Opener "Wake" establishes the ethereal, synth-driven feel that characterizes much of the disc. Crunching electric guitars are few and far between, and most of the swirling, electronica-textured tracks weigh in at mid-to-downtempo. There are still moments of rock intensity, such as "Bleed It Out" (featuring one of rapper Mike Shinoda's few appearances), but the overall mood seems better suited to pensive bedsitting than a festival mosh pit. Co-producer Rick Rubin makes the dreamy soundscapes gleam, but longtime fans may miss the fist-pumping energy of early Linkin Park. Still, the new sonic palette of Minutes to Midnight shows a band willing to push past their own tried-and-true formulas. "Rick Rubin asked us what we wanted this album to sound like...We wanted to create something that maintained the integrity of the bands personality, but pushed our boundaries. Rick challenged us that no boundaries should exist whatsoever in our creative pursuit." Linkin Park
Rolling Stone (p.112) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "[T]heir metallic crunch is as brutal and efficient as ever..."
Spin (p.97) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey give their sound a dramatic makeover with help from producer Rick Rubin....The arena-emo hooks are still there..."
Sophomore albums are famously tricky affairs. Musicians have their entire lives to pen their debut album, the theory goes, and a relatively short time to follow it up. But what if the debut in question is the biggest selling album in recent memory? And what if the music industry has Hollywood-like expectations for another instant blockbuster? That was the scenario Linkin Park faced when they entered the studio to record Meteora, the follow-up to their multi-platinum debut Hybrid Theory.
That album-which Rolling Stone called "twelve songs of compact fire indivisibly blending alternative metal, hip-hop, and turntable art"--has shipped 14 million units worldwide to date. It was the Number One selling album of 2001. It launched three chart-topping singles including "In The End." And in 2002 it received a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Crawling," as well as nominations for Best Rock Album and Best New Artist. After diligently pursuing their craft since the band's humble origins in Southern California circa the mid-'90s, Linkin Park now had the world's ear.
To those outside the band, the pressure to follow up that success might have seemed insurmountable. But within Linkin Park, vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, turntablist Joseph Hahn, drummer Rob Bourdon, and bassist Phoenix weren't sweating it in ways you might expect. Instead of dwelling on outside expectations, they set to work, meticulously crafting each moment of each song to their own exacting standards. The bigger picture developed accordingly.
