LINKIN PARK
Living Things
[Warner Bros. Records]
Verdict: 8/10
With the last Linkin Park record, A Thousand Suns, it took me some ten spins before the songs started to grow on me. Luckily, with Living Things, it only took two spins to get me thoroughly interested in the new material. While this collection does continue that atmospheric rock formula of A Thousand Suns, it also rewinds time several times to bring back the old school elements that made the band famous to begin with. Once again, it’s the rap sections that shine brightest on Living Things. The opening track, “Lost In The Echo”, has a good balance between the singing and rapping, making it a strong start for the album. From there, Living Things gives us “In My Remains” and “Burn It Down”, both of which may lead fans to think that this will become a sequel to the long winded Thousand Suns record. Luckily, “Lies Greed Misery” brings the album back around, leading with a very strong and memorable rap track, accompanied by some Meteora era screams. The song also sounds like it may have come from the Reanimation album of years back, as does the short lived “Victimized” track (which could have been so much more if the band had written it as a longer piece). Living Things may still feel too weighed down by the slower, more atmospheric material on it, but those sections are all tighter and better constructed than previously, at least. Given several spins, this record can win over even the oldest fans that fell in love with music thanks to Hybrid Theory all those years ago. – by Jacob Moore

>> Classification: Atmospheric Rock w/ industrial and hip hop elements
>> Recommended Tracks: “Lost In The Echo”, “Burn It Down”, “Lies Greed Misery”, “Victimized”, “Until It Breaks”
>> In Conclusion: Living Things is better than A Thousand Suns, thank God, and is easier to become engaged by, but it still suffers from being too slow. Longtime fans will probably never hear another LP record in the likes of Hybrid Theory or Meteora again, sadly.

This review appears in LMP #10 (June 2012). Check out the digital issue here!