Eunice Chan
Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Phoenix and Mike Shinoda. If these names ring a bell to you but you can’t seem to recall who they are, they’re none other than best-selling nu-metal act, Linkin Park (LP).
Yes, the men from California are back after a 4-year hiatus, but they might be unrecognisable even to their fans, because this time, they’ve brought along Minutes to Midnight, a different sound and feel that’s set to rock the music scene and take the word “experimentation” to a whole new level.
Unlike Hybrid Theory (2000) and Meteora (2003), which took just 3 to 6 months to finish, Minutes to Midnight took 14 months. According to the band, in the booklet which comes with every album purchased, they also generated over 100 song ideas for this album alone, which is more than 2 and a half times the average of 40 song ideas that they usually write to finish an album.
Numbers aside, what makes Minutes to Midnight different is the exploration of the different genres of music. The creative pursuits of each individual band member have collectively brought the band’s music to a deeper level, as they continue to push the boundaries to perform and write in ways their fans have never heard before.
The Music
But straying away from what they do best has left avid fans of Hybrid TheoryandMeteora disappointed with the band’s latest attempt.
Don’t expect hits like “In the End” or “Somewhere I belong” in Minutes to Midnight or even the nu-metal sound at all. Less kind fans who don’t appreciate LP’s new music direction may say that they’ve sold their usual distinctive style to one that’s more mainstream or even commercialised.
The band’s new sound is slower, less loud and incorporates “a mix of punk and classic-rock elements with vintage hip-hop beats”, according to vocalist Bennington, during an interview with MTV.
“We’re straying away from a lot of the predictable sounds we’ve had in the past, but there’s no question in your mind when you hear it that it’s LP,” he said.
UrbanWire must be listening to a different album, because tracks like “Shadow of the Day” and “The Little Things Give You Away” sound almost nothing like the multiple-grammy award winner that the world once knew. Instead, many may mistake their songs as those from the likes of U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Great bands with long legacies, but definitely not similar to LP in any way.
The lyrics
Minutes to Midnight is the band’s first studio album to receive a parental advisory sticker because of the use of profanity in some of its tracks. This move came as a surprise to many as the boys have always had a strong stand of keeping their music radio-friendly in both Hybrid Theory and Meteora, refusing to resort to the usage of profanity in their music to sell records.
Thankfully, not all of their tracks are full of angst and swear words. In fact, a good quarter of the album is rather emotional with lyrics like “In cards and flowers on your window, Your friends all plead for you to stay,” from the track “Shadow of the Day” and “So now you’re gone, And I was wrong. I never knew what it was like, To be alone on a Valentine’s Day,” from the track “Valentine’s Day”.
Hence making Minutes to Midnight emo kids , despite the advisory sticker, an album of mass commercial appeal that caters to a variety of audiences – from the rockers to the(People who get emotional easily, especially after listening to a certain type of music).
The future of LP
In short, it probably takes a die-hard Linkin Park fan to match Minutes to Midnight to the band itself. Their directional change makes it almost impossible to recognise them despite Chester’s trademark angsty vocals. They’ve seem to have lost their essence, or if you like, their soul – the very thing that defines them.
However, Minutes to Midnight still proves one thing: the band’s daring to throw away the key and experiment with different music genres, and their likeability. After all, having sold more than half a million copies of the album in its opening week in the United States alone is no mean feat indeed.
UrbanWire gives Minutes to Midnight3 out of 5 stars.
Minutes to Midnight is out in stores now.