Tracks:
1. Papercut: 7/10 alternately simplistic and overdone, this nevertheless makes for enjoyable rock music on a superficial level.
2. One Step Closer: 6/10 a load of hopelessly overdone and meaningless but mildly catchy noise.
3. With You: 6/10 this one picks up considerably in the chorus, but other parts of the song are lacking.
4. Points of Authority: 7/10 a more thought-provoking song, this brings meaning to the noise and is the strongest track so far.
5. Crawling: 8/10 an excellent addiction song.
6. Runaway: 7/10 what it lacks in sophistication and memorability it makes up for in being enjoyable.
7. By Myself: 6/10 a fairly average mid-album track with compelling elements trying to stand out among the overdone instrumental.
8. In the End: 8/10 Linkin Park's most famous song more or less lives up to the hype thanks to its successful blend of angst, rap and rock.
9. A Place for My Head: 6/10 this really isn't very interesting and is just a mildly enjoyable rock song. It's attempts to compensate for a lack of originality with loads of screaming are unsuccessful.
10. Forgotten: 6/10 ditto.
11. Cure for the Itch: 8/10 a highly unusual inclusion for a rock album, this is a highly enjoyable hip-hop style instrumental.
12. Pushing Me Away: 7/10 a satisfying closer overall even if it sounds like most of the other songs on the album.
Best song: Crawling
Worst song: A Place for My Head
Summary: This is better than I was expecting. I've been unimpressed by other Linkin Park stuff I've heard but this feels like an introspective and occasionally moving record with some very enjoyable guitar riffs. The rapping is largely too fast to understand and the verses are superficial, but at least it adds some uniqueness to proceedings. The songs all sound the same and none of these are great, but there isn't a single bad track on here and it makes for a catchy, reasonably enjoyable although very superficial listen. It's a low 7.
Final rating: 7/10
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