February 20, 2008
Baltimore Sun

At the start, the guys of Linkin Park went out of their way to prove that they haven't gone completely soft.

On "Minutes to Midnight," the rap-metal band's latest album and first release in four years, the group's searing, angst-filled approach has mellowed. Sort of. This time, the band offers more soaring melodies.

But last night at a packed1st Mariner Arena, the Los Angeles sextet tried to strike a balance between the thrashing, snarling sound that made Linkin Park one of the biggest-selling rock bands of the decade and the group's current epic-pop ambitions that have garnered lukewarm reviews.

The guys mostly succeeded.

The show began with the frantic, hard-rock side, opening with "No More Sorrow," one of the angrier cuts from the new album. Chester Bennington, the group's earnest lead singer, screamed the typically tormented lyrics, heightened by the band's choppy, fiery guitar chords and march-like beat. The songs in the first half of the group's 90-minute set came in thunderous bursts, fueled by Bennington's screams.

His face was red and drenched in sweat during the show's first 30 minutes as he attacked the songs like a prize fighter. He even turned his head from time to time to spit.

The staging -- an industrial-looking set with five, large rotating monitors overhead -- wasn't as extravagant as you would expect from a band that has sold more than 45 million albums in about eight years.

"We didn't bring any pyrotechnics with us, so put up your lighters," said Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park's MC and occasional keyboardist. But the largely unadorned set complemented the unassuming guys that make up the band. Although the six millionaire musicians are 30 and older, they look a lot like the scruffy, jeans-and-pullover-sporting college-age guys that dominated the arena.

And as Linkin Park dipped into mostly into its first two albums during the show's first half, the house was strongly responsive -- pumping fists in the air and slam-dancing on the arena floor.

But midway, as the band delved deeper into Minutes to Midnight and its "softer" side, the mood drastically changed. During "Leave Out All the Rest," Bennington turned into a wimpish crooner. The band's stab at power balladry wasn't very convincing with its predictable soaring chorus and atmospheric electronic textures. The slightly artsy rock mode continued with "Numb," which Bennington sang with more bite. But it was all made a bit sappy with tinkling piano keys. Images of blooming roses and lilies on the screens overhead was a bit much.

Just when the mellowed metal formula was about to grate on the nerves, Linkin Park wisely shifted gears, going into hard-rock overdrive with "Crawling," the band's Grammy-winning hit from 2000's Hybrid Theory.

During the number, Bennington shook hands with eager fans on the floor before jumping back on stage without missing a note. But the guys couldn't resist showcasing the band's softer side again. During the encore, Bennington sang "My December," a ballad of heartbreak, with just Shinoda on keyboards. After screaming about tainted love for more than an hour, he managed to sound sincere as he crooned, "I give it all away / Just to have someone to come home to."