LIVING THINGS

One of my favorite Linkin Park albums! While I feel that the vinyl art isn’t that great compared to the original release, it’s a minor complaint. This is a great release. This pressing sounds excellent, and I’m super stoked to have this in my collection!

Another great album by Chester & the gang.

CD is a great shape, works great, fast shipping

Just what I wanted.

Linkin Park's last couple of albums have been somewhat `scattered.' Sure 2007's  Minutes to Midnight  had solid cuts in "Given Up" and "Shadow of the Day" while 2010's  A Thousand Suns  similarly had "The Catalyst." Despite the bright spots and the aid of Rick Rubin, the albums both had plenty of flaws. Apparently, `third time' may really be `charm' on 2012's  LIVING THINGS , which is easily the best of this recent trio of Linkin Park albums. Rick Rubin returns as producer, and for whatever reason, Living Things feels more cohesive than previous releases. It's not perfect, but at just under thirty-seven minutes, there truly is little to complain about given the tightness and brevity."Lost in the Echo" opens the effort capably with synth and pummeling drum programming; the sound is epic here. Shinoda takes the reigns by rapping verses with Bennington anchoring the refrain: "And these promises broken/deep, feeble/each word gets lost in the echo/so one last lie I can see through/this time I finally let you/Go, go, go..." The sound is appealing, Shinoda's rhymes strong, making "Lost in the Echo" a superb opener. "In My Remains" cedes no momentum, opening with typical Linkin Park synths and dusty, pounding drums. The driving sound is superb once guitars enter in at full fruition. This go-round Chester Bennington takes the lead, as capably as he did years ago. The bridge is a selling point here, particularly the lyrics "Like an army, falling, one by one." At just over three minutes in duration, this is a well packaged cut."Burn It Down," the strong first single, finds Linkin Park honing in on their signature sound. Bennington's lead vocals are clear, with superb vocal production. The refrain is catchy and filled with angst, even if Bennington `tames the beast': "We're building it up/to break it back down/we're building it up/to burn it down, we can't wait to burn it to the ground..." Shinoda raps following the second refrain/verse while Bennington incorporates a short bridge proceeding Shinoda. "Burn it Down" marks three solid cuts for Linkin Park, something that may not be necessarily pertinent to its previous two albums."Lies Greed Misery" is less successful than the `big three,' but certainly ambitious if less accessible. The production work is intense, accompanying Shinoda's rapping. More manic than the openers, this cut is a bit harder to decipher. Where listeners have been waiting for Bennington's angst-driven vocals, they come full-fledged here. Wouldn't be a Linkin Park album if Bennington didn't scream right? "I'll Be Gone" finds Bennington singing more tamely and patterns itself similar to the album's initial cuts. It doesn't possess the same flare per say, but most will find it more `traditional' than "Lies Greed Misery.""Castle of Grass" takes :36 to build up, but the results are enjoyable during the `percolation' period. The verse is nothing too crazy with some sense of the static, though not in a boring sense. The initial refrain begins restrained before the dynamics increase. Because there is a sense of restraint, it actually makes the listener tune in more and proves ultimately rewarding. Yeah, it lacks the `overt' sound fans have come to know the band for, but "Castles of Grass" is something special if you give it a chance. "Victimized," one of those ever popular interludes, opens with mysterious synthetic effects. Predictably (knowing Linkin Park's formula respectfully), hard drums and wailing guitars enter in. Once the vocal enter, they are drenched in effects before Bennington screams histrionically "Victimized! Victimized!" Shinoda begins to rap against the angular production, leaving the listener to describe this cut as puzzling, interesting, and well manic."Roads Untravelled" finds the band exercise time to setup and establish the cut. The harmonic progression is a highlight here, as is the use of organ. Overall, the sound is alluring and "Roads Untravelled" yields some sound musical moments. "Roads" may not top "Burn It Down" necessarily, but it is one of the standouts.The remainder of the album sort of descends into that `murky' hole that sometimes affects the entirety of Linkin Parks albums (this was a problem with their previous two albums). Here, the cuts aren't so bad and there have been more than enough highlights to anchor this release. "Skin to Bone" features captivating production work, notably a looping synth, but feels a bit underdeveloped perhaps. "Until It Breaks" falls into the boat of "Lies Greed Misery" in the sense that it is a bit `all of the place.' Shinoda's raps are masked in vocal effects with incredibly busy and loud supporting production. Bennington, predictably, comes in an contrasts the heaviness surrounding Shinoda. Overall, the cut is ambitious, though a bit `heady' and could stand for more songwriting `shaping' and `cues' to make it more polished."Tinfoil," clocking in at just over 1:00 segues from "Until It Breaks" and gives the listeners an instrumental interlude. The soundscape is very nice. "Powerless," the solid closer, segues from "Tinfoil." It's not as good as the openers, but is in the league of "Roads Untravelled." LIVING THINGS  is the first Linkin Park album in recent times as a reviewer where there are more positives than negatives. The balance is better established here between experimentation, angst, and solid songwriting. The production remains top-notch only becoming overwrought occasionally. At under forty minutes, this formula and album works much better for the band. Solid affair.

