The Reveiw You Haven't Been Waiting For

Wake

My rating 8/10A crackling record and soft ear pleasing synths open this track. Right away you get this eerie feeling that only a linkin park opening can give you. And this is in no way like forward on Meteora this is like the awesome openings you hear only in the tours. It prepares you for a roller coaster of linkin park mayhem on the way. It's a very nice refreshing and really helps start off the cd and despite how unnecessary an opening track really is this one feels some what necessary.

 

Given Up

My Rating 9/10

There are Four types of Linkin Park fans. The avid fans that love Linkin park for whatever it puts out, the fans that only love its heavy metalish side, the fans that love the hip hop feel, and the people that like Linkin Park enough to buy their main albums. No matter the fan this song is a song that will please everyone. It starts off with a simple build up some chains/bells and a hand clapping. And it builds into this monster of a song that makes everyone want to mosh or just scream out every lyric. And what do you know Phoenix is actually alive! He has a good role in this. With that being said there is cursing in this album and Given Up throws a good few fucks in your face. I think for me what holds back this track from being a 10 is that long unnecessary scream. It feels so fake. I think Chester gets so good at screaming on this song that he inevitably overdoes it with that 30 second[?] long scream. It cool but it feels really worthless compared to everything else on this track.

Leave Out All The Rest

My Rating 8/10

Every since Somewhere Belong dropped I think The guys found a passion for reversed sounds. Hence the reverse piano[?] in the beginning.The drum beat to this song sets a nice vibe to this far from stereotypical Linkin Park track. The verses are much more to pleasant to listen to than the actual chorus. Not to say the chorus isn't nice it just feels weird against the verses at times especially if its your first time listening to it. It is very catchy and I find myself singing to it. And despite the awkwardness it compliments the verse very well when you think about it. It's a good song and sets a nice pace for a more waves of different coming in the shape of Shadow of the Day in track 5. I don't really have any big complaints for this song. Nice cello I just don't think it deserves the highest rating in this album.

Bleed It Out

My rating 9.5/10

Track three ends with a far from bashful Mike walking down stairs into a crowded room of rowdy janitors. Mike grabs the mic (lol) and you here brad let go a few curse words via guitar. Mike decides his voice sounds good and lets out a lyrical spur of insanity. While this track is definitely the most fun track the lyrics are have serious undertones but you just can't help but not care. The repetition of "I bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away!" rapes it's way into your cranium and you cannot help but love this track. There's no insane mammoth guitar solo or huge screaming session which definitely sets this track above given up in my opinion. It gives us that old Linkin Park sound we love without overdoing it. Let it be known that this is the one of two tracks Mike raps on and his lyrics are far from the watered down bullshit that once was so prominent on his previous songs with Linkin Park. I can't help but love this song so much. The guitar sounds so amazing and Chester definitely compliments mike perfectly in this song. Love it.

Shadow of the Day

My Rating 6.5/10

Yet again we open with a reversed whatever...guitar I am guessing. Chester's voice is very pleasant in this song but this is probably the most popish U2 feeling you'll hear on this whole album. It's a good song don't get me wrong I like it a lot I just can't help but get bored with it at times. The lyrics aren't flawless and I guess with a song like this they don't have to be because it relies heavily on a catchy chorus. It's a good song just not the best. And it definitely looses a lot of brownie points having to outshine its predecessor Bleed it out and failing. It's a good song and I like it, it just could have been better.

 

What I've Done

My Rating 8.5/10

People say this doesn't sound very Linkin Park but I love this song a lot. The eerie piano opening makes for a nice mood setter. You will sing to this song regardless what you say. Chester really pushes his voice and relies less on his screaming ability whilst keeping a scrappy feel at times which makes it feel good. The song isn't over hyper but definitely keeps this cd going and keeps you awake. It's the track that your mom and dad wont mind listening to in the Car and you wont either.

