Biggiee2180@aol.com

Well that was... expected. Looking like APFMH & POA tomorrow

I'm will to bet money that Mike will fill the space up with a Fort Minor set. I haven't seen much of this tour, but it's pretty much unanimous that Chester's voice just couldn't take the abuse. With all the new & random FM shirts Mike has been wearing on tour I think he should gonna surprise the fans with a mini set. Hell, he could do that the 2nd night, and maybe the first night they'll extend set a couple of songs. I don't see them doing anything crazy or that shocking

I tried to stay optimistic as LP slowly rolled out what seemed like the entire album, song by song, leading up to today. Given how much LP has truly shaped me musically and as a person, and how much I've loved EVERY album they've released so far, I was secretly holding out hope that the entire album listening experience would magically alture my opinion for the better. Sadly, it's just not happening. As I'm writing this, I'm just starting my 3rd full run through of the album, and my initial opinions of the potential for the album that we're based off of the songs released prior today are slowly cementing. 1) Nobody Can Save Me suffers from a couple pop cliches; high pitched sampled voices (at least they sound like voices, maybe an instrument?), snapping fingers, clapping. Positives are Chester's singing & sync/keyboard melody throughout the song. Like the guitar layered throughout as well. Can't believe this Adam's favorite LP song ever haha. The song is average. Don't love it, or hate it. Seems like it could have fit back in the MTM/ATS days, and with LPU 9 & 10 demos. 2) I never thought I could ever actually "hate" an LP song, but Good Goodbye just may be the first. Chester's performance just comes off as a typical hook of your everyday rap song featuring a singer on the choruses. Cliche & unoriginal (I'm sure I'll butcher this word by the end of this review, if I haven't already prior to this). Mike delivers a solid verse to start things off, but it just goes down hill from there. Pusha-T's (who I had never heard of prior to this song) wasn't bad, but if you're gonna feature someone vocally on an album track (only the 3rd time ever for LP's studio releases) you'd think they would have delivered more. If not, just have Mike write something better. Apparently he did on the live version? I haven't heard it, because I cannot stand this song so much I refuse to watch it live. Stormzy (another one I hadn't heard of) was just awful. He just felt so wrong and forced into this track. What annoyed me the most? Him mentioning LP in the verse. Typical of rappers I know, but mentioning Linkin Park on a LINKIN PARK album just takes me out of the listening experience a bit. And don't get me started on that fucking chipmunk voice! 3) Talking To Myself surprised me quite a bit. The samples organ felt very natural for the sound of LP, without going too poppy. Mark made a great observation of Brad really being present on this album with his guitar, but not in his usual "loud" fashion. That's very evident on this song, and it works. I also appreciated the bridge & breakdown of the track not repeating th vocals and changing the mood up a bit. All in all, very satiafied with this one. 4) The same can't be said about Battle Symphany. This song was about 10 years too late for being considered a quality LP track. They've done the ballads. They've done the catchy choruses & samples. With this one, it seems like they just recycled the same old shit & threw some military drums in the mix. Nothing about this song screams originality or challenging. Lyrics are forgettable, along with the rest of the song. 5) Invisible is another one that suffers from poor music & song writing. More military drums?!? TWO songs in a row? Come on, at least try to make it seem like you're trying. Only redeemable part of the song for me is Mike's singing, which I always enjoy, except for In Between haha. Lyrics have a great meaning, but they're painfully simple & repetitive. Not bad, but definitely not 2nd single worthy. 6) Now what is there to be said about Heavy that hasn't been said already? Chester sounds awful (yet amazing live, what gives?), but I HAVE to chalk that up to maybe the band wanting to make him sound strained for the purpose of the song. Otherwise, why not a better vocal take? This one is the biggest "pop" song on the record, hands down. The music sounds like it was put together on a drum machine and keyboard, with a little Brad layering thrown in. Kiiara is by far the best part of this song, which I feel is the problem. It sounds like one of her songs featuring Chester, and not the other way around. 6 songs in, and it feels like Joe, Dave & Rob just phoned it in, sadly. Not their fault, but this album makes mefeel like they only recorded their parts just to be included. 7) So I read in early album reviews that Sorry For Now had LP channeling their inner Owl City, but I had no idea they were actually featured on the track?!? I kid, but sadly I kind of don't. Anyway. Another solid vocal performance by Mike. I really liked the "fuck you, deal with it" undertone of the lyrics. Yes, I know he's talking to his family and not actually telling them to fuck off, but you get the vibe that he's telling them they're not in his shoes and couldn't truly understand what he's doing until they did. I hated that they buried his vocals in the final chorus. Seems like he really put some power behind his voice there and it drowned under the musical noise and Chester's backing vocals. This song is catchy, but that isn't always a good thing. The crazy electronic breakdown scattered throughout the song threw me for quite the loop. Different? Yeah, but being different for the sake of being different doesn't always work. I feel like my opinion of this song will change with more listens. 8) Now comes the other contender for worst song LP has ever written. Halfway Right suffers from just about every cliche known to man. Forgettable beat and rhythm, cheesy melody, poorly written lyrics. The "woooohhhs" and "na na na nas" were the icing on the cake. If one positive thing could be said about the album up until this point, they all "sound" like Linkin Park. Hell, even Heavy can pass on a good day. This turd of a song doesn't even sound like LP. Feel like they copy and pasted Chester's vocals over a sample drum beat from a Casio keyboard. The first time I heard this song I wanted to punch a wall. That doesn't happen often when I listen to music. 9) One More Light (more appropriately The Only Light) is the one song on this album that doesn't feel like it's forcing a sound down your throat or trying to sound like something that's already been done a thousand times. It's a truly beautiful song, with a heart wrenching message. Anyone who has lost someone important to them (I, losing my father 2 years go) and felt that bottomless pit of grief can't help but feel that tightness in your chest when you listen to this song. It opens your eyes to the reality of how small our world really is, and at the same time how big of a hole left behind when that one light finally goes out. 10) I always thought The Messenger would go down as the worst album closer LP would ever release, but damn did Sharp edges prove me wrong. What ISN'T wrong about this song? Someone compared this song to having a country vibe, but I see it more as folk music. This song goes absolutely no where in a hurry. The lyrics are so bad when I first heard this I fought the urge to throw my Bose headphones across the room. This song belonged at a campfire, not closing a Linkin Park album. I honestly think this song has more of a place on Mmm Cookies Vol 2 than on an actual studio release. When it was all said and done, I truly was disappointed with One More Light. There are a couple bright spots, but for the most part I felt like I was picking apart the songs in an attempt to find just pieces of them that I enjoyed, which is a horrible way to appreciate a song. One More Light suffers from two problems, where all of their previous albums suffered from one or the other. The album doesn't benefit from listening to it from beginning to end, like you would A Tnousand Suns or Minutes To Midnight. Those albums truly excelled as a single musical endeavor. It feels like a bunch of scattered songs on shuffle. The other problem is the album doesn't hold up as a collection of songs either. It doesn't have enough standout songs to warrant a comparison to their previous works that had stellar songs but maybe had some fillers and didn't flow like a complete album. Highlights are Talking To Myself, Sorry For Now and One More Light, if I'm reaching for a top 3. Shit list are Good Goodbye, Halfway Right and Sharp Edges. The ones in between have a better chance of falling towards the bottom, but that could change with more listens. All in all, it truly is disappointing to wait nearly 3 years for a record from your favorite band, only to be let down like this. The tour doesn't bring the excitement and incentive to see new music live, and since they're unlikely to bring back quality jams, it depresses more knowing we probably have another 3 year wait ahead of us...

