When you think of Linkin Park you instantly think of rock mixed with rap creating a musical hybrid. This is exactly what Linkin Park was. This makes you ponder what they are now? Well with their third full length, ‘Minutes To Midnight’, we find out. The experimental album produced by super producer Rick Rubin sends Linkin Park in a new direction with a new vision. The result is an album that mystifies and stumbles at the same time.

For the most part Linkin Park side step the things that made them famous and unnecessarily go in a new direction. Despite being outside of their comfort zone Linkin Park shows that they are a formidable musical force. Songs like “Given Up” and “Bleed It Out” are the only songs that remind you of the Linkin Park of old. One song is strong and aggressive while being driven by Chester Bennington’s signing while the other is the only song where both Chester and Mike share vocal duties. The rest of the album shows a completely new side of Linkin Park.

The albums first single, “What I’ve Done” is the first indicator of what Linkin Park is trying to become. The song is reminiscent of some of the bands old songs, at least musically, but lyrically and sonically you notice a difference. The songs lyrics and theme suggest the band is more conscious as to what they are writing about while still trying to stay true to themselves. This is also evident in songs like “Hands Held High” and “No More Sorrow”. Both of these songs take shots at the United States government and George Bush while showcasing the bands new found diversity. “Hands Held High” might as well be a song by Mike Shinoda’s side project Fort Minor while “No More Sorrow” might as well be a song by Chester Bennington’s side project Dead By Sunrise.

The rest of the album is filled with ballads either sung by Chester or Mike, yes I said Mike. The song “Shadow Of The Day” is a homage to U2 but comes across as Linkin Park almost stealing a U2 riff and writing a song around it. “Valentine’s Day” is a song about Chester dealing with his divorce. “In Between” is the aforementioned track sung by Mike Shinoda. The song comes across quite nicely and is the surprise of the album. The album ends with Linkin Park’s most ambitious song “The Little Things Give You Away”. The track is over six minutes long making it the longest Linkin Park song to date. The song is about the hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans is probably the most motivated song on the record.

Even though Linkin Park are able to create masterful songs that cover a wider range of subject matter that doesn’t mean that they have written the perfect album. ‘Minutes To Midnight’ sadly misses a lot of what made Linkin Park a house hold name. DJ Joseph Hahn is under utilized and the interaction between Chester and Mike only exists on one song. The album also lacks the flow of a cohesive record and is a bit irritating to listen to in its entirety. With that said, by no means, should you pass on this record. It does contain great music but still leaves you with a band in search of what they have become.