LINKIN PARK – A Thousand Suns
- Posted on 06-10-2010
When Linkin Park first burst into the music scene world wide with their 2000 album “Hybrid Theory” it was with intensity and a desire to prove themselves. This made them one of my favourite bands at the time, though in later years they have given up on that intensity in search of commercial success. On their latest album, “A Thousand Suns”, it is clear that it is more of the same that was handed to the public on “Minutes to Midnight (2007)”
The album starts with some very experimental stuff in form of the songs “The Requiem” and “The Radiance”. They tell the tales of what to come, an experimental album consisting of metal, rock, pop, rap, electronic and hip hop thrown together in a mixture that when performed well lays the foundation of a magnificent album but in the case of “A Thousand Suns” it didn’t really work out that well. However, there is one track in which everything just seems to flow perfectly and it can easily be referred to as a highlight, “When They Come for Me”. This song has a grove, a rhythm that just gets to your head and you can’t fight nodding along even if you want to!
So what is wrong with the album? Musically there is nothing wrong with it, it’s a safe album and it will be liked by a lot of people as well as hated by a few. It displays zero original ideas from the members of Linkin Park being a continuance of the kind of music they have made either on previous albums or as a member of different side projects.
The album has its best moments in the last couple of songs; these are heartfelt ballads and songs with some wage resentment of a desire to prove their worth – these moments save this album from being a complete waste of time. While they may not suit the desires of the early Linkin Park fan, the fans that liked the previous album will definitely find a couple of songs on here worthy getting some play time. Songs like “Burning in the Skies”, “The Catalyst”, “Iridescent”, “When They Come For Me” and “The Messenger” are sure to get a couple of plays on computers and radio stations world wide! If you’re waiting, yearning for Linkin Park to return to songs like “Points Of Authority”, “A Place For My Head” and “Breaking the habit”, this album isn’t it but if you want more of “Somewhere I belong” and “What I’ve Done” this album is perfect for you!