Well, considering the quality of the songs, are we even sure we want 13-14 tracks? Let alone 20? Haha

Invisible, like I've stated with every song officially released so far, is just weak. Lyrics are cheesy & cliche. The music just feels empty and lacks that "umph" that they usually have. The overall rhythm & melody just sounds like any generic pop structured song that you can find anywhere. Only bright spot is Mike's singing, which I always enjoy. I'm all for the band broadening their musical horizons, but damn at least do something original. This particular style may be new to them, but it's by no means genre breaking. Whether it's the co-writers, producers or the band just misfiring, this album is just setting up to disappoint.

Horrible. Just painful swift. Where to even begin... First off, the song is very boring. I'd compare it to In Between (sadly) for being a song that just starts and goes no where. Kiiara actually sounds great, but it feels like she takes over through the choruses and I just don't like it. I can handle when the band lays back on the heavy guitars and drums, cause some of their best songs have done that. This, unfortunately, just isn't one of them. This is purely a pop song, both on structure and all around cheesiness. I'm the last person to discourage LP exploring new sounds & boundaries, especially after loving ALL of their albums, but this single really dampers my expectations for the album. And another 10 track album? Seriously? They couldn't bang out a couple more? And are they gonna release half of them before the album even drops like they did with The Hunting Party? Ugh, I'm so bummed right now. Never thought I'd be one of those fans talking negatively about the band, but damn did this song just kill my mood and excitement for what's to come. I'll give it more listens obviously, but I'm not feeling optimistic

They'll more than likely post videos of the one where they collated with the featured artists on the album. All For Nothinf, Guilty All The Same, Rebellion, Drawbar and such

What's sad is the ballad medley got more reaction from the crowd than any of their newer songs. Lack of radio air play for heavier songs is really hurting them

I meant bring either of them down from the main set into the encore. Not drop them completely. That would be a crime in itself. And yes, drop Given Up. It's had it's time and it just doesn't live up to its quality live anymore

In my opinion, they should just make a few changes, including th shortened songs. They should just drop Given Up, and New Divide, even if they're just portions. Chester can't do them justice live anymore, and they're just played out. And play the original Castle of Glass, which is WAY better than the RECHARGED version. If there's any songs that should be shortened, keep Burn It Down for that. Song is terrible live from all angles and it would put way less stress on Chester. And to make things interesting, instead of a Solo Medley for Joe, make it one big band jam, throwing a bunch of different parts from other songs into one joint jam. AND WHY ARE THEY SHORTENING UNTIL IT'S GONE?!?!? It's arguably the most attention radio-wise THP has gotten since it's release so shortening it makes no sense. And the encore has to be heavier. Bring BIO or WID back into the main set and drop Faint or OSC for the encore. Hell, being the new LFY mix into the encore

Can't believe this means Camden is getting Set A on Friday. I don't think I've ever been bummed about going to an LP show before. This sucks

Anyone else wondering why With You was played in full, AND a portion of it with Until It's Gone?

Am I the only one who doesn't believe that 30 Seconds To Mars have been putting on a good show?

If this is the set we'll see in Camden, it'll go down as the worst show I've ever seen from them, and that's disappointing. Chester and Mike could sound perfect but the sheer laziness, lack of creativity and clear punch to fans' faces completely outweighs thag slim possibility .

Pretty lame set, if you ask me. Portions of songs have to stop. And ballad medley? Only reason I see that sticking around is to give the band a breather at the midpoint of the set.