What does OT think of Linkin Parks new album?

So the album has been out for about a week now so I thought it was time to see what people think about it.

Personally, I have been listening to it repeatedly since I got it last Wednesday and am totally in love with the album. It honestly might be my fav by the band and it is undoubtedly their best effort on a technical level.

It is such a HUGE step up for the band in terms of instrumentation. The drumming is actually pretty damn awesome here, and the guitar is now doing more than just playing chords. There are guitar solo's throughout and while it isn't exactly the most mind-blowingly technical playing, it is just so much better than the bands previous works that when combined with the different sound they went for on the album and it really is just Chester and Shinoda's presence that lets you know it is in fact still a Linkin Park album.

I really love the new aggressive rock sound they have on the album as well. I find it interesting that the band is maturing through a more aggressive sound, rather than going softer. It definitely sounds like an album that could have came out in the 90's, which the 90's is by far my fav decade of music.

My one big gripe with the album is that they don't utilize Shinoda as much as I would like them too. He is a huge asset to the band and I honestly believe that he and Chester combine to make the glue that really brings the band together.

I know the band isn't the most loved group here on OT, but I am curious if anyone else has checked out the album. I would suggest that even people who weren't into the band at least check out some songs just to see how much the band has changed with the album.

Keys To The Kingdom

Mark the Graves

War

After Meteora and Hybrid Theory I dont know....I feel like the band even though they've made some good songs they failed to live up to those albums, I'm in no way trying to speak ill if them I'm just saying to me their following albums felt weaker than those two

I'll definetly check this one out

Well they went and released what I consider to be their two weakest albums following Meteora, and there was a huge lapse of time during that period.

Living Things was a great album IMO and I would have been pleased if they had released another album with that sound. The album actually got me re-interested in the band.

The Hunting Party is definitely an album to check into if you are a fan of their heavier sound. This album is a lot closer to Hybrid Theory and Meteora than it is to any of their other albums.

So far I've heard 3 songs and they're pretty good

I know this is a poorly developed explanation but...

What I enjoyed from linkin park's old sound is Mike's rhymes you know when a song is made for Chester to sing it features a heavier sound harder guitars faster drumming but when it's a song for Mike to rap or for Chester to sing it slow (like numb) it has a different sound THOSE are the songs I like

if I were to name some their latest work to prove my poor point I'd say I prefer the sound of "Burn it Down"

Shinoda is awesome! My one gripe with the new album is that I feel he is under-utilized. He was way better utilized on Living Things.

It's like I really love the songs and everything, but afterwards I am just wishing Shinoda had more songtime.

Wastelands is a new song of theirs that features him pretty well. Song is catchy as hell!

Precisely, they really don't put him on as much as in their best songs and that's too bad

For example this is a song where Shinoda really shines, I wish he did more side projects like that or had more songs like that in LP

I been listening to the Hunting Party on Serious XM on Octane. Octane been covering The Hunting Party last week playing just about every songs and been doing interview so I will say that there new Album is great so far and I been a Linkin Park fan since I was in High School so it's nice to see that they are going good. I'll get the Album when Korn releases the extended Album this Summer.

i disliked them from the get go.

I'm surprised these guys are still around making music, just as I am surprised that people still listen to them. I've yet to meet a person who isn't a kid and likes Linkin Park. I'm sure they exist, but I haven't witnessed a ton of Linkin Park fans walking around. I see more people sporting really obscure black metal band shirts than a Linkin Park shirt or anything like that. I just listened to "Keys to the Kingdom", and I have to say, their music seems to have gotten a lot more -core influenced than it was when I heard them. Same thing has been happening with Dragonforce too. I guess these bands just have to change with the time to stay relevant.

Great album, really enjoy it, it's not as good as the first three but better than their more recent offering, very very good music... In fact I'd say they're back to their own sound.