 

Hands Held High

My Rating 10/10

Right from the get go I'm letting you know this song is the best song lyric wise on this whole Cd. Mike goes out with a punch on his last rap track. The drummer boy taps feel so epic despite their simplicity. It has a high Fort Minor vibe but I don't think anyone minds. The lyrical content is very deep and it totally keeps the track going. Even the amens feel epic. When you listen to this song you stay quiet. Some may try to lip sync but inevitably stopped because its just something that makes you think. Then the bridge or whatever you want to call it where Mike starts singing gives you the opportunity to sing along and after hearing this song all you can do is go wow and just be amazed at how much of a different song this is. It also gets rid of all the you's and me's and takes a direct punch at who it's talking about. There is not relating it to any case you know it's about Bush and even though it is it's not overwhelming. I love this song. 10 10 10 10 lol.

 

No More Sorrow

My Rating 9.5/10

This is the One Step Closer of Minutes to Midnight. All you can do is imagine anger in this song. The guitar feels so menacing in this song. This song is also a very political song. If you listen to Chester you can tell he is taking a few shots at the Government. But rather than taking a direct blow at the government he doesn't name them he keeps it vague enough so that you can relate it to any situation. The echoing guitar also gives you chills. Rob on drums sounds so good as well. While he doesn't sound like a drum God he sounds amazing and you actually notice him. You notice just about every player on this track except Joe...sorry Joe.

 

Valentine's Day

My Rating 7/10

I don't like this song. To me I expected it to be special but it wasn't and to me it was an upset. But none the less it isn't horrible. It doesn't stand out or anything but the lyrics are meaningful and it feels like the first love song I've heard from LP and I think it was pretty good. I do love the break down there the drums, guitars, and pianos come in. The song isn't horrible but it just takes a while for the real energy to come out in this song.

 

In Between

My Rating 5/10

Ok what happened here? People apparently love this song but if this isn't the most monotonous song on the album then I don't know what is. The song overall is pretty boring and I think it really wasted Mike's true talent for a singer. It also feels very poppish. I'll give some lean way because some parts are decent but that doesn't make it anything special. Chances are this one will have the least plays on iTunes.

 

In Pieces

My Rating 9/10

Chester sounds really good on here and starts off really good. Theres a very poppish sound with the whole xylophone[?] thing and the little guitar spurts. For their new sound this is a pretty good example of how different yet good they an get. I love singing along to this one and Brad does have something of a guitar solo on this one and the song is over the top. This is definitely a good song and I love singing it. It sounds so different that it kind of slaps you in the face and you like it and then it ends and you cannot do more but...want more. Good song.

 

The Little Things That Give You Away

My Rating 10/10

Every time I listen to this song it's a new experience for me. I find a new part I like the most. Chester displays a softer vocal ability you don't really get from Linkin Park. The acoustic guitar sounds amazing and the whole vibe on this track makes it the most epic rock song for Linkin Park. It was a daring move for Linkin Park considering how different it was. The lyrics are great and so symbolic of Katrina. Apparently Chester wrote these and I am very impressed. It never gets insane and is so simple. The guitars don't over do it and the overlapping sung parts where its like "The Little Things Give You Away(All You've ever wanted)" sticks in your head. Mike sings them very well. This song is up as my Favorite Linkin Park song. Beating out Hands Held High and Pushing Me Away. Everything sounds so amazing on here wow. Great Track. They were right when they said it was an amazing track.

 

Overall you can't listen to this album once and draw a conclusion. Not even 5 times will give you a good idea. It takes a true listen to really uncover the beauty and when you do you see just how good it is and no album afterwards really comes close to matching it's greatness. Some songs I didn't give the the greatest score but they definitely were good I just couldn't give them a high score compared to the other songs. This is definitely their best album and displays an immense amount of maturity both lyric wise and musically. It had some parts that really drug down the score mainly the lack of Mike rapping and Mike singing lol. Smooth Mike. Also the of Joe mixing wise was kind of sad. An Instrumental tack would have been nice. Overall it was a bold move in the right direction. Score wise

 

Great review azem!

wow, lovely review. i'm really glad you like it so much. :thumbsup:

I have to agree completely with all your reviews.

Sweetness to the max man...just one thing....i think that What I've Done could have a beter rating...Hey but im the guy that my favorite song is that one...pretty good too

Aha! you missed a fan catagory! A fan who likes LP for artistic contribution! And experimentlism!

Dope review all t3h same.

Cool review

good review...seems like a lot of people rate it between 7-9...

Very nice review:) good job

awesome i agree with you, i like Valintines day.

but ya awesome album and it just gets better everytime

great review Azk

Yeah, great review mate :-P