Linkin Park's Albums, From Worst To Best Part 3: Minutes To Midnight

Hey everybody, it's me, Nik Brusk, the guy who will move to Canada if Donald Trump becomes president.

Today, I will continue my Blog Post series of ranking and reviewing Linkin Park's albums from worst to best. This is the third post. It will cover Linkin Park's third worst album.

Album #4) Minutes To Midnight

This album is the start of Linkin Park ditching Nu Metal and going soft. This album is also the start of whiny Hybrid Theory and Meteora fanboys hating on Linkin Park and begging for them to be heavy again. You know, changing your style isn't a bad thing at all. Just look at Metallica. They were pretty soft during The Black Album and Load era, and their music was still good!

But this ain't no Metallica. Let's see if the change from Metal to Soft Rock was a good idea or not.

Track 1: Wake

I doubt anyone can tell if they actually were going soft because of this instrumental. The build is nearly perfect, and the payoff near the end is amazing. This instrumental is epic, a great way to start this album.

Track 2: Given Up

This song further proves my point on making it hard to tell if Linkin Park has gone soft. In fact, it sounds like they've gone HEAVIER instead of softer. This song is BRUTAL with its instruments, and the main hook is insane, especially the part where he screams "tell me what the f**k is WRONG!!!" part. But the main attraction here, is the 3rd verse. The 3rd verse is so heavy, I was wondering if I put in a Slayer album instead of a Linkin Park album. It's that crazy.

And then, the scream.

Oh my god, the freaking scream. In the end of the third verse, when Chester finishes singing the lyrics "PUT ME OUT OF MY F**KING MISERY!!", he screams the word "misery", and holds it in for a staggering 18 SECONDS. 18 FREAKING SECONDS!!! Not even Corey Taylor or Tom Araya screamed for that long! And the fact that he has to sing "I've Given, UUUUUUUP!!" after that is insane. Overall, a nearly perfect song with a phenomenal scream.

Track 3: Leave Out All The Rest

You know, I had such an adrenaline rush from listening to Given Up, I feel weird and a little exhausted when this song comes on. This song is the start of the soft direction of the album and Linkin Park as a whole, and it isn't bad at all. LOATR has a nice relaxing feel to it, and magnificent lyrics. The song is about remembering the good things about a dying loved one and leave out the bad moments. It's an amazing message, and makes it a great song.

Track 4: Bleed It Out

If your at a wild party or bar and wanna go wild and fight people, this is the song for you. Bleed It Out has a certain rock and party feel, with the chanting in the background I was kinda shocked to learn that it was about suicide. This song is well known for its live performances, where Chester and Mike go to each end of the stage and start a sing-along with the crowd, along with a drum solo by Rob. Bleed It Out is a kick@$$ song that hypes me up.

Track 5: Shadow Of The Day

At first I didn't like this song, due to how soft it was, but it grew on me. Especially the end part with the guitar solo by Brad and Chester. The melodies and lyrics make this song worthy of meditation and relaxing sleep. If you have trouble falling asleep, just put this song on. It will make the listener sleepy and relaxed, trust me.

I almost forgot to mention. Since 2012, this song, LOATR, and Iridescent were put together in a live medley, where the first choruses and hooks of LOATR and SOTD where sang in a piano melody, then blasted with the guitar ending of Iridescent. Lemme just say, it's a beautiful experience, and if you haven't already, look it up. You won't regret it.

Track 6: What I've Done

Here it is. The song that got me into Linkin Park as a whole. What I've Done was included in the trailer and ending of the first live action Transformers movie. I watched it, and grew an interest in not only Transformers, but Linkin Park too. Everything else is nostalgic history. The song is very good. Chester's singing is as melodic as ever, and the guitar solo is pretty great, especially the extended one in the live versions of this song. This song also highlights Mike's talent of guitaring and keyboarding, along with nice "na-na-na" chants in the end. Overall, a nostalgic song that is worth remembering in the good way.

Track 7: Hands Held High

The lyrics in this song are powerful as heck. Hands Held High, in Mike's words, is a big middle finger to George W Bush. It speaks out against the BS President Bush did during his run in the office and he tells US citizens to take action. It is surprisingly accurate, especially the iconic lyrics "when the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." If there's one criticism I have of this song, it's probably the instrumental. It sounds a little flat with basic beats from drums and keyboards. At one point I thought it was an A capella. Unfortunately I can't give the song a passing grade due to the weak instrumental, though the lyrics are beautiful and powerful.

