partofmelp67

MY REVIEW FOR A FRENCH MAGAZINE : First of all, let me just tell you that I’m french so there should be mistakes here and there. It is always hard to review a new LP album as it never sounds the same in the space of 3 years . Happened again this time, LP deciding to lean towards the soft pop style. LP has always been playing in the pop territory, even during Hybrid Theory . Songs like In The End or Crawling were perfect examples. Minutes to Midnights then A Thousand Suns went even one or two steps further and were probably among the best records the band have written. Then came The Hunting Party , which was probably their heaviest try to date . I really liked the record overall, but it was missing both good promotion and reception . And to be honest , sales were very low .. I do remember them during the THP process saying “We’re tired of this pop shit we hear on the radio; Nowadays? Rock bands do play soft songs, they’re not rock anymore” . I really hoped they’d never say that, especially when you put OML in your record player for the first time . One More Light , an album they worked on about 18+ months to “have the best songs we’ve ever written” (okay, everybody says so) is now out . Does it meet the expectations ? Not so much.. The first thing that comes to my mind after a few listens wasn’t “Where are the guitars”, but more of “damn, I do not feel any emotions listening to this” . The songs are really polished, slow and boring . Yes, there are some exceptions, as “Talking to myself” recaptures the essence of MTM for 4 minutes, while being more dancy. Nobody Can save Me sounds to me as the only pop song I would like listening on a daily basis , and Sharp Edges stands out as the only track I really enjoy as it feels fresh and authentic while the rest of the album doesn’t sound so. LP said they didn’t want to be repetitive (which I can totally understand – ATS was THE example) and with OML they sadly are. Structures do sound the same here and there. This easily is to me their worst record to date , the one I won’t want to listen anytime soon due to the lack of well ..everything.. Doing pop is easy, doing recognizable good pop is another task.I still hope that some of you like this album, because I’m not here to speak for everybody. It's really personnal tastes (I can enjoy thrashcore but also pop) So one last advice,if the band says that they do not want to “play this style of music or theses kind of songs” , you’ll have the exact idea of what they will do 3 years later .. Hopefully with better ideas and execution. J Final rating : 3/10

Well, I still do think that Mike's voice goes better when it comes to pop, compared to Chester's. The song isn't impressive by any means , but it is quite easy to listen to . But then again, this album might be the one I won't listen more than once in its entierety . The only two songs so far I can see myself enjoying even in 2 years would be Good Goodbye and Talking To myself. The rest is pretty meh or bad. The good thing is IF they planned to play this kind of music just for 1 album, that means that we will have something else with the next one. And after the soft overproduced generic songs we had, I wouldn't mind an acoustic/stripped down album , as it would renew my passion with the band I once adored.

Wow , this was one heck of a bad show I think :/ Much more than the songs chosen, the order in the setlist is just awful . There are some moments where the crowd doesn't sound lively. Opening with The Catalyst though is a good idea , but the beginning f the setlist is very bizarre as a Heavy song might follow a soft song which follows a heavy song. Bad combination of an energy I think. Apart from The Catalyst, there are really no suprises at all , which is really disappointing. As for the new songs, GG and TTM sounds really nice but Heavy kills everything, especially in the encore.. The only place of this song would be the bin, or more seriously 3rd quarter of the set. Wastelands chosen as the lone THP song, I can understand , as the heavy territory is almost dead . (then, ALITS ,which is my fave, doesn't have a fit at all) Quite happy I didn't buy a ticket though , as Linkin Park seems to be renamed Lazy Park nowadays . Sad

I don't think you understood ... ATS was LP at its peak ... Meteora , for example , is the album I like the less

I don't think OML is the only problem . At first , LP was innovative until ATS . Then, we just had generic songs over 6/8 years . Collabs might say it all : they're done creating . They do not have ideas anymore.

Third forgettable song in a row .. And it's still the best/not worst of the batch ....I really think I'm starting to be done with LP :/ Been a hardcore fan since Hybrid Theory EP , but I think the band is really overrated , as we didn't have good inventive stuff since ATS, even though some tracks off LT or THP were great.. Let's face it, Chester's voice doesn't impress me as much as it did and Brad isn't a very good guitarist to me . But maybe do I realize that because I've evolved in my musical tastes, I don't know .

