Linkin Park claim they spent more than 14 months in the studio choosing from over 100 song demos to make this LP, so why then does ‘Minutes To Midnight’ sound so rushed, unoriginal, and feels as needed as sun cream in Siberia? Four years have passed since ‘Meteora’ was released and although not all critics may have liked it, most could still admit their sound was explorative and genre-crossing. However on ‘Minutes To Midnight’ their signature rapping over rock riffs has almost been completely excluded, which may sound like a bright decision, but without this avenue the flaws in lyrics and song structures are fully exposed, leaving the band sounding weak and depleted.
‘Given Up’ is a promising start though, a song driven by simple chunky guitars and elevated by the strongest of choruses. Chester Bennington’s distinctive broken voice helps make the song and you cannot help but wonder why the bland ‘What I’ve Done’ was chosen ahead of this for the first single. However this is the exception rather than the rule, as the album meanders along lacking any direction or drive and contains far too many ‘slower’ songs that do little to move, engross, or even maintain your attention.
Following ‘Given Up’ is the momentum killer ‘Leave Out All The Rest’ that has crept its way up to track number three and is determined to spoil the party or quash any plans for a riot. Slow, mind-numbing and simply pointless it makes you wonder and winch at what the scrapped demos must have sounded like. ‘Bleed It Out’ flirts with being a decent tune but is laden with a dated metal riff that is an instant turn-off. ‘Shadow Of The Day’ sounds like The Fray but worse - even though that feat may have been deemed impossible. One of the few songs that does display their trademark rap/rock is ‘Hands Held High’ which is a poignant political rant that portrays the most sincere and thought-provoking lyrics on the album.
Everything seemed set for the re-emergence of one of the most influential and ground-breaking bands of the early 00’s, A headline slot at this summer’s Download Festival and a release of a brand new album four years in the making, the impact could have been huge. But no matter how much hype, PR talk-up and exposure a band can get, if the product they are selling is flawed the whole thing just won’t work. ‘Minutes To Midnight’ is a shiny new toy from the respected makers of ‘Hybrid Theory’ and ‘Meteora’ but it’s missing parts, has been pushed together with little artistic flair or passion and is a sorry inferior product riding of its makers name. No songs come near ‘In The End’ , ‘Crawling’ or ‘Numb’ no songs have the spark and fresh inventive edge of ‘One More Step Closer’ and ‘Breaking The Habit’. Instead the majority of tracks on ‘Minutes To Midnight’ are stagnant, forgettable, done before soft rock, that only the vocals link them to Linkin Park of old.
The Southern Californian sextet did something special after ‘Hybrid Theory’ they cracked and conquered the mainstream without tarnishing their image and respectability with the metal crowd and their hardcore fans. They were leaders and even inventors of their scene, but with time comes change and trends die. Linkin Park have tried to readjust and reinvent themselves even going down the ‘new direction’ road but they have well and truly hit a dead end.
On ‘Minutes To Midnight’ Linkin Park feel insignificant and stale. They may well have inspired some of today’s bands but Chester Bennington rather ironically sums up their future the best, singing “Your time is borrowed, your time has come to be replacedâ€. R.I.P Nu-Metal.
