My first thought upon hearing Linkin Park's new single "The Catalyst" was "What the hell are they doing and what direction are they going in?" I was very reluctant to even give this album a spin, but began hearing rather positive things about it online. Chester Bennington and crew aren't dabbling in hard rock or nu-metal anymore; this was made fairly evident during their last album Minutes To Midnight which caught the band in a transitional phase of their career. The boys have begun to embrace the lighter side of things. There are times where Linkin Park even explore somewhat industrial leanings on their new album A Thousand Suns. Fans of The Hybrid Theory and Meteora will surely be disappointed if they are looking for a heavy album. This album is big on sounds and effects to create atmospheres. In a sense, this album was a test for Linkin Park to see what avenues they could explore. This is a band branching out beyond expectations. While they have taken a new direction, it seems to me they are no less anthemic than before. Gone are the days of teen angst. You won't be hearing any "Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored!" as heard in the song "Faint" from Meteora. I believe though that the album suffers from a lack of organics. The album feels somewhat cold in the sense that the band's traditional instruments are for the most part missing. Guitar, bass and drums in some cases have all been replaced with synthesizers and samples. When an instrument is present, it is so distorted or saturated in effects that it is barely recognizable. On the brighter side of things, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda provide some of the best vocal work they've done. It is the type of album that must be heard from beginning to end without skipping any tracks to be truly appreciated. This is a much more mature Linkin Park than we're used to.
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