ghost

This is going to make me sound like a lunatic, but I have to do this re-review. I've let the album sink in for nearly two weeks now, and my opinions on it have completely changed. Originally I was all over the album enjoying every single second of it, and then some songs didn't really work their magic for me anymore. Now i'm nearly over this album, and it is basically a sugar rush. Look at their last album, A Thousand Suns. It felt like a six course meal rather than a bag of candy. It was creative, different, and emotional. Sometimes the build-up didn't come right away but when you waited so long for it, it paid off. LIVING THINGS is filled with heavy choruses, bleeps and bloops of digital effects, the typical distorted guitar textures, and a production so clean you'd think it's a pop album. But that's the thing, it's a pop album. Tracks like "Lost In The Echo" and "Lies Greed Misery" are electronically charged anthems that harken back to Linkin Park's older days. They are filled with big rap verses, catchy choruses, and heavy screams. They seem like re-hashes of what we've already heard in the past, that candy that fuels you. The lyrics are average at best, and in fact contradicting at times. "In My Remains" sounds like an A Thousand Suns b-side that was too generic to fit the album. It is pretty generic to say the least. "I'll Be Gone" feels like a Minutes To Midnight track that didn't make the final cut. I can see why. It's beyond generic, it's in fact hard to enjoy. The lyrical themes in this album are so similar that it frightens me. Chester sings "this time I finally let you go" in the first track, and in the fifth he sings "it's time you let me go". Uninspired writing? Check. The second half of this album feels much more experimental and thoughtful. "Victimized" sounds like a mistake though. A track that was intended to be heavy to feed the fans this candy that they want. Rapping? Check. Heavy screams? Check! Saying that this track is the best on the album, or even good makes me cringe. "Skin To Bone" has a funky rhythm that caught my attention right off the bat. The lyrics seem a bit basic at times but that is what makes this track work. Crooning, hypnotic vocals that will rest in your brain for hours and hours to come. "Until It Breaks" is the most creative track the band has ever made. The beat is an electronic, seismic thump with Mike Shinoda spitting his best verses to date. Chester and Brad break the original mood of the song with soft, beautiful verses. The album ends with the worst instrumental the band has ever released and "Powerless". A pop ballad that will be echoing through your car system for time and time to come. Where did Linkin Park go wrong with this album? The first half with the exception of "Castle Of Glass". Where did they go right? Mostly the second half of this album, where they showed signs of creativity and their never-ending attempts to do something fresh and exciting. In 2010, the bands mindset was to work on an album that they believed was honest artwork. A beautiful album with so many twists and turns and epic build-ups that will leave you on the edge of your seat the whole time. This time around, they go back to the catchy choruses, and screaming that the fans begged and pleaded for. I guess Linkin Park decided to conform. LIVING THINGS - 2/10: This album is everything the fans wanted. I leave you all with a quote from Mike Shinoda from 2010: "We asked ourselves: were we all earnestly willing, more than ever before, to abandon the precepts of commercial ambition in pursuit of what we believe to be honest art? The inclination to begin writing conventional songs for a conventional album came and went. The temptation to adjust our creative vision to fulfill expectations beyond our studio walls yielded to the audacious ambition of what we hoped to achieve as a band. The two years of making 'A Thousand Suns' marked our exhilarating, surrealistic, and often challenging journey into the creative unknown."

I made this thread because i'm just not a big fan of giving songs scores. It's a lame concept. I want to see everyone rank their favorite LIVING THINGS songs in four different categories. Here's an example (my personal rankings): BEST - Roads Untraveled, Skin To Bone GOOD - In My Remains, Castle Of Glass, Until It Breaks, Powerless AVERAGE - Lost In The Echo, Burn It Down, Lies Greed Misery, I'll Be Gone WORST - Victimized, Tinfoil

Why does Linkin Park get so much hate for their change? I just don't understand it. Many people think that once a band puts out a record, that's it, that's who they are but that isn't true. From day one Linkin Park has said that they aren't about once specific style. They like to experiment and change. For the fans who don't like the new music, it's okay to not like something. The problem is, these people never end with the "well it's not HT! fucking liars!" and "well its better than ats but still sux" remarks on Youtube. Who gives a shit if it isn't Hybrid Theory? Nickelback is a band that gets constantly shitted on because they don't change! I mean I hate the band personally but if they released an album with electro influence and a bit of dubstep i'd be downloading that album so quickly you'd think I was a fan. Pink Floyd is a band that had changes in their sound and they are one of the greatest bands of all time. If you think of a famous band and look all throughout their career you can some change whether it be Pink Floyd, Green Day, Metallica, or Linkin Park. I don't see how a band that is considered a one-trick pony gets constantly shitted on, and Linkin Park does too. This time around with LIVING THINGS there is traces of all of the styles/ideas that they've done in the past, PLUS some folk influence. So not only are you getting a hybrid fusion of old/new, but you're getting something a little bit more! Some fans, and thankfully not you guys are ungrateful and mentally insane.

