by: Charley (@ruperto2106)
Linkin Park dropped their fifth studio album Living Things looking to regain the sounds and fans that made them a house-hold name in the early 2000’s. After disappointing just about everyone with their last release, the utterly putrid showing on A Thousand Suns, fans were hoping this latest release would bring back the Linkin Park that everyone knew and loved. So the question now becomes, does Living Things meet the expectations.Short answer: Yes… and No. The record starts with the heavy beats we have come to expect from Linkin Park. Fans do get the beats, rhymes, screams and the mixes they love. Sadly, some of the slower, experimental crap does appear (Linkin Park – Please stop trying to be U2 – Chester you are not Bono) but, producers Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda have done a wonderful job of compromising the energy of the older sounds and the creativity of the newer sounds into a very enjoyable CD.The lead single “Burn It Down” does a great job of reminding us they Linkin Park can rock. The second single, “Lost in the Echo”, starts with an amazing rap by Mike Shinoda that will immediately get you head bouncing. On “Victimize”, lead vocalist Chester Bennington brings back the primal screams reminiscent of those on Hybrid Theory and Meteroa.The negative aspects of this album are the length, coming in at under 37 minutes and the fact that entire album doesn’t hold that classic Linkin Park sound throughout the album. “Roads Untraveled” was just painful to listen to and has to be by far the worse track on this CD. “Powerless” just made me glad it was the last track on Living Things because I doubt I could take any more of the slow, shallow melody.Rating: 3 / 5http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxytyRy-O1k