Living Things Album Review by Stark...

When you have complete faith in something, no matter how many universes stand up against it, it WILL work out to be good.

Linkin Park released their 5th Studio Album "Living Things" on the 20th of June, 2012, and with that, sent a strong message throughout the Galaxy, "We continue to do what we do best, make good music."

Non-LP fans called "A Thousand Suns" a huge fail. They called it "A Disaster". They called it "Doom-bringer for Linkin Park".

We call it "Evolution". We call it "Concept". We call it "Growing Up".

True they stuffed in too much Electronics into the tracks, but that's how Music evolves!
Slowly and steadily, mixing various styles together, weaving it into a beautiful web of Pure Audio.
And who better to talk about mixing styles than Linkin Park itself!

Linkin Park manages to do something that blows people's minds away into infinity, fuse Rock and Rap into one. Shinoda's brilliance comes into play with this.

In this album, along with the Electronics, they have brought back the original essence of Linkin Park, the drum-rolls, the 4-Chord progressions, the Rock-rhythm on Electric Guitar, Bennington's high-pitched choruses, and above all, Shinoda's Raps.
When a track starts, it has an engaging intro, great background aura, but the Rap, THAT'S what defines Linkin Park.

So basically it's like a subtle mix of "A Thousand Suns" and "Minutes to Midnight".

OVERVIEW OF THE ALBUM:-

It starts with Electronics, and I thought this one will be totally disappointing, but I heard that riff and Rap together, and it filled me up with Will-Power again! It's another Linkin Park powerhouse.
What will you find?
Real Alternative Rock. Defining the Genre, LP Style.
Alternative Rock these days, is just either Soft Rock or Over-hard Rock. This is the real deal.
Lyrically extremely beautiful. Occasional growls, brilliant rap, awe-frikkin-some choruses, and you're going to hear that drum-roll far too often!

So let's start with the Track-by-Track review...

1)Lost In the Echo : "This time I finally let you Go...Go...Go.."

Too much words in a single line, but it all makes perfect sense when you read the lyrics. One HELLUVA intro. It sticks to your mind like a Parasite! Nice use of Guitar rhythms. Growls weren't so great.
2.5/5

2)In My Remains : "Now in my remains...Are promises that never came.."

A little too much on the Electronics side, but Guitar rhythm sounded loud and clear. Solid, definite beats. Confident music as a whole. Just LISTEN to Shinoda sing after the second stanza, and you get the pleasures in your Ear, you've never experienced before.
3/5

3)Burn It Down : "And fan the flames...as your blazes burn.."

Already a SMASHING hit before the Album release, we all have heard it, and we all have totally loved it. Lesser Electronics, reminds me of "In The End" from "Hybrid Theory". The Rap is F-A-B. Background fillers used sound great.
3.5/5

4)Lies Greed Misery : "Swallow up your Greed...suffer all alone in your misery.."

Fresh track, a little away from tradition. Changed chord progression and a real good choice there, I must say! Growls were absolutely not necessary. Shinoda does a great job but together they can't really pull off a track as good as "Papercut". Not the best here.
2/5

5)I'll Be Gone : "Climbing through tomorow...I'll be gone..."

No, this isn't anything like "When They Come for Me" from "A Thousand Suns". It's new, still maintains the Linkin Park feel. My personal favorite from the Album. Brilliant riffs, beautiful chorus, energetic throughout. The sub-chorus is particularly mind-blowing. Chester, well done!
4/5

6)Castle Of Glass : "Cause I'm only a crack...in this Castle of Glass..."

Felt like a Bollywood track at first. Soft, yet suspenseful track. Even with the drum-rolls, sounds spooky and curious. Wow Mike, just..Wow. Amazing choice of chords. Fast and powerful. Electronics too excess.
3.5/5

7)Victimized : "Time has come for you.."
Yeah, okay LP, we get it, you can go Hard Rock, but why HERE!
Anything that's different doesn't always mean it's good.
They could've done without this one.
1.5/5

8)Roads Untravelled : "Cause the love that you lost..wasn't worth what it cost.."

4 Words- It Made Me Cry. Such beauty, it's just simply rare. The RIGHT chords, the RIGHT background fillers, the RIGHT kind of pulse needed to pull off a tear-racking track. They made this track against Sex-Trafficking and other Anti-Social practices. JUST worth it.
4.5/5


9)Skin To Bone : "Your deception...My disgust..."
Pumping intro. Drums are rock solid. Rhythm doesn't match the tone but that's another one of LP's traits. Fairly paced track.
3/5


10)Until It Breaks : "I don't run the track..I make the track run.."
Slow rap, doesn't sound too appealing until Bennington jumps in. Drums pump up the little bits. Both handle it amazingly well. Choir stanza is beautiful.
3/5

11)Tinfoil

Instrumental bridge, quite excessively used in "A Thousand Suns". Still sounds a beautiful track in itself. Incites suspense and drama. Does it job EXTREMELY well.
3.5/5

12)Powerless : "Ten Thousand promises...Ten Thousand ways to lose..."

A BRILLIANT ending to an AWESOME album. Intro sounds great and will linger on for a fairly long time. Drums are just BAFFLING. Chord choice Deja Vu, but is substantially great. The"WHOA" puts you into sweet dreams. Rhythms are JUST perfect. Brings a hint of Iglesias.

4/5

After listening to the whole album in loop for like the 1000th time, I'm pretty sure this one deserves a Good 8.5/10.

It's evolution, folks. Give em' time, they'll kick even more ass.
With every passing album, they're becoming better. As a die-hard LP fan, I believe one day, they shall be THE best.
And I'll be in the crowds cheering them.


Comeback time?
Sure is, bitches!