Linkin Park
Minutes to Midnight
Producers: Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin

Okay, I've said I've hated Linkin Park's latest single "What I've Done". I still hate it. After listening to LP's newest album for the nth time, I have to say something. I actually like the album. After listening to the album for the first time, I honestly hated it. But now, I understand what they were going for, instead of intensity they were going for subtle. I think Minutes to Midnight is the album that shows them as a cohesive whole rather than another nu metal band.

If there is only one problem, even though the album shows that their coming more together as a band, none of them ever stick out. There are no great solos and none of the songs give the listener a feeling of being "wowed" but rather one of satisfaction. They never feel to be pushing the envelope but rather staying in a safe place. One example I could give is Radiohead, a UK band that started sounding like Oasis, but are now considered pioneers in the genre because they kept pushing the envelope with every album. Radiohead's 3rd album, Paranoid Android, is still considered the best album of the generation and while they may have lost many fans with obscure albums like Kid A and Amnesiac, both experimental albums are now considered ahead of their time.

If only Linkin Park were able to push themselves, I feel that we could really hear something truly great from them in the near future.

Overall: Satisfying, enjoyable, and entertaining but there's a feeling that Linkin Park could do so much more.

Standout tracks:
Bleed It Out
The Little Things Give You Away
In Pieces
Shadow of the Day (this is certainly going to be a single)