Minutes To Midnight (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Linkin Park

.../> I was at the Minutes to Midnight tour at the O2 Arena on the second night. It was an unforgettable night.

===Wake===

_Instrumental_

Stylus onto record sound effect, and a slow gradual built up of sound on a keyboard. The sound levels increase until the drums come in followed shortly by a powerful guitar riff. This is just to get your blood pumping, as nothing else happens, and it then fades away to ...
...song, but it's a good intro when you listen to the album all the way through.

===Given Up===

_I've given up, I'm sick of feeling. Is there nothing you can say? Take this all away, I'm suffocating! Tell me what the **** is wrong with me!_

This is not one of my particular favourites. There's too much screaming (I don't like music that involves screaming), but the tune is compelling. I'm actually going to ... more

23:56

I have a confession to make. I don't tend to read reviews written on a product I'm about to review myself, for fear of unintentional plagiarism and subconscious bias. In this case, though, I was intrigued by the apparent range of opinions of Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park's latest album. Personally I like it, and I will explain why, but I'm disappointed in those who appear to dislike it simply because it doesn't fit with their expectations. Good music is good music, and will always be good music regardless of whether those creating it used to do something slightly different or not.

Minutes to Midnight

Fans of Meteora Linkin Park beware: this album is different. Some of the songs are a bit of a let down, but on the whole I think they've done a good job. Just accept that it's of a different style to Meteora and you'll get through it in one piece, I promise.

I was at the Minutes to Midnight tour at the O2 Arena on the second night. It was an unforgettable night.

Wake

Instrumental

Stylus onto record sound effect, and a slow gradual built up of sound on a keyboard. The sound levels increase until the drums come in followed shortly by a powerful guitar riff. This is just to get your blood pumping, as nothing else happens, and it then fades away to nothing. Not a song I listen to as a song, but it's a good intro when you listen to the album all the way through.

Given Up

I've given up, I'm sick of feeling. Is there nothing you can say? Take this all away, I'm suffocating! Tell me what the **** is wrong with me!

This is not one of my particular favourites. There's too much screaming (I don't like music that involves screaming), but the tune is compelling. I'm actually going to mention another reviewer here, and agree that the swear words in this are gratuitous, and don't really do the song any favours. It's a heavy song, but in the sense that you have to be in the mood for it to really enjoy it.

Leave Out All The Rest

When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done. Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed

The tempo suddenly slows, the melody simplifies, and we just get simple vocal to get this song going. I'm not one for analysing the deeper meaning behind lyrics, but this one seems to be about regret, and death. It's about admitting that you've done wrong, but that you've done good things too, and those are things worth remembering. It's full of self pity, which only works if you're in a similar mood. I'm starting to realise that I prefer the middle to end of the album, as these first three songs aren't really anything to shout about in themselves.

Bleed It Out

I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away. I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away. I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away. Just to throw it away, just to throw it away.

This one however really gets the adrenaline going. Starting strong with an impressive and highly addictive guitar solo, it's loud, angry and ideal to sing along to, to vent all that frustration. The verse is a good rap solo by Mike Shinoda (similar to "In The End" from the Hybrid Theory album) and I really like it. It goes perfectly with the guitar, and introduces Chester Bennington singing the chorus (above) well.

Shadow Of The Day

And the sun will set for you, the sun will set for you. And the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in gray, and the sun will set for you...

How very cheerful. This song starts slowly again, but never really builds up to anything big. This song is a let down in my opinion. Nothing really happens, it just seems to be a generically depressing song with a vaguely generic tune. Now that I listen with the intent to review, it all sounds different. This song features highly on my "skip list".

What I've Done

So let mercy come and wash away what I've done. I'll face myself to cross out what I've become, erase myself and let go of what I've done.

MUCH better. Classic Linkin Park rock, with an awesome chorus that you'll just want to shout along to. I suppose it's angsty, but I really like it. It feels massively uplifting, with the lyrics reminding you that however low you may have gone, there's always the promise of redemption. The tune and backing work well in that context, building up and up and in a major key. All in all one of the best songs of the album.

Hands Held High

Do you see, the soldiers, they're out today they brush the dust from bulletproof vests away. It's ironic, at times like this you pray, but a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday.

