Living Things - Linkin Park
Living Things Image
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 229 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Personal relationships influenced the lyrics on the fifth album produced with Rick Rubin for the alternative rock band.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. Q Magazine
    Jul 27, 2012
    80
    Bold stuff and proof Shinoda remains a richly talented creative force. [Aug 2012, p.103]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Kerrang!
    Jul 17, 2012
    60
    Too often, Living Things is the sound of a band with vast talent, but also one that hasn't figured out where to go next. [23 Jun 2012, p.52]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. PopMatters
    Jul 18, 2012
    60
    Living Things is a very good entry that's simply not as special as its precursor. All in all, Linkin Park has always been a bit unique and the best at what they do, and they continue to excel on this album. Just don't expect too much from it.
  4. Consequence of Sound
    Jul 2, 2012
    20
    Breaking down barriers is not the forte of Top 40 rock music, but when you can't tell the difference between a Linkin Park track and something produced by a plebeian confusing dance beats for real drums, something has to give.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 88
  3. Negative: 5 out of 88
  1. Rooh15
    10
    The album is absolutely amazing. Much better than Minutes to Midnight and a Thousands suns. Linkin Park have merged what everybody first loved them for (ear splitting choruses and heavy beats) with some of the best parts of their new experimental albums (the electronica) to create a best of both world album that easily sits with Hybrid Theory at the top of Linkin Park's albums.… Expand
  2. Captiosus
    8
    It's hard to not have sympathy for the guys in Linkin Park. They became popular with two (well, two and a half) albums when Nu-Metal was "the thing" which gave them one set of fans. Then they took a hard left turn and made two radically different albums that are heavy on electronica and light on the rap and nu-metal overtones. This shift gave them a whole different set of fans. Neither set of /hardcore/ "one-or-the-other" fans will be happy with "Living Things". ||| IN MY OPINION, Living Things is an album that fits smack in the middle of the two opposing points. The album is heavy on electronica, but doesn't slight the guitars, and the Hybrid Theory/Meteora era angst-ridden screams are back in full force in several tracks. And then there's tracks that will appeal to the A Thousand Suns and Minutes to Midnight crowd. ||| All told, this album feels like Linkin Park is happy where they are and have struck a medium between what they were and what they had become. Unfortunately, many fans of a particular sound will simply dismiss the album as a failure but in my opinion, as listener who consistently places Meteora at the top of my personal favorite LP albums, Living Things is a triumph. ||| My only complaint is that I wish the album was twice as long!… Collapse
  3. JosephRengifo
    7
    Amazing combination of heavy guitars and electronic sounds, mind-blowing production, more than a few breathtaking lyrics and some of the best songs Linkin Park has done for sure.… Expand
  4. Kleiton
    1
    My score: 1 (for Burn It Down and Lies Greed Misery)... The rest of the record SUCKS!
    I really miss the band that brought us Numb, Crawling,     Faint, In the End...… Expand

See all 88 User Reviews

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