I have read many ops on this album over the time I have been member on both dooyoo and ciao and I have felt that none of them have really done this great album justice. So I help that my op does………

A year ago hardly anyone had heard of linkin park and there nu-metal style, since then they have become massive and are taking the music industry by storm.

The band members are all very skilled and talented, however in some of the songs I do not belive that they all perform to their true potential.

The drumming in the album is not really all that prominent, however if it was not there you would notice it! It just holds the beat to all of the songs, there is nothing special about the drumming.

The lyrics are actually quite good for a nu-metal band. They seem to have a meaning(if only I could work them out). They are sung in a brilliant way, the lead singer is very good and he has a very powerful and well used voice. The backing singer has a deeper voice then the lead one which adds quite a nice touch to the music.

The guitaring is all standard. However they are all quite catchy tunes and they stick in your head for ages after listening to them.

The DJ is very good and it adds a very nice touch to some of the songs such as one step closer and points of authority.

The cover of the album is grey with the linkin park logo on it. On the back it has all the tracks clearly labelled on top of a picture of the band. The inlay is nothing special, it just contains a thew pictures and all the usual things like who the band would like to thank and all the lyrics.

The life span of the album is a very good one as the tunes are so catchy that you want to listen to it again and again. However saying I have not listened to the album for a fair while until today when I decided that I was going to write a op on it!

The album has a nice variety of tracks and there is something for everyone on it. Here is some information on each individual track.

1)Paper cut:
Wow this is the best song on the album and it is the one that done worst in the charts.

It starts of with a nice bit of DJ’ing and guitaring and it follows through into a nice heavy drum beat and some great lyrics.

The lyrics really are very good. They it in really well with the music and they are sung very well. It has you listening to it thinking "I want more" The lyrics are very enjoyable, especially towards the end when the two singers repeat on line after another.

There is some very nice bits of DJ’ing in this song and it just would not be the same without out it. It goes in brilliantly with all the other instruments and it is continuous all the way through

The drumming sticks with the tune of the music all the way through and does not really to any solos or anything out of the ordinary. Sounds really quite good, however it is not really in your face.

The guitaring sounds very good and it is quite a catchy tune and it sounds stupid but its hard to pick the guitars out at any other point apart from the chorus

2)One Step Closer:
This song proved quite popular and I can see why. It has such a catchy tune with some amazing DJ’ing and some amazing lyrics

The song starts off with a nice bit of DJ’ing and like in the first one this leads in a sudden clash of all the instruments and in the middle there is a great bit of DJ’ing which is accompanied by some singing(or should I say screaming?)

The lyrics in this song are great, the singers take it in turn to sing and it sounds brilliant when one person is holding onto the note whilst the other singer sings a different line. The lyrics sound brilliant and really are well sung.

The drumming holds a nice steady beat all the way through, it just becomes a little louder at the chorus so you can hear it over the other instruments.

The DJ’ing as always is brilliant and it fits in really well with the other instruments and there are some great sections of scratching at certain points in the song.

The guitaring really is not that prominent in the song and you cannot think "I can here the guitars and distinguish them" However you would notice it if they were not there(I think!)

3)With you:
This song is really good. It has amazing DJ’ing in the choruses

The lyrics are very good and the lead singer and backing singer mix the way they sing very well.

The drumming is quite nice in this song and it strays from the normal tune at several parts. It sounds really quite good and it stands out from the rest of the instruments unlike it normal.

The DJ’ing is very good and it sounds really good in all the choruses and in the middle of the song there is a really nice bit of DJ’ing which makes you want more. It sounds really good.

The guitaring as ever is barely noticeable.

4)Points of authority:
A great song.

The drumming is nice and loud and unlike usual it has a satisfying boom to it. It holds a steady beat all the way its just that It is really quite loud.

The DJ’ing is as always amazing and it is continuos all the way through. There is some really good bits of scratching and it twists the word of the singers really well and there are some really good solos.

The guitaring is not noticeable(I bet your getting bored of me saying that)

The lyrics in this song are a little repetitive in some places, but it has the usual style o the two singers switching etc. However the second singer does not sing that much as usual..

5)Crawling:
Despite the song being very good it annoys me for some reason which I cannot explain.

