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Product Description
Review
It shouldn’t really be a surprise, but it’s still a shock to the system, exploding expectations like broken billiard balls. Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park’s third album, made clear the California sextet’s move from nu-metal dynamics to something softer and more mainstream-friendly (not that they were struggling to shift records – 2000 debut Hybrid Theory has sold over 24 million copies). But if that was the sound of a band embracing their classic rock side, A Thousand Suns is, at its zenith/nadir (delete according to taste), Celine Dion Goes Mall Rock.
This album’s closer, The Messenger, is the wettest song to ever fill the raspy throat of flaming-armed frontman Chester Bennington. It’s on a level with Avril Lavigne’s I’m With You, or Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful, only hollered hoarsely rather than pitched painfully high. Similarly wet about their edges are Iridescent – an exercise in Gallaghers-level rhyming – and Burning in the Skies.
However, it should be noted that Linkin Park were not intending to make an album when they set about recording these less-than-impressive efforts. They were playing with ideas, breaking down concepts that’d served them well previously, trying to find something fresh. They didn’t want whatever their next album was to be predictable, and while A Thousand Suns might have emerged by accident compared to previous LPs, it’s certainly a far from plays-to-perceived-type affair.
The aforementioned blips on this critic’s radar can’t obscure some perplexingly compelling material elsewhere. When They Come for Me lays its intent on the line with its first words: "I am not a pattern to be followed". The track’s jungle percussion and backing chants give it a tribal feel, and if the lead vocals – rapped, badly – were just a touch peppier there’s no doubt it’d be a magic moment of their catalogue to date. Blackout is a lot of fun, Bennington ranting potty-mouthed across an electro-tinged arrangement that isn’t so many stylistic miles away from the crunchy beats served up by Pendulum, albeit slowed and scratched into a dizzy spin. The Catalyst is the closest A Thousand Suns comes to the Linkin Park sound of old, and is among this collection’s most immediate offerings. It’s no surprise it’s been well received at radio, plucked from its parent LP as the first commercial single.
But the penultimate track here really shouldn’t be a sign of things to come, simply an echo of the past. If Linkin Park take the best moments of this haphazard set as jumping-off points for what happens next, they might just strike upon a new formula every bit as successful as the one that flogged their debut so brilliantly.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having received and listened to my copy of a thousand suns prior to reading any of the reviews.
i was not suprised,to then read the rather mixed comments it received.
However ignoring the fact that it was Linkin Park,and just listening to the tracks,i found i liked more than i disliked .
I really liked.... when they come for me...wretches and kings,and... the catalyst.
mainly due to the fact that they were not typical Linkin Park tracks.
I strongly believe music should be bought because you like it not simply because its the latest release of a particular band.
And there are definately more tracks on this cd that i like than dislike.
I think the reason for the mixed reviews are best summed up by the band in the lyrics of when they come for me.
"EVERYONE WANTS THE NEXT THING TO BE JUST LIKE THE FIRST."
well its not
So If you you only like old Linkin Park stuff then don`t buy this cd,save your money and play all your old Linkin Park cd`s.
But if you like diffrent types of music give it a listen.
i was not suprised,to then read the rather mixed comments it received.
However ignoring the fact that it was Linkin Park,and just listening to the tracks,i found i liked more than i disliked .
I really liked.... when they come for me...wretches and kings,and... the catalyst.
mainly due to the fact that they were not typical Linkin Park tracks.
I strongly believe music should be bought because you like it not simply because its the latest release of a particular band.
And there are definately more tracks on this cd that i like than dislike.
I think the reason for the mixed reviews are best summed up by the band in the lyrics of when they come for me.
"EVERYONE WANTS THE NEXT THING TO BE JUST LIKE THE FIRST."
well its not
So If you you only like old Linkin Park stuff then don`t buy this cd,save your money and play all your old Linkin Park cd`s.
