The Bottom Line
Linkin Park are back and are in full rocking mode. Hip hop elements are absent in this lead single from the Minutes to Midnight album. Vocals are less rugged featuring primarily Chester Bennington. The resulting sound is a stripped down, powerful, elemental rock band. Concerns about the demise of rock seem a bit premature when listening to this instant smash.
Listen to "What I've Done"
Pros
- Spooky piano intro
- Syncopated rhythm track
- Powerhouse melodic vocals
Cons
- None to note
Description
- Begins with slightly creepy piano
- Syncopated drum tracks
- Powerful, melodic rock vocals
- Lyrics accepting full responsiblity while stepping forward with some uncertainty
Guide Review - Linkin Park - What I've Done
It has been 4 long years since Linkin Park's second studio album Meteora. Some things have changed, but the primary component that makes this undoubtedly Linkin Park is the raw, emotional approach to the music. "What I've Done" is a bracing song and a fine introduction to the sound of the upcoming Minutes to Midnight collection.
The powerful, melodic vocals of Chester Bennington take center stage. He sings of a somewhat uncertain farewell to the past which the band claims is, at least in part, commentary on the band's new sound. The sound of "What I've Done" is the band stepping forward with confidence as a lean, ferocious rock band.
"What I've Done" seems to indicate that Linkin Park's work with producer Rick Rubin has borne fruit on the upcoming album similar to Rubin's work with other leading lights in the music industry. Just like on Rubin's work on landmark albums by Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, it sounds like Linkin Park's music has been stripped down to its raw, beating heart. That type of approach could result in an album just as key to the year 2007 as the Rubin-produced Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was to 2006.
