I like Linkin Park? Really? Yup, it’s official….

In my VMA wrap-up I wrote about being surprised by how much I liked the song Linkin Park performed at the awards ceremony. Well I finally got a hold of the record, and lo and behold, they’ve apparently have a newfound fan.
 
I’m sure that the band’s taken some heat for A Thousand Suns. The sound of the album is far removed from the Limp Bizkit-style rap metal that I remember hearing in the ’00s. This is a more electronic, melodic sound, with quite a bit of keyboard – almost akin to current Depeche Mode. And the album is constructed as a whole piece, as opposed to a collection of tracks. Some of the songs fully embrace “We’re in it together”-style U2 bombast (to iffy results). They worked with producer extraordinairre Rick Rubin and developed a lot of the concepts via “automatic writing” – basically taking their stream of consciousness “free-writes” and re-working them into songs.
 
So I’m surprised how much I like this record. Here’s a smattering of some tracks so you can tell if you’re on board too.
 
This was the next single following “The Catalyst” (which they performed at the VMAs). “Waiting for the End” (official video)
 
You’ll get my DM reference when you listen to this song – a bit droney but the melody gets stuck in my head. “Robot Boy”
 
And I guess this track combines their more agressive guitar style with this newer sound. Definitely the song that has grown on me the most. “Blackout”