Track 8: No More Sorrow

If Hands Held High was a middle finger to George W Bush, then No More Sorrow is equivalent to killing his family and setting his house on fire! This song is simply brutal. Once again, it's against George W Bush, but with way more aggressive lyrics like "Are you lost, in your lies? Do you tell yourself I don't realize your crusade's a disguise, replace freedom with fear you trade money for lives". "you will pay for what you've done", and "face it hypocrites". The guitar gives me a whiplash. It's freaking insane! Especially in the third verse where Chester starts screaming his face off and the guitar reaches Slipknot levels of heavy. Which is ironic, since you know, this is supposed to be the album that starts a soft direction.

Track 9: Valentine's Day

Everything from this track onward is extremely underrated. This song is obviously about being dumped and alone on a Valentine's Day, and how it affects the protagonist. It starts off as a soft rock song, then picks up into a heavier song when Chester sings "On a Valentine's Day!" It's a nice song, unfortunately it's severely underrated.

Track 10: In Between

I know said that Valentine's Day was severely underrated, but at least it was played live a decent number of times. This song, was only played a measly 13 times, according to Setlist.com. Really? 13 times? That is way too minuscule. This song deserves to be played as much as One Step Closer. It's about regretting things you have done and how he was torn between the person he was and the person he knew he should be. This is one of few songs where Mike is the only vocalist, and let me tell you, he is very fitting for this song. This is a beautiful song that really deserves more attention than it has.

Track 11: In Pieces

This song is about divorce, and hating the ex. Chester Bennington himself got divorced by the time this song was made. The song projects divorce aftermath very well with relatable lyrics, and a simple yet soothing instrumental.

And then the solo hits.

Technically, this is Linkin Park's first guitar solo, and what a first it is! The solo is amazing! Brad Delson said the reason he doesn't play guitar solos too much is because he doesn't want to show off. I can totally see why, cause I bet loads of people are jealous of his talent, including me. Overall, a decent song with a masterful solo.

Track 12: The Little Things Give You Away

This is it. The perfect ending for this album. Everything about this song is amazing. The meaningful lyrics, the relaxing instrumental, the powerful vocals, and BEAUTIFUL guitar solo. This song is about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is extremely powerful, even more than Hands Held High. The Little Things is nothing more than a masterpiece, a beautiful ending for a soft album.

So that's my review of Minutes To Midnight. What do I think about it?

I think Operation Go Soft was a success. This album is beautiful in every sense of the word. Pure magic. The songs have great, personal, and relatable lyrics, heavy instrumentals, and beautiful solos. The only reason I put this as the third worst album? Is because the other three albums, manage to be even better.

Best Songs: Wake, Given Up, Leave Out All The Rest, Bleed It Out, Shadow Of The Day, What I've Done, No More Sorrow, Valentine's Day, In Between, In Pieces, and The Little Things Give You Away

Mediocre Songs: Hands Held High

Worst Songs: N/A

Final Rating: 8.9/10

That's my review. Hope you enjoyed it!
Anyway, this is Nik Brusk, signing out. Up next is a full album review of Linkin Park's third best album, Hybrid Theory. I'll be shocked if I don't get tons of LP fanboys hating on me for not putting it as Linkin Park's best album.

Comments

Can't wait for the next. Your reviews are as always, great. - visitor (8/13/2016)

I came back to post an elaborate comment on this post.
Firstly, I am one of those whiny Hybrid Theory and Meteors fanboys. I'm new to metal, new to hard rock, new to alternative. I loved every song LP made before the release of Minutes to Midnight. The album kinda disappointed me. I like to be honest here because even I felt that LP should've been harder. But, I liked LP, Chester and Mike so much that I decided to give the later albums another try and lemme tell you that it did work out.
Wake was a perfect intro to the album.
Given Up has loads of power attached to it. And the "What the f*ck is wrong" part really did lift my emotions.
Leave Out All The Rest is a masterpiece.
Bleed It Out is a great song - By far my most listened to song of this album.
Shadow of The Day was disappointing. And before I forget, could you send me the link to that Medley thing you mentioned?
What I've Done - Brilliantly well done. Brought me back to liking LPs laters.
Anyway, I am looking forward to Hybrid Theory and Meteora. - visitor (9/9/2016)

It's ok if you prefer HT and Meteora over their new albums, as long as you respect other opinions and don't get butthurt and say "Ermuhgurd, their old stuff is wae bettur den dur nu stuff" like a jerk. And here's the link to the medley: https://youtu.be/eDh0U4ktAWg - visitor (9/16/2016)

Thanks, Nik. - visitor (9/29/2016)

So is Meteora your #1 Linkin Park Album? Haha. Great review!

~ VelitelCabal (on a temporary account with an edgy username) - visitor (9/9/2016)

How did you know Meteora was #1? - visitor (9/16/2016)

Hybrid was #2 (And you're only reviewing the main albums) so Meteora had to be #1. They're the only albums left to review. - visitor (9/16/2016)

Uh, you forgot about The Hunting Party. - visitor (9/16/2016)