A Thousand Suns

I've said before that I don't care much for album reviews. It's subjective, and no one really has the right to label an album as "good" or "bad." But here are my opinions on Linkin Park's new album A Thousand Suns. Yeah, it came out about a month ago, but I've just now gotten around to grabbing it.

LP hit the scene hot and heavy with their debut album Hybrid Theory. Heavy guitars, rapped verses with screaming (yet melodic, heh) choruses. Second album Meteora followed suit. They experimented a little more electronically, but the same basic ingredients that made fans fall in love with the first album were still very much present. I love both of those albums.

Third album, Minutes to Midnight, began their departure from nu metal. A lot of fans cried out, "LINKIN PARK'S GONE SOFT." I disagree. They're moving in a new direction. Mike only raps in a couple of songs on that album, and Chester only screams on two tracks. The rest of the album is more melodic, more electronic...just more experimental in general. Mike steps forward and sings in a few songs. The lyrics take on a more mature nature ("Hands Held High" is a perfect example). I loved this album, just in a different way from the previous two.

Now comes A Thousand Suns (hard to believe they're on their fourth album. I remember buying Hybrid Theory when it was new...). Again the fans of the first albums complain, but me...from the song-writing perspective, this is their best album yet. It's more mature both lyrically and musically. Not everyone will like it, but kudos to LP for writing what they want to write. There are 15 tracks on the album, but only 9 of those are actual, stand-alone songs. The rest are short instrumentals ranging from 18 seconds to 2 minutes in length. They're not something I would put on my iPod, but when listening to the album front to back, they unify it quite nicely.

I've heard this album called Linkin Park's OK Computer. It's great. It's inventive. I don't know if I would go that far. OK Computer is...pure genius. But A Thousand Suns certainly is...something else. I think it could very well become my favorite LP album.

It's a concept album, LP's first. It's unified with the themes of war and fighting for what you believe in. Some favorite tracks are the lead single, "The Catalyst," "Waiting for the End," "When They Come for Me," and "Iridescent."

I could write a great deal about each individual song, but this post is already getting pretty long. So I'll leave you with a few comments on the aforementioned "When They Come for Me." Mike's lyrics here are a response to those who say that Linkin Park should stick to the music they became known for. Here are some lyrics that I particularly like (these are not consecutive):

"I am not a pattern to be followed"

"Nor the same person telling you to forfeit the game" ("forfeit the game" being a reference to "Points of Authority" from Hybrid Theory)

"Even a blueprint is a gift and a curse

Cause once you've got a theory of how the thing works

Everybody wants the next to be just like the first"

"Yall ought to stop talking, start trying to catch up, motherfucker"

I just love that "EFF YOU" feeling the song has. That's right, boys. It's your music, and your right to move it in whichever direction you will.