Linkin Park releases new album

Once upon a time, when some of us were angsty teenagers, Linkin Park (LP) made up a large part of the soundtrack to our lives. It's been a long four years since their last studio album, but their third effort, Minutes to Midnight, was released this week. Sadly, the album will be an overall disappointment to avid LP fans.

Minutes to Midnight opens like any other LP album, with the instrumental piece "Wake." However, it feels like this unremarkable song was just included as a reminder that this is, in fact, a Linkin Park album-because the rest of the CD departs from the style of Hybrid Theory and Meteora.

The old LP created albums that were meant to be listened to as a whole, but no longer. Minutes to Midnight requires the listener to judge on a song-by-song basis, as the album in its entirety seems weak and almost exhausting. Six of the album's 12 songs are what one could call ballads, highly unusual for the reigning kings of nu-metal.

With Minutes to Midnight clocking in at nearly five minutes longer than the last two albums-combined with the four final songs falling under the "ballad" category-you'll be ready to hit the "off" switch on your iPod halfway through the album.

And the weak points keep adding up. The quieter overall quality makes Minutes to Midnight sound more like the work of just another rock band than the unique efforts of the incomparable Linkin Park. In case the album's strong ballads make you think that Linkin Park's members have turned into a bunch of sissies, the once expletive-free band has turned to dropping the f-bomb frequently, most noticeably in "Given Up." Minutes to Midnight is the first of the three albums to earn itself a Parental Advisory sticker. And this is no accomplishment-the swearing adds nothing to the album, instead making LP sound even more like another cookie-cutter band.

As the band has "matured," the vocal balance has disappeared; Mike Shinoda's invaluable rapping has been almost completely erased from the album, to its detriment. The songs that do feature Shinoda, however, are the strongest on the album.

"Bleed It Out," though repetitive and exceedingly catchy, has a great beat. (Say goodbye to the old days of head banging to LP, but you'll definitely be tapping your foot along to this one.)

Shinoda's primary contribution, "Hands Held High," shows promise for LP's future endeavors. Utilizing a military drum for background, the highly politicized song harnesses a kind of quiet anger to create pure genius. With lyrics describing "a leader so nervous in an obvious way, stuttering and mumbling" and the negative aspects of the second Iraq war, this one is a liberal's dream come true.

For the old school fans, "Given Up" will be a favorite. It's all there: the screaming, the angsty lyrics and an incredible beat. The only other song that nears the old sound is "What I've Done," which is probably how it became the first single.

Still, even "What I've Done" has a new twist on the old style, as it opens in a unique way with what could be a horror movie theme song.

Minutes to Midnight is an interesting mix of old and new. Clearly, Linkin Park is trying to mature their style in many different directions. Hopefully, they will settle down a little more on their next album. Until then, I think this one will be one of those that will grow on me, even if it takes a while.