New Music Tuesday 5/15/07
Today is the official day when new music is released. Today's awesome (or not so awesome) rock albums being released are:
Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
Medgadeth - United Abominations
Spiderman 3- Soundtrack (Contains a new Killers song, Wolfmother, The Flaming lips, Jet, among others)
If anyone at BnR can find these cd's laying around, we will post an album review. But do not hold your breath.
Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
Medgadeth - United Abominations
Spiderman 3- Soundtrack (Contains a new Killers song, Wolfmother, The Flaming lips, Jet, among others)
If anyone at BnR can find these cd's laying around, we will post an album review. But do not hold your breath.
I have actually listened to Linkin Park's new album (twice). Why twice you may ask? Well, it wasn't because it was good enough to warrant a second listening, but rather because I was busy doing something else and didn't want to listen to nothing.
I believe there was a post about this album a little while back that scoffed at the fact that this album was supposed to be a markedly different sound than their previous two albums. You'll be disappointed to hear that you were indeed wrong and Rick Rubin was correct - this album is something of a departure from the classic Linkin Park sound.
A common gripe of Linkin Park has been that their songs all sound the same; this is no longer the case with "Minutes to Midnight". The songs are certainly more varied: one has the boys doing straight-up punk, one has Mike Shinoda rapping over a subtle soldiers' march, one has Chester brooding over a lonely February 14, and one has a vocalist that I don't even recognize. The rap-rock is pretty much gone and has been replaced with just straight rock-pop with a couple of rap-inspired tracks to round out the consumer market segments.
However, I must express my disapproval and disappointment over the cover art, which is a blatant copy of U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Sure, the airport backdrop has been replaced with a nondescript barren desert, and there are two more dramatic silhouettes, but come on guys, get it together! How about some minutes, or a midnight? Even a cellphone picture of a Casio watch would be better.
While I appreciate the originality of some of the songs and the willingness and courage to try something different, this album just doesn't have the energy and intensity of LP's first two. A couple tracks will definitely catch your ear and may even be worth purchasing (if you swing that way), but don't hold your breath for another "Hybrid Theory". The album is certainly worth one listen-through but, unless you'd rather listen to some mediocre rock in the background while carrying out your mundane daily tasks, it probably won't get played any more than that.
- Kyle