History Music / MinutesToMidnight

** Chester bellows it out hard in the bridge of "Given Up", capped off by the infamous seventeen-second, two-note scream.

[[caption-width-right:350:''And the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in gray...'']]

''Minutes to Midnight'' is the third studio album by Music/LinkinPark, released in 2007. This album marked an [[NewSoundAlbum unusual change in the band's repertoire]] in many ways, spurred on by the band members' desire to experiment in the studio. LighterAndSofter tunes dominate the album, vocalist Mike Shinoda began to embrace singing and harmonizing over traditional rapping, and famous record producer Music/RickRubin encouraged the change in musical direction by introducing new styles in ArenaRock.

The album became a massive hit, even though it undersold its predecessors. "Given Up" and "Bleed It Out" served as the heavier singles, while "Leave Out All the Rest", "Shadow of the Day", and "What I've Done" helped expand the band's appeal into mainstream AlternativeRock. The political themes of the DoomsdayClock, environmentalism, UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, and social unrest helped transition the band members into a more mature phase in their development. The recurring concerns of betrayal and loss helped keep the subject matter consistent with Linkin Park's previous work.

The change in the band's style heavily divided the fanbase, despite having praise for the lead singles. Older listeners who love the NuMetal in ''Music/HybridTheory'' and ''Music/{{Meteora}}'' think [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the band sold out]], while others embrace the newer direction because [[PeripheryDemographic they tend to like softer rock]]. It has sold over 15 million copies, and helped Linkin Park remain relevant for the latter half of the decade.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "In Between" was the softest song the band had released up to that point (unless you want to count "My December