Review by Josh Felty
Rating: ****
Tracks of Note: Wretches and Kings, Waiting for the End
I've always appreciated Linkin Park's music, from the first time I saw the video for "One Step Closer" way back in the Hybrid Theory days. My old lady Sarah and I saw them year before last and they gained a whole new appreciation in my earspace. They sound incredible live, just like their albums. With LP's latest venture, titled A Thousand Suns, we are given a collection of songs that flow impeccably well together, at times recalling elements from other tracks. It's no accident that this new disc is the group's self-proclaimed "concept album". Their previous record, Minutes to Midnight, saw a lot of growth from the once derided rap-rock outfit; hell, there are probably plenty of people who really don't appreciate what Chester and Company have cooked up in the past. Honestly, A Thousand Suns picks up where the previous album left off and soars through the stratosphere with it.
This one has much more of a melodic industrial sound to it, thanks to the DJ and programming skills of Joe Hahn. There are plenty of piano-fueled moments within those melodies--where Minutes was experimental in its own right, it was much more of a guitar/drums sort of record. Suns sees the once heavy guitar riffs translated into a slightly muted, processed texture reminiscent of New Wave or some of the illustrious work of U2's The Edge. As with any concept album, there are tracks in between that tie everything together and give one the sense that there is a pirated radio signal being bounced around with various historical speeches. I won't give much more away: the true fans will need to listen to this front to back.
And they will.