brash, the guitars thrash and Chester Bennington sings his lungs out. When it reaches the bridge, he goes from singing to screaming the line, “You put me out of my misery” over and over again. It’s heated, emotional and enjoyable, but the track definitely feels like it’s missing a certain something. 3/5

 

3. Leave Out All The Rest

From one extreme to another, three tracks in and we’re presented with a ballad. It’s very listenable pop rock with tranquil vocals and dominant bass guitar. It seems odd to position such a slow-paced tune so early into the album but it’s radio friendly style is bound to be popular with many. The piece of music does end rather abruptly though and you may be left wanting more. 3/5

 

4. Bleed It Out

This is much more like the Linkin Park we’re used to hearing. Mike Shinoda starts off with a casual rap before trading off with Chester and some insightful lyrics, “I bring it out, bring it in deeper just to throw it away.” The song’s structure revolves around four simple chords with screaming vocals leading up to the catchy chorus. Piano adds an extra dimension to the track but overall it’s a little repetitive and flat, ending abruptly again. Saying that, we can see this being released as a successful single in the future. 4/5

 

5. Shadow Of The Day

Possibly the most listener friendly song on ‘Minutes To Midnight,’ the style is very soft yet clear with both vocals and bass taking a poppy turn. Percussion comes across clear and dominant, but overall the song remains average in terms of technicality. It seems to offer nothing more than a break-up in the record, but its dreamy nature is quite certain to be a hit with the fans. 2/5

 

6. What I’ve Done

Generally a hit from the moment it is played, ‘What I’ve Done’ soars with a catchy chorus and likeable verses, before developing into a brilliant bridge and climatic ending. A gentle guitar solo midway adds depth and versatility before another welcome chorus. The haunting piano and synthetic drums combine to create a fantastic addition to Linkin Park’s third album and a perfect choice for their first single. 5/5

 

“What I’ve Done” Video

7. Hands Held High

The marching drumbeat and simple melody is an ideal backdrop to Shinoda’s poetic rapping and it has certainly developed in the space of two previous albums and his hip-hip focused side project Fort Minor. Again, Chester’s melodic singing comes in later but the central theme of the song does seem to be soldier’s homecoming in the aftermath of war. Maybe it was written to get those arms flailing lighters around at rock festivals. Either way, it’s still an impressive track. 4/5

 

8. No More Sorrow

Opening up with a creeping lead guitar, ‘No More Sorrow’ rocks heads with a deep double-bass drumming intro switching over to a simple paradiddle on the snare. Definitely the best chorus of the album so far, with an enigmatic riff and emotional shouting from Bennington. The tune flows naturally with a heavy bridge followed by a modulation and even higher pitched screaming. There’s no DJ elements to this song and it has to be said that some of the vocals and drumming becomes repetitive fast – even more noticeable is the fact that the band don’t seem to be stretching themselves in terms of song writing techniques. 3/5

 

9. Valentine’s Day

After a somewhat depressive two minutes of ballad-laden lyrics and slow-moving guitars, it finally kicks in with another extremely infective hook and harmonious backing vocals. “On a Valentines day” is passionately sung with interesting vocals spoken over the top, before annoyingly ending abruptly and letting the song down. 2/5

 

10. In Between

If there’s a point in the album where it’s easy to see that the songs are starting to lose their flair, this is it. Those sweetly spoken vocals are back once again alongside grainy drumbeats, but without any differences in tempo there’s nothing exciting here. It’s peaceful, but there’s no denying this is a weak ballad track amongst Linkin Park’s repertoire of excellence. 1/5

 

11. In Pieces

Thankfully, faith is restored with quite simply the highlight of the album. This is soft yet rhythmic with synthetic drumming you can’t fail to be taken in by. The stirring piano and powerful bass proves to be a winning combination for the band – with vocals at their best only boosting the song further. Another build up after a few minutes adds more magic to the piece, with sweet sounds and eventually more heavily distorted guitars, minus screaming. The song slows down and ends dramatically with a simple beat and ska-style guitar plucking. 5/5

 

12. The Little Things You Give Away

Acoustic guitar and Linkin Park in the same sentence? You better believe it. One last ballad, with those great mechanical style drums and melodic vocals from Chester rounds ‘Minutes To Midnight’ off fruitfully. When the bass cuts in, the song hits another dimension before ending a reasonably decent record. There’s not many heavy tracks – instead, Linkin Park have shifted to crafting softer, easier listening songs like this one. Despite it not being a patch on ‘Hybrid Theory, ’it still delivers and the fans will almost surely be lapping this up after its release on 14 May. 4/5

 

“Minutes To Midnight” garners a preliminary 8/10 Kudos rating overall.