But if you like diffrent types of music give it a listen.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download
I enjoyed listening to the first Linkin Park album when a drummer friend bought it into the shop I worked in. The beats and mish mash of explosive riffs, fairly decent raps and soaring choruses impressed me immensely. A little older and wiser the second had it's moments for me but was drifting and slowly the two held less interest for me beyond a few songs. Minutes to Midnight came along and while admirable for its efforts in trying to forge the next steps in their sound there were chunks that left me wanting. My friend and I bought tickets for November at the O2 largely out of 'never got around to this, been ten years, perhaps we should'. Imagine my surprise when I first heard the Catalyst. A driving beat, soaring synth notes, lyrics that grab me in a very grown up way, a better marriage of Mike and Chester's (and apparently the rest of the band's) vocal sounds than I'd ever heard from them. Building and building in a fashion of emotional highs and lows I wouldn't have ever thought possible. Best I could describe my first encounter with this was - I want to listen to this again. Once the actual album arrived I was in awe. Everyone working at the top of their game. From the gentle keyboard to the varied beats, the waves of delicate to vicious guitar and the whole band vocals dipping in and out from beginning to end. I've now heard this album probably 20 times and I'm still not tired, if anything it gets better each time. Maybe it is too different (I am intrigued to see how some of it's going to fit in with the older tracks live) but different is good. All the Oppenheimer/Dr King stuff, it lends a meaning and weight to a lot of it. It's like they're striving for something bigger and better even as they finally release it.
I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, I'm not trying to start a debate with anyone, I just need to share my two cents. I know it's only been a few days but unlike a lot of the bands I listened to in my youth I can actually imagine enjoying this in ten years time.
Bravo Linkin Park; Bravo
I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, I'm not trying to start a debate with anyone, I just need to share my two cents. I know it's only been a few days but unlike a lot of the bands I listened to in my youth I can actually imagine enjoying this in ten years time.
Bravo Linkin Park; Bravo
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A Thousand Suns is an awesome album,I have been playing most of the time since it first came out,as I commute to and from work,it's better the listening to the radio and the looped playlists.
I love Blackout(something they did not perform on tour for some reason?).
The album needs playing loud and the car is the prfect place.
I cannot understand the people that hate this album,it is different and the group are developing not just standing still,so Hybrid Theory is a brilliant album from the groups past and this latest album must be taken as a fine example of how a group can develope.
I love Blackout(something they did not perform on tour for some reason?).
The album needs playing loud and the car is the prfect place.
I cannot understand the people that hate this album,it is different and the group are developing not just standing still,so Hybrid Theory is a brilliant album from the groups past and this latest album must be taken as a fine example of how a group can develope.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Thousand Suns
I brought this album a while back as an MP3 download as I wasn't sure if I wanted it. Eventually after hearing all of the singles released (The Catalyst, Waiting For The End,... Read more
Published 18 days ago by NC
Different, yes. But in reality, still good.
Ok, I know, this has been out for a long time now but this has allowed me to be sure of my opinion on this album. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. T. Carr
"WE THE ANIMALS TAKE CONTROL"
I'm giving this five stars because this album is amazing. When i first bought this i had deep reservations as everything i had heard about this album had been bad whether it had... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Triplestar
LOVE IT!
Don't think there are any songs by Linkin Park that I could say I dislike. As soon as this album was released I ordered it and really wasn't sure about it for the first couple of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. Roberts
Good Value
I knew this was a superb CD .... but with a free DVD which it is just great ! Can't really say much more ... very happy ... Read more
Published 5 months ago by John H
Linkin Park Are Awesome...This Album Not So Much!
There's only one song I like on this album and the rest is just fluff...The other albums - Hybrid Theory and Meteora all the way!
Published 5 months ago by Wayne Tully
Linkin Park bonus dvd edition
the concert was one of many for the MTV awards in madrid back in 2010,it was free, but it was impossible to get to the center of the city as it was totally overcrowded and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by t7
Not as good
I was very dissapointed with this album as its not as good as meteora or hybrid theory.(to soft)only possitive is i bought the album with a bonus dvd which is good as its has the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by lee
Good, but not good enough
I bought this as soon as I knew it was released, I've been a Linkin Park fan since day one. I have to say, this album is pretty disappointing compared to their older albums. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Kirsttt
l p
how do you make a live cd better? include a dvd of the concert so you can watch and wish you had got tickets, or look for yourself in the audiance and say yes i was there great... Read more
Published 9 months ago by pig
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