I feel bad about the band, right now. THP was made "because the rock industry lacked some heavy rock acts" and because they were "angry". The album was very good compared to Living things, has a ton of material for Live shows . But it sales were quite bad and the band "had to make a choice" by scrapping new songs for old ones. The band gets contradictory again. Most of their songs are still poppy songs , and to be honnest , the core of the set (from the Medley to In the End) is really boring and seems sooooo long. (and looks the same since 2010) So I guess LP will make a statement by 2016, saying they are now 40 and don't want to play something heavy anymore. Typpical LP.

I think, even with all prayers you can do, things are already settled for the tour.. So, set A or Set B

Maybe rotating Wastelands with a new THP song would be a good idea, as well as skipping the "solos" parts (Mike/Joe) to make room for other things. But in my opinion, setlist will be quite the same. Just hoping for 2 new THP tracks

I don't know if the guys did rehearsals seometime before the European tour kicks off, but I saw plenty of guys kind of moaning about the last setlist from Carnivores (I was also oneof them, though) Do you see any changes in the setlist? I have the feeling it will be the same as used for the Carnivores :/ Still want to hear more of THP ..

found it, thanks to a LPLive member Thanks to him and the community

Hi, I know this isn't the place to post this and appologize for that. But that would help me A LOT, as I'm seeking 1 ticket for the Zurich show, this upcoming Monday. I come from France, so I won't have time to receive it by post. That's why I'm asking all of you, Switzerland LP fans, if you know someone that is selling just 1 ticket. Thanks for your help; If I'm going, I'm making a report for sure

11:40, LP playing football (in french) http://www.d8.tv/d8-info/pid5197-d8-le-jt.html

Here is my "review" of THP, as seen in a french magazine/website : (sorry if there are some translation mistakes,I didn't use a translator) LINKIN PARK is a group you may have hard time to definite/identify in the alternative-rock stratosphere. After their debut on the Nu-Metal scene, they started changing their minds and their kind of music, going from progressive/alternative pop-rock to experimental electronic sounds. When promoting their new album THE HUNTING PARTY, Mike Shinoda claimed his will to go to the band's root, mentioning bands like Black Flag, Helmet or Refused as his influences. He wanted something more authentic and visceral. And I have to admit : it's working well ! The production is rawer than ever in a good way,the way some bands like Refused used to have . Some of you may not like it, but the approach is totally differeent. Hybrid Theory this is not, this is Punk-hardcore at its best, this is LP at its best !! Heavy synths and beatboxes have been replaced with organic material, blistering guitars and hasty drums. Then, like I said, some tracks remind me of the band REFUSED, especially 2 of them: the anthemic badass "Keys to the Kingdom" and the very special "Mark the Graves" (which guitars remind me of the song "New Noise"). "War" is like a stomp in the haters faces , very similar to old school punk-rock bands like Black Flag. Something that Rise Against wasn't able to produce since "Sirens and Condoleances". Guests are also here, as legendary "underground" rapper Rakim adds his flow to the unstructured "Guilty all the same", Page Hamilton from Helmet's also here, providing the choruses to a badass verses from Shinoda (damn, that bass line !!!). And Daron Malakian, shredder from System of A Down adds some new "personnality" to LP in an almost SOAD song. The Old LP's still here though, essentially for two ballads: "Until it's Gone" and "Final Masquerade". While the first one is very simple and "quite plain" (I changed my mind after the review), the second one is a beautiful piece of music reminding me old school rock bands from the eightees. Then we may be have the best song of the album, possibly the best they've ever written as "A Line in the Sand". You've got it all in this 6+ minutes long track reminiscent from THRICE ("Major/Minor" meets "The Artist in the ambulance"). A majr way to close an album The only let-downs so far are "Wastelands", which re-uses old LP formulas from Meteora, and "Drawbar". Let's get this straight: I like this track a lot, but it didn't need in any way Tom Morello to do that. Thanks to a more authentic approach and a rawer sound, LP gives us what is undoubtly the most heavy/agressive record to date, and certainly the best along "A Thousand Suns" TOP 3 songs to listen: A Line in the sand Mark the graves Final Masquerade

Keys to the Kingdom seems so hard to nail for some reasons