There’s a dilemma every huge band has to go through at some time and it would seem that Linkin Park have reached and decided to cross their particular Rubicon. It would have been all too easy for the band to recreate their first two successful albums using the now familiar ‘Linkin’ formula but to their credit they have recognised the need to move on.  

And in a world (especially an American world) of political and social turmoil the band have also grown up lyrically. Gone is the teen angst nu-metal mayhem of old to be replaced by a more thoughtful, thought provoking approach that seems to be having a go at the American Idiot himself George Bush amongst others. The song ‘No More Sorrow’ may be ambiguous to the band I suspect, but the truth is out there, as they say.  

Of course there will be those muppets who think the band have probably blown it with ‘Minutes To Midnight’ as all they want to hear is ‘Numb’ (in which case get satellite telly mate as it seems to be on constant rotation on the rock channels). There are one or two signature ‘Linkin’ songs on here but Shinoda’s rapping is kept to a minimum. Instead we are left with quieter, more contemplative stuff such as the closing number ‘The Little Things You Give Away’ a song of genuine sincerity.

‘Valentines Day’ is also a song of deep integrity and I suspect that the almost ballady content of ‘Minutes To Midnight’ as a whole will open up a whole new audience for the band. Whether it loses them some of their original fans remains to be seen. However producer Rick Rubin seems to have freed up the wheels of the Linkin Park juggernaut to a point where this album seems much less sterile than there previous output.

Clearly there’s an intelligence and deep social conscience in the Linkin Park ethos and finally on ‘Minutes To Midnight’ we get to hear it. Whether it’s rock ‘n roll or not will be up to the individual. This album is a big improvement on the slightly disappointing last effort ‘Meteora’ and the band deserve success with it for being different, not to say brave. My only real quibble is the lack of guitar work – he must have been making the tea for the others during the recording as he’s simply not there anymore. Perhaps he now knows how Alex Lifeson felt during Rush’s ‘keyboard’ period!

Let us know your views on Minutes To Midnight

Track Listing

Wake
Given Up
Leave Out All The Rest
Bleed It Out
Shadow Of The Day
What I've Done
Hands Held High
No More Sorrow
Valentine's Day
In Between
In Pieces
The Little Things Give You Away

Line Up

Brad Delson - Guitars
Rob Bourdon - Drums
Mike Shinoda - Vocals/Guitar
Chester Bennington - Vocals
Joe Hahn - Turntables
Phoenix - Bass