I hope that quote made you sit up and pay attention. This is a powerful song designed to provoke some very strong emotions. This is one of two songs on the album where Linkin Park decide to express their contempt for the state of their country. They have a go at the current administration quite ruthlessly, and make no apologies for it. The singer, Mike Shinoda, is supported by a military style drumbeat and an organ, which makes for an interesting contrast. About two thirds of the way through, support vocalists sing "_Amen_" over and over (which, in case you don't know, means "so be it") while Mike sings "_With hands held high into a sky so blue as the ocean opens up to swallow you._" over and over again. The end does seem to drag on, especially as it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song, but it's certainly one of the better songs.

No More Sorrow

No, no more sorrow. I've paid for your mistakes. Your time is borrowed. Your time has come to be replaced.

Another heavy song. There's a good strong support guitar riff driving the song on, which starts the song in such a distinctive manner. I'm always amazed at how Chester can sing so high with such power. It's certainly not something I can do (believe me, I tried at the concert, with some very bad results for my voice!). This is another one of those songs you can really sink your teeth into. A good one, in my view.

Valentines Day

So now you're gone, and I was wrong. I never knew what it was like to be alone on a Valentine's Day.

I'm not really sure, to be honest. I've rated it 5 stars in my playlist, but there's still something unsettling about it. The first half of the song feels unnecessary somehow, as it doesn't seem to do anything. It's too slow, and the quality of the tune doesn't compensate for that. It ends with Chester shouting "_On a Valentine's Day_" repeatedly. At this point there's a large amount of noise from the guitars and drums, but it feels like too little too late.

In Between

Let me apologize to begin with. Let me apologize for what I'm about to say. But trying to be genuine was harder than it seemed, but somehow I got caught up in between.

This song is a nice ballad, but importantly, it's not trying to be something else. It starts of with a (fake) cello playing a repeating melody. I'm a cellist, so it sounds painfully bad to me as it's so fake, but it should be ok to the great unwashed! This is a nice song to learn the lyrics to, as singing along can be quite relaxing. You won't wreck your voice! It's nothing to write home about, but it's nice. I know "nice" isn't a word I should use, as it doesn't really meant anything, but it seems appropriate somehow.

In Pieces

So I, I wont be the one, be the one to leave this in pieces. And you, you will be alone, alone with all your secrets and regrets. Don't lie.

Well he's obviously been dumped, and seems to be having difficulty with it! This is another of those where I feel unsettled somehow, as it doesn't seem to have much of a point. There's some good guitar work in the middle, and the beat picks up as it goes on. It's a decent song, but again not really anything to write home about.

The Little Things Give You Away

Don't want to reach for me do you? I mean nothing to you. The little things give you away. And now there will be no mistaking, the levees are breaking. All you've ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you, and six feet under water, I do.

Hope decays, generations disappear; washed away as a nation simply stares.

Do you know what it is yet? I listened to this song a few times before it dawned on me exactly what it's about. It takes some audacity to mock a government because of their handling of a disaster, but it seems Linkin Park have audacity in spades. In case you haven't guessed it, it's about hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Read the lyrics again.

Musically, it works brilliantly. The introductory drum and guitar rhythm is slightly creepy, and gives the impression of a dark, dank place. Chester comes in with his hauntingly lyrical voice. It's so gentle, it rather puts you off guard before you realise what it's about. About half way through, the style changes and I swear the guitar is underwater, though obviously it's not! I can almost hear dripping sounds, somehow. This is the longest song on the album, and it's relentless in making you brutally aware of their point! It's a very strange way to end an album, but it will stick with you for quite a while after listening.

Conclusion (not a song title!)

I've put myself into a horribly awkward position here. I started off thinking how amazing the album is, and what a glowing review this would be. Turns out that it's not. The album is good, don't get me wrong, but even taking the fact that it's of a different style from previous albums, it's not up to their usual standard. That said, I always enjoy listening to it, and some of the songs are excellent. Just don't analyse them too carefully like I have here.
My favourite tracks: "Bleed It Out", "What I've Done", "No More Sorry" (so the heaviest ones!) and then "Hands Held High" and "The Little Things Give You Away". The album is worth buying for these 5 songs, so I'm going to give it 4 stars.

I hope you've enjoyed my thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

Michael 

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