Despite commendable attempts at musical evolution, Linkin Park are unwilling to leave behind the elements of their sound that trap them in the realm of bands that are hard to take seriously. At least their sound has come a long way from their popular Hybrid Theory days back in 2000. In the months leading up to the release of their latest effort Living Things they were quite vocal that their new songs most resembled the sound of Hybrid Theory, more than anything else they have released since, but after listening to Living Things, that idea is up for debate.
To listen to Linkin Park’s first single “One Step Closer” and compare it to, say, “When They Come For Me” from 2010’s A Thousand Suns, is to almost hear two entirely different bands. The first represents their classic Nü Metal/Rap-Rock sound while the latter is more tribal and melodic in nature. That comparison can be applied to their entire catalogue. Their first two albums Hybrid Theory (2000) and Meteora (2003) could honestly have been two halves of a double album. Their third album Minutes To Midnight (2007) marked their first teaming up with famed producer Rick Rubin and was when they began exploring a more straight up rock sound with less soundscapes and effects. Their fourth album A Thousand Suns (2010) revisited the ‘two halves of a double album’ idea as it began the more highly experimental phase that they are still exploring with this year’s Living Things.
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty:
The sound of Living Things is fairly promising right out of the gate on the opener “Lost In the Echo”, except for that the majority is made up of Linkin Park’s weakest link: the rapping of co-vocalist Mike Shinoda. Whoever told this guy that he is a good rapper should put themselves in time-out. This man is good at writing music and the times where he actually sings are at least halfway decent, but the rapping feels forced and silly, and is probably the biggest contributor to their comedic side. For the best example of this silliness see “Lies Greed Misery”.
The most welcomed change on Living Things is the electronic tendencies it exhibits on songs like “Lost In the Echo”, “Burn It Down”, and “Castle of Glass”. This is probably the main thing that keeps some people interested in these guys’ albums, but it’s difficult because the more electronic elements they add into their music the more Mike Shinoda probably feels the need to rap…
Overall, the album is redeemed by the songs “Burn It Down”, “I’ll Be Gone”, and the closing track “Powerless”. They are the most melodically solid, don’t emphasize rapping as much, and seem the most well thought out.
Evolution and progression of this sort is exciting and left many eager to see what Linkin Park would do on Living Things, but they desperately need to let go of things like rapping, emo screaming, and naming their songs things like “Lies Greed Misery”. At least they have going for them the imminent release of the fourth Transformers film, which will undoubtedly feature one of their songs on its soundtrack.
MP3 Stream: “I’ll Be Gone“