Just from listening to the album I could immediately tell that there would be mixed reviews. The fact of the matter is that in Linkin Park's transitions through different sounds they've managed to pick up fans and enthusiasts from varying musical preferences. While this journey has been unsettling for many of us at times, I can't say that it hasn't been successful for them. Music is an art and they've proven themselves to be very successful artists despite what any of us individually feel about each chapter of their development. That said, I've been one of those original fans in the nu metal camp that has greatly missed the good ol' days of wistful screaming and epic power chords. At least that's what I thought. I had admittedly latched onto the old sounds and themes of Linkin Park with stagnant nostalgia as well, forgetting all the while that I too have grown up quite a bit sense then.So now that you understand where I'm coming from I will say that I'm quite impressed with Living Things. It's not for everyone. It's not for the Linkin Park fan that I used to be back in my emotionally turbulent high school days. It's for the Linkin Park fan that I am now. I see no sense in individually reviewing each musical offering on this album. You can hear clips of the tracks for yourself and many other reviewers have already covered just about every perspective available. If you haven't already decided to buy or not buy the album, you were probably never really interested in Linkin Park anyway.I simply want to ask those of you that do not personally appreciate this next step in LP's evolution to at least be fair. You don't have to like it, but if you call yourself a Linkin Park fan at all, at the very least respect it. From my understanding of Linkin Park's roots and the contributions of each member of the band throughout their history this is clearly an earnest musical exploration and expression of their creative minds. I hear so much of each individual in this music reminding me that, though their size of 6 has been scoffed at by some, each member in this band continues to play a significant role in making Linkin Park what it is. These men are now seasoned musicians, husbands, fathers, older and wiser. This isn't music for the masses. Linkin Park has already made their success and their money. They made this album for themselves. Keep this in mind as you listen to the melodies, rhythms and lyrics and perhaps different concepts and emotions will unfold for you.

I'm impressed with the seller that I bought my CD from. I didn't want to purchase a new one because I rarely have time listen to music at home and don't have any other way of listening to a CD other than my DVD player. Anyway, after checking the rating for seller and price, it worthwhile and the quality is excellent

Item was in great condition

This is an awesome album, but it comes with this alternate sleeve art.

Quiero aclarar que no se confundan, es totalmente original, solo que en la versión Vinyl la portada es diferente que al CD, me llegó muy rápido y sin defecto algúno, muy bueno para colección y audio increíble y únicos en vinyl

Świetny

Ottimo imballaggio spedizione veloce tutto bene devo ancora ascoltarlo

Para completar la colección de mis cds de linkin park. La verdad, es que a estos precios se hace fácil. El disco es como los de antes, es decir, nada de caja de cartón, caja de plástico con un libreto en condiciones.