The lyrics are sung nice and gently and it then suddenly picks up tempo with some backing singing and then it leads into a load of shouting(not screaming). The lyrics sound quite good and I like the way that one minute they are soft but they work there self up to quite a loud volume.

This songs guitaring is quite noticeable compared to the first four. There is lots of little bits on the guitar and they are long notes.

There is no noticeable DJ’ing in this song and even if there was some proper scratching it would not really fit in.

The drumming is not really noticeable it just holds a little quite beat all the way through and it does not even pick up for the chorus!

6)Runaway:
I like this song. I think its really good. As all the instruments are really prominent(even the guitars).

The lyrics are really good and they are thought provoking. They have the style of nice quite and steady which will suddenly pick up and the backing singing starts. The lyrics sound really good.

The guitaring are quite obvious in the chorus of this song, however apart from that they are really quiet.

The DJ’ing is quite a nice mix. There is not as much as usual but when there is DJ’ing it sounds really quite good and it adds a certain touch to the mood of the song.

Drumming is a nice steady beat which picks up slightly during the chorus. Not much to say about it really…………..

7)By Myself:
Not to keen on this myself as I think that the style mixes are a bit annoying, however the lyrics are good.

The lyrics are sung nice and gently by the second singer and then in the choruses the main singer starts screaming and singing the chorus with the other guy.

The guitaring starts and stops in this song so you can tell that its there but you really cannot tell it apart from the other instruments apart from in the chorus.

The DJ’ing is only noticeable in the choruses and is not continuos all the way through which is a shame but such is life! When you can hear the DJ’ing its as good as ever.

The drumming is only really noticeable in the chorus!

8)In the end:
This song has a really good mix of styles.

The song starts off with a basic little bit of pianoeing and DJ’ing which makes a nice touch. It also ends with pianoeing!

The drumming unlike most songs is really good and it is really obvious and in your face it has a really satisfying boom to it. Possible the best drumming in the album.

In this song the lead singer really shows his full potential it sounds great the way he holds onto the really long notes and then suddenly drops down to a quite singing voice then take it up a bit more an then take it to screaming level again. The backing singer adds a really nice touch to the song by adding in some really nice rapping and the DJ’ing holds the words of the singers really nicely and there is a certain electronic touch to the backing singers rapping.

This is possible my favourite song on the album as it is a really good style.

9)A place for my head:
This song starts off with a guitar solo(wow)

The guitaring is quite obvious in this song(well the bass guitaring is even if the normal guitaring). Its quite good.

The DJ’ing is not that obvious in the song, however you can definitely hear it at certain points during the song.

At the beginning the song the lyrics are really quite boring but towards to the end of the song it has one of them screaming and the other one rapping and it sounds really good.

The drumming is just a nice steady beat in the background.

10)Forgotten:
Iam not really to keen on this song as I think that it is really quite boring, however the singing keeps you from pressing the skip button on your CD player(that or you cannot be bothered to get up and press the skip button).

The DJ’ing is just little bits of scratching in certain places which adds a nice touch to the song.

The drums are there and they are quite loud they are just really boring and its the same story with the guitars.

The singing is really good except the mix is not as good as usual however the lyrics in this song are thought provoking and interesting.

11)Cure for the itch:
This song is really just one big bit of DJ’ing. There may be some drumming but that could just as well be the very talented DJ there is no singing. Its quite a nice song before the last one…….

12)Pushing me away:
The last song on the album. Thank the lord it was getting a bit repetitive.

The lyrics in this song are really good and it has one singer holding onto a long note whilst the other starts rapping. In the chorus the lead singer shows how good his voice really is. The lyrics are thought provoking and they seem to be about a real life situation.

The drumming holds a ice steady beat all the way through, its just a shame it does not have that boom to it.

This song has probably the most notable guitaring in the album. It sounds really good and it fits in really well.

Unfortunately there is no DJ’ing in the song, but never the less it finishes off the album in style

I would have to conclude that this album is very good with some amazing lyrics, however it does get a little repetitive towards the end. But you can pick it up for as little as £7.99 so its well worth it if you are into nu-metal.

Thanks for reading.
Edd.