Linkin Park - The Catalyst

 release date: 2 Aug 2010 // label: Warner Bros 
reviewer: Jamie Tipson 

The days when Linkin Park were new and exciting are completely extinguished if the new single 'The Catalyst' is anything to go by – and that's not because they've been active for 14 years.
In the past cultivating albums like 'Hybrid Theory' and 'Meteora' graced our ears and lives with they're exciting genre creating anthems.
Even 'Minutes to Midnight' wasn't straying far off Linkin Parks sound, maybe a bit poppy than the previous but the soul was still there.
Being a fan since the first album I've always followed their progress, and they still put on a good show, but after listening to 'The Catalyst' I'm fairly disappointed.
The song starts with a repetitive beat and then Mike Shinoda's (Vocals, Guitar/Piano) chant like vocals build up as if something big is arriving – it doesn't arrive. 
Chester Bennington's (Vocals) get added to form an auto-tuned almost underwater sounding medley before the beat breaks bringing with it a synth that I can only describe by having to listen to my neighbours Happy Hardcore, it gets almost laughable as the beat then changes as if its going into a drop.
I don't know what Linkin Park were thinking or if this sudden change of sound is to satisfy the left out UK weekend clubbing scene, but this is far from industry competing let alone leading.
The whole song then repeats itself a good few times, before fizzing out into a soft ending which does incorporate the older sounding Linkin Park material, ever so slightly.

It's a shame to hear this being released under Linkin Park's name, they can do better and they will, but maybe they should have waited until the sound found them again.


source : http://www.music-news.com/showreview.asp?H=Linkin-Park&nReviewID=6268