Linkin Park - Living Things [Review]

Living Things is Linkin Park's recently released fifth studio album, and in my opinion, it is quite a successful effort. It is some of Linkin Park's best work to date; it is very creative, mixing elements of hard rock and metal with hip-hop and electronic music, and I think that it's closer to their original sound than its predecessor, A Thousand Suns, is. A Thousand Suns was a bit of a disappointment, and Minutes to Midnight is, overall, a good album, but I haven't been this "into" a Linkin Park album since Meteora, and that was almost ten years ago. I had a feeling as soon as I heard the "Burn It Down" single that this album was going to be good, and I was right, and I was involved as soon as the electronic hook at the beginning of "Lost in the Echo" began, which is probably my favorite song from the album, chosen, of course, as the album's second single. The chorus is melodically powerful, and the lyrics are powerful, as well, all about sacrificing something when we realize that it's no good for us. Similarly, "In My Remains" is an "electro rock" track with a catchy, powerful melody, and I adore the "like an army falling one by one by one" part; it's so haunting. "Burn It Down" was released as the album's first single, reminding me of Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock" but then turning into an epic rock track driven by guitar and synths. To me, it seems to be about damaging the planet's environment, but that's just my interpretation. I really want to use it on a fanmade soundtrack, and I already have one in mind, in fact.

"Lies Greed Misery" is definitely the "fist-bumper" of the album, the kind of song that is perfect to listen to when you're angry, especially when you're angry with someone in particular. Most of it is composed of Mike's rapping which is interrupted by Chester's furious shouting during the song's chorus. "I'll Be Gone" is more centered on Chester and definitely sound like a Minutes to Midnight outtake. It's really great but not a highlight on the album. "Castle of Glass" is also one of my favorites and is beautiful, a soft, slow song sung by Mike that is about feeling vulnerable. "Victimized" is a short (under two minutes) piece that is definitely the heaviest piece on the record, with fast-paced percussion, blaring guitar, and a soft melody that becomes Chester's enraged call to arms as he screams that he will never again be victimized. "Roads Untraveled" is the one of the more pacified songs on the record, sounding a lot like something that AFI would put together. "Skin to Bone" starts with a memorable electronic melody that plays in your head easily, and this song is definitely the most electronic track on the record. "Until It Breaks" is the most "hip-hop" track on the record, consisting mostly of Mike's rapping but also of Chester's voice over a smooth piano. "Tinfoil" is only a little more than a minute and ultimately only serves as an introduction to "Powerless" which is the album's closing track. It reminds me of "The Little Things Give You Away" in some ways. It's a really pretty song that is an ambient tribute to a loved one, whom makes the speaker feel, as the title says, powerless.

Living Things is different. Although, as I said before, it's closer to the old sound than Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns are, the "industrial metal" sound from the first two albums is more or less gone, and this is more focused on electronics and rapping. That probably wouldn't have made me too happy six, seven, eight, nine years ago, when I was a major fan of the metal scene, and in fact, when Minutes to Midnight was released in 2007, I was initially very discouraged, but I do appreciate it a lot more now. I find Living Things to be a really strong album, and I'm really happy with it, even though it's painfully short. The album, in its entirety, falls under forty minutes, running (according to my iTunes) at 36:58, and that's primarily because there are twelve tracks, some of which ("Lies Greed Misery" and "Victimized" and "Tinfoil") are short. It could have used two or three more tracks, and I do wonder if any outtakes. assuming that there are any, which I'm sure that there are, will ever surface. Melodically and thematically, though, I think that Living Things is a great album, and as I said, I'd even go as far as to say that it's some of the band's best work to date. A Thousand Suns has its gems (such as "The Messenger"), but overall, this is definitely a stronger album and more of an "A game" effort on the part of the band, even though my younger brother, who used to be a huge fan of the band, doesn't agree; he still says that he misses the old Linkin Park, but I honestly really like this direction.