By Greg Michaels

Since reaching astronomical heights of popularity with its debut album Hybrid Theory in 2000, as well as the best-selling rock album of 2003 (Meteora), Linkin Park has achieved something that most bands don’t in a lifetime.

Despite jabs from critics and commercial fans, the band’s “nu-metal,” (or, if you prefer, “rap-core”) sound has held a steady and unwavering presence in its songwriting on all of its released recordings.

Fans seem to enthusiastically devour Linkin Park’s material, perhaps due to the fact that the band releases an original album only once every three to four years. The new disc, Minutes to Midnight (produced by Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda) is already a giant commercial success, selling over 620,000 copies in its first week on shelves.

The most intriguing thing about the album, however, is not that it has shattered financial expectations: it’s the glossy new polish of the band’s developing style.

The first track on Minutes to Midnight, “Wake,” isn’t really a song at all. It’s clearly meant as an introduction, and it serves its purpose. Nothing really too fresh or innovative about this one. Although, the album does pick up on “Given Up,” a tune that proves itself as a callback to Linkin Park’s previous albums. It showcases a slightly different approach to the avenues of nu-metal yet retains the same grit and crunch of the genre (minus rapping from the group’s MC/writer/producer/backup guitar player Mike Shinoda). Chester Bennington, the lead vocalist, really displays some of his best vocal work on this song and on the album as a whole. His voice is at its best when plainly emoting a raspy, scratchy yell.

Bennington’s voice, though, does have its weak points. It seems as if some of the tracks on Midnight have inherited an alternative, almost “emo” feel to them.

“Valentine’s Day,” “In Pieces” (which includes a particularly satisfying bit with dancing guitars) and “Leave Out All The Rest” are all examples of this, as Linkin Park tries to demonstrate that the band is not all palm-mutes and earsplitting. There’s nothing quite wrong with these tracks. You can’t prevent the notion that while Bennington lovingly crafts the melody, it would instead be more interesting to hear him blisteringly crash through it with his knife of a tone.

All the tracks on Minutes to Midnight are well written and show the clear evolution of a talented band. It’s just that not all of the tunes quite work as Linkin Park songs. If they were shuffled into a U2 play list, however, you would probably barely know the difference.

One aspect of Linkin Park that is noticeably altered is the use of rapping. Shinoda only pumps out rhymes on two of the disc’s dozen tracks: “Bleed It Out,” which is actually an attention-grabbing, stand-out track, and “Hands Held High,” a political romp through the shortcomings of the government.

While in the past the hip-hop lyrics were blatantly mixed with the crunching, heavy guitars and metal-influenced bass and drums, here, they have been permanently separated, falling under the seemingly desperate desire of the band to no longer be associated with the genre it helped popularize. Nevertheless, “Bleed It Out” is one of the best songs on the album, with catchy, rapped verses and a scorching, cutting chorus by Bennington, complete with screams in the breakdown.

“No More Sorrow” and “In Between” are decent compositions, but fans may not find them eccentric enough to be considered contenders in the realm of typical Linkin Park songs. In steering clear of such a distinction, however, Mike Shinoda proves his singing skill on these catchy-but-sometimes-boring tracks as a relatively heavy barn burner for older followers.

The album’s first single, “What I’ve Done,” sends a political message to the country and to the world, providing a fairly good taste of the direction of this new album. It is particularly notable since Bennington retains his scratchy-throated hollering while creating a catchy melody at the same time.

“Shadow of the Day,” another melodic track, is one of the better mellow songs on the record. Reminiscent of a Postal Service song, the verses and chorus will send you to a relaxing place where you will truly believe that Bennington trusts his own lyrics with blind confidence.

Finally, the last tune on Midnight is one of the album’s best, with absolutely haunting passages and subject matter (it was written about Hurricane Katrina after the boys visited New Orleans last year).

Minutes to Midnight is a better-than-decent album. It shows the desire and dedication of a band that is committed to evolution and not just treading the same, tired course. On this merit alone, Linkin Park deserves praise. Unfortunately, this disc is not quite a masterpiece but merely a step towards one.