What Have You Done? It's wayyyyyyyy Past Midnight

Alright ladies and gentlemen, as we all know the highly anticipated new album from Linkin Park has been released into stores early this week. Those close to me would have received a sms from me the day prior to the release to remind you all of the coming of new sounds to our shores. Why would this be so important to me? Haha hell, it's Linkin Park we are talking about here. The kickass soldout concert, the raving fans, the overwhelming record sales, the healthy LPU suscribers....let's just face it, they are just our favourite rock band here. Remember the time when Good Charlotte came for a performance here? Ticket sales were not even close to the time when the men of 6 came as part of their tour in 2003.

Right as always, anticipatingly i was waiting for the day when May 14 arrived. Even before that day we were treated to their first single and music video with Chester(my mannnnnn) coming over here to kickoff their album promotion. And yes it was really unfortunate that i did not go to KLCC on that day only because i DIDN'T know what day he was coming down!!!! Hmph....and this is coming from the lips of someone who in the past would kiss his ass. Well, at the very least i did not miss the premier of their single. What I've Done was aired all over the radio stations simultaneously. Every tune absorbed was estacy to me. It's been such a long time since hearing anything new from them...and the wait was worth the while. But after the premier i kinda felt that it shouldn't have been their first single, only because the song was kinda soft and slow. Not the kind of image that you would want to show if you are Linkin Park. I mean, their first ever single, One Step Closer literally redefined hard rock music and in their second album, Somewhere I Belong followed up on the same. This one kinda just...faded out as one of their slower songs. It was a bad sign to me but maybe i'm just expecting too much from them.

And so high were my expectations. The day the album came out i rushed to the nearest Tower Records and purchased it. The white covered album with the band members posted black in the background was somewhat a different approach from their previous albums but what the heck, it was the music inside that mattered. Rush to the car, i placed the cd into my car player and waited.

The verdict came soon enough. I had to say....that eventhough this album was a REAL kickass one, something that Linkin Park has always managed to churn out over and over again, there were some letdowns that were very obvious to the real fans. Or at least to me for that matter. First of all in their second song....they SWORE. Ok...just a check i'm not having a fever or any mental problems but they did say it once in an interview that they do not and will not put any swear words in their lyrics. The reason being that swearing does not really express oneself's feelings and emotions. The word FUCK is just that...FUCK. Nothing else to it. Which is one of the reasons that actually attracted me to their music. Hard rock with dark lyrics minus the swearing.

Then there was the slow songs. LP this time came out with more slow songs than ever instead of their usual dark self. Heck, the majority of the songs were slow in there, with somewhat cheesy wailings at times and song titles. At some point i just thought that life have gotten easy for them and they were just writing songs not based on their past but rather on their present and their future. And i can see that i'm not too far off from that fact. Also most of their songs somehow tend to end abruptly without the usual fadeout of ending tunes that they usually play. Another thing new, but really ANNOYING. After listening to some good tunes the song just cuts off and it's off to the next track. Also noted that their usual "save the best for last" song was not incorperated in this album. Instead, i felt that the tracks in the beginning were better than the end ones, with the last one having those cheesy wailings.

On the plus side however, there were some improvements that took a turn for the better. No more were there tunes that lasted for just 2 minutes but rather they played longer songs with lasting tunes. Also included where GUITAR SOLOS!!! WOW!!! Bravo LP!!! There were NEVER any guitar solos before and they have took the liberty to actually include that. And as always, Joseph Hann always adds a little spice to the heavy guitar stringings with his "spinning touch" of the turntables. This is what makes LP what they are. Unique, heavy and dark with that little tinge of subtleness and softness that makes their songs hard to get tired of. To those still in doubt of getting the album, i really recommend that this is a totally new genre of music that is coming out from them. For those that are still loyal to them, may your continuous support grow. And ESPECIALLY to those not willing to part with 40 bucks to buy their album, this is a real recommendation. And LASTLY, for those that will DOWNLOAD their tracks ILLEGALLY, you watch out asshole.