 

 

Source: http://www.kudosmagazine.com/?p=833

wow. sounds good. can't wait for may 15th, i preordered it on iTunes. good review, nice find.

I'm looking forward to Given Up,Bleed It Out,Hands Held High,In Pieces,and The Little Things Give You Away,but i'm still kind of worried about the album

This was helpfull.. Can't wait till May 15!!! Specially wanna hear, so I can rate the songs for myself against these ratings.

*covers ratings* Must not let self prejudge the songs before I hear them... >< Must set own impression... Must abstain self back from leaks... Must wait until actual release...

meh, kind of a poorly written review. WID 5/5, wtf? definatly not gonna trust it.

emotional shouting from Bennington.

That's what I like to hear! God, I cannot wait for May 15th!!! :D It sounds sooooo good!!!

*covers ratings* Must not let self prejudge the songs before I hear them... >< Must set own impression... Must abstain self back from leaks... Must wait until actual release...

 

I agree...i want to judge for myself

I agree...i want to judge for myself

ya i agree

I see acoustic guitar in an LP song! HI5!!!

I agree...i want to judge for myself

 

________________________

I wanna hear it myself, i always have other thoughts about things than the reviews say, but i'm really looking forward to : Given Up, Bleed It Out, No More Sorrow, In Pieces and The Little Things You Give Away

But i have this feeling, i don't trust this review, i mean 5/5 for What i've Done?

I mean, it's a great song really, but i know it can't be the best song of the album

Poorly written reviews, im pretty sure he pre decicded what each track would sound like and based his opinion entirley around that. The lyrics he praised are harldy strong and the fact he said it doesnt mark a scratch on Hybrid Theory which was pretty repetetive then im kinda worried. + the fact he rated so many songs sooo low and still gave it an 8? Not to mention never talked about the flow of the album, are they just a collection of songs or do they fit together?

The reviews are kind of helpfu, but I mean I want to hear it on my own and make my decisions.

it's a bad review clearly...the comments and the ratings are so contradictory

and 8/10 when the reviewer dislikes so much of the record...

 

album reviews team would've done way better than that haha

 

 

but yeah it's nice to get a description of the tracks, but other than that this review is no good at all

I wonder if album will leak now??

It may be..

I don't trust that review at all; like others said, he rated the songs quite low, but gave the album 8/10. Sounds like someone needs to learn some maths

Sounds good to me. I think I'd prefer more rock and less ballads, but oh well.

Really? I think it would be really cool to hear them do ballads. They pulled off 'My December' really well, so why not more slower songs?

it's a bad review clearly...the comments and the ratings are so contradictory

and 8/10 when the reviewer dislikes so much of the record...

 

album reviews team would've done way better than that haha

 

 

but yeah it's nice to get a description of the tracks, but other than that this review is no good at all

 

If you do the math,it should have been more like 6.5 or 7/10

maybe not even that, I think

I can pretty much sum up that review.

 

"This song is great, even though it actually kind of sucks. But even though it sucks some may like it because it's kind of great in a way."

 

Repeat that twelve times and that's pretty much it.

 

What a joke.

Poorly written reviews, im pretty sure he pre decicded what each track would sound like and based his opinion entirley around that. The lyrics he praised are harldy strong and the fact he said it doesnt mark a scratch on Hybrid Theory which was pretty repetetive then im kinda worried. + the fact he rated so many songs sooo low and still gave it an 8? Not to mention never talked about the flow of the album, are they just a collection of songs or do they fit together?

 

yeah i was like wtf he is rating them all like 2 or 3 then its an 8 at the end

to him the intro is like 1 of the best songs on the cd

yeah i was like wtf he is rating them all like 2 or 3 then its an 8 at the end

 

The songs were rated out of 5 points,but the album was on a 10 point scale