Burn It Down is the perfect first single because it is the perfect blend of new and old. It's really electronic with soft verses, but then it has the anthem-esque chorus and a dab of rap in the bridge. Why do people think Lost In The Echo should've been the first single? That would give fans the idea that the band is bringing back their old sound, Burn It Down on the other hand feels a bit more like everything.

Some people might find this thread cheesy or corny but I wanted to do it anyway. Try to rename each song title based off of a lyric in that song. WARNING: This thread could contain spoilers for those who haven't heard the songs yet! CYCLES 01. LET YOU GO 02. SET THE SILENCE FREE 03. AT THE TURN 04. YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF 05. LIGHTS OUT 06. ONLY A CRACK 07. VICTIMS 08. SIGHTS UNSEEN 09. STEEL TO RUST 10. RISING SUN 11. REFLECTIONS 12. PROMISE

For those who have heard the leak, how did you feel about Brad's singing? I liked it, but I hope that's the only song he'll get a solo part in.

Linkin Park is back again and earlier than usual with LIVING THINGS. Usually Linkin Park likes to completely change up the game and release an album that has a whole bunch of new sounds and ideas, but this time they blended all of their sounds from the past to create an energetic explosion of an album. The first half of this album is straight-forward and in-your-face, with compact and fast-paced songs. The second half of the album feels much more unique and shows heavy experimentation and progression of the band's original sound. The album opens with "LOST IN THE ECHO" which opens with airy synths and the rap/rock formula that everybody is familiar with. Mike boldly states that he "won't back down" and "won't roll over / don't know how" while Chester emotionally sings "promises broken / deep below / each word gets lost in the echo" before screaming the refrain. The song gets all glitched out in the bridge, a la Blackout. The second track "IN MY REMAINS" has contrasting lyrical themes with the previous track with Chester singing "wash away the worst of me". While the first track gives off a reincarnation of the old Linkin Park, the second song seems more electronic rock which looks back on Minutes To Midnight and A Thousand Suns. The lead single "BURN IT DOWN" is a mix of old and new, all packed into one high energy track with danceable melodies and soaring vocals. "LIES GREED MISERY" is a chaotic track. While the music starts off with a warm indie-rock vibe, it evolves with swirling synths and heavy beats with Mike rapping "i'mma be that nail in your coffin, saying that I softened?". This song has a cheerful melody but the lyrics contrast that in the refrain with "I wanna see you choke on your lies, swallow up your greed, suffer all alone in your misery". This is another song that shows reflections of the old and new Linkin Park. "I'LL BE GONE" opens with electronic keyboard and handclaps and morphs into a full-out radio rock tune that sounds like a possible single. The energy of the album continues with the suprising upbeat folk tune "CASTLE OF GLASS". Most of Linkin Park's songs this time around started out with very stripped down, folk melodies that morphed into the monsters that they are now. This track is very eerie but at the same time upbeat and full of energy. The second half of this album is where everything changes. "VICTIMIZED", which was labeled to be the band's heaviest song yet is actually very progressive and weird. It opens with soft singing by Mike Shinoda before a vicious and violent chorus by Chester that kids in the moshpit will surely go nuts to. The tribal drums kick in and Mike raps "for you snakes in the grass supplying the venom / I ain't scared of your teeth I admire what's in 'em" before the throat-slashing chorus returns. This song is fast-paced and falls a few seconds short of 2 minutes in length. "ROADS UNTRAVELED" is a beautiful ballad with windchimes and piano. This song lacks a real chorus but the song itself works in a way that alot of Linkin Park ballads have in the past. Some of the band's best lyrics to date are in this song with "the love that you lost wasn't worth what it cost and in time you'll be glad it's gone". "SKIN TO BONE" is a hypnotic song with very repetitive lyrics and crunching electronic synths. This song was originally a folk song, and you can tell so with the campfire-esque vocals "right to left / left to right / night to day and day to night". "UNTIL IT BREAKS" is the band's most progressive piece yet. The song starts off with a stripped down ambient beat with Mike Shinoda's raps echoing all over the place. The song shifts into a piano ballad with Chester asking for the "strength of the rising sun" before the rap melody returns. The end of the song has Brad Delson, the band's guitarist singing over very light synths and ambient noises. His voice is drowned in reverb and echo. "The body bends until it breaks" can be heard. "TINFOIL" is your typical Linkin Park instrumental. Heavily electronic with drums echoing all over the place. The album closes with "POWERLESS", an emotional ballad that slowly builds from the previous track. Chester sings "You hid your skeletons when I had showed you mine / You woke the devil I thought you'd left behind". Easily their best close to an album, it is as epic as "Krwling" and as emotional as "The Little Things Give You Away" but compacted in under four minutes of length. This album has been announced to be the perfect blend of new and old with very high-energy songs. While the guitars are more noticeable, and then tempo of the songs are generally fast, the energy seems to fall flat towards the end of the album. This album had high expectations especially coming only a year and a half after the cacophonic cluster of "A Thousand Suns". Suns had the perfect blend of beauty and chaos. This album tries to mimic that, and falls short in some places. ~~~ LIVING THINGS Tracklist and song scores: 1) LOST IN THE ECHO - 8.5/10 2) IN MY REMAINS - 8.5/10 3) BURN IT DOWN - 7.5/10 4) LIES GREED MISERY - 8/10 5) I'LL BE GONE - 8/10 6) CASTLE OF GLASS - 8/10 7) VICTIMIZED - 3.5/10 8) ROADS UNTRAVELED - 9/10 9) SKIN TO BONE - 9.5/10 10) UNTIL IT BREAKS - 7/10 11) TINFOIL - N/A 12) POWERLESS - 8.5/10 OVERALL: 8/10 A good album that is a nice mix of the old and the new Linkin Park, but won't last and will leave fans wanting something more.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD. Lost In The Echo - Whoa, this song sounded alot different than I expected. It opens with an 80's like vibe and huge synths. Very full of energy. And Chester in this track...you're going to be suprised. This song is just nuts, I don't want to spoil it. In My Remains - Cacophonic intro with crazy digital sound effects. Starts off with a battle like/warrior intro with synths and pulsing drums. The bridge was a little spooky. Amazing song. This and the first one sound pretty rad and will be fan favorites. This song could easily be a futuristic war movie. Like some crazy battle scenes from the year 2500. Burn It Down - You know it Lies Greed Misery - You Know it I'll Be Gone - Kicks off with these bad ass pianos and handclap echoes. Guitar is a little easier to here in this one. By descriptions I wasn't really excited for this song but when I heard it, it's one of my favorites. Pretty catchy too. Castle Of Glass - The chorus in this one is very folky. Electronics are everywhere in this song too. Just like they said, folk-inspired but at the same time they added their own unique touch. Chorus "only a crack, in this castle of glass, won't be anything left for you to see..." I remember that one. Victimized - Heavy as hell. This one was suprisingly not filled with guitars, alot of electronic sounds. It flew by so quickly I couldn't even catch an opinion. Roads Untraveled - This one made me feel really sad. Beautiful song. I have a feeling it will be the forgotten track of the album and I hope it isn't. Very emotional lyrics, I almost teared up and i'm a guy. "love that you lost isn't worth the costs" Skin To Bone - Crunchy electro beats with these weird hypnotic crooning vocals. Amazing. I thought it was going to sound empty but boy I was wrong. There's a couple AH's in this song but not like When They Come For Me. Until It Breaks - This song feels like three songs fused together in an epic Mash-Up. Mike goes hard on this one, his lyrics are very "Lies Greed Misery"/Fort Minor here, "give ya what you need like papa who shot ya?" - his 2nd time mentioning Biggie. The song gets heavier towards the end. Tinfoil - MUCH BETTER when heard in full and not live. Pretty sweet. It's my favorite instrumental they've ever done since Cure For The Itch. Powerless - The energy kind of fades out with this song. Beautiful closer. Best close to an album they've ever had, next to Little Things and The Messenger. Brilliant stuff here and good lyrics.

I know Linkin Park has given the wrong lyrics for their songs on their website and in their booklets before, but in BURN IT DOWN what does Chester actually sing in the 2nd verse? They wrote: "As the flames climbed into the clouds" but it doesn't sound like that at all.

These are track titles or numbers that are similar on different albums. If you can add to the list, do so! I am not sure if some of these are intentional or not. - In The End and Waiting For The End are both track 8 - Runaway and Easier To Run are both track 6 - Numb and POWERLESS are both the ending tracks on the albums that they are on, and the words are synonyms - Burning In The Skies and BURN IT DOWN are both track 3 - When They Come For Me and I'LL BE GONE are both track 5

I'm suprised nobody here took a shot at this, or at least to my knowledge. This is my interpretation of the lyrics. Anyone can adjust, add to, take away from them. I want to see if we can get the lyrics straight before the official lyrics are printed out. UNTIL IT BREAKS LYRICS THUS FAR: This is something for you people on the block to / blackout and rock to Give you what you need like Papa / who shot ya Seperate the weak from the obsolete / too meek / I creep hard on imposters Switch styles on the dime / quick witted yall quit trippin / I don't have time for your crying I grind tough sucka make your mind up Are you in the firing squad or are you in the lineup? Bang bang little monkey man playing with the big guns / only get you slaying I ain't playing I'm just saying / you aint got a sliver of a chance I get in the grinding level while you quiver in your pants So shake shake down / money here's the breakdown You can play the bank / I will play the bank take down No mistakes now i'm coming to getcha' I'm a Banksy / you're a Brainwash / Get the picture? It's like that/ And somewhere in the song: You woke the devil that I thought you left behind