Album Review: Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns (2010)

Linkin Park's newest album, A Thousand Suns, was one of the most anticipated albums of 2010.  Their previous release, Minutes to Midnight, was met with a positive reception, and a double platinum certification from the RIAA.  They also released a song for the Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen soundtrack "New Divide" which was also met with a favorable response.

So all signs point to this being quite possibly being the greatest Linkin Park album ever, possibly even surpassing Hybrid Theory, right?

Initial response to this album been pretty good from the critics, but a lot of Linkin Park fans have their hands in the air, claiming this a snub to their old ways and feel they were abandoned by a band who have had hard hitting songs like "One Step Closer," "Breaking the Habit," and "Bleed It Out."  Instead they were treated by songs like "Waiting for the End," having a Reggae-influenced sound, or "Wretches and Kings," a heavily influenced hip-hop sound.  Or you can have the lead single "The Catalyst" which showed a new electronic side to Linkin Park (even though I think this song is closer to a traditional Linkin Park sound than most on this album).

A Thousand Suns was a far departure from anything they have ever done.  They felt they needed to change the way they sound.  This album is quite possibly their most artistic and creative album they have ever done.  While as individual songs, they don't hold up to the degree as their predecessors, as an album, Linkin Park has never made an album that felt this natural.  It seems like each song was designed to be where it is, and not just arranged randomly.

While the debate as to whether this album is good or not will continue to rage, this album showed Linkin Park's ability to step outside their realm of comfort, and try something new.  Will they continue on this path?  Who knows.  As long as Linkin Park's continues on the path of trying new and creative directions with their band and upcoming albums, they'll undoubtedly never be stale.  Here's to hoping that the next album doesn't divide Linkin Park's fans as badly as this album did.