New Music: Linkin Park, "Minutes To Midnight"

Diehard fans of LP will either love or hate the band's third CD because both the sound and songwriting are totally different from the previous releases. I was tremendously disappointed. The raw edge of Hybrid Theory and the incredible mixes of Meteora are conspicuous in their absence. Mike Shinoda actually sings lead on a few songs, and rapping is only present in small portions of two or three tracks. Chester Bennington's trademark visceral screaming is also only on a couple of tracks, and Joe Hahn's mind blowing mixing is also kept to a minimum.

Taking out all that made Linkin Park a groundbreaking band and the best-selling debut act of all time, what's left? Unfortunately, not much. There is only one standout song, "Shadow Of The Day" with its incredible bass line that hits at about 100 hertz. There is nothing about it, though, that marks it as a LP style or sound. It could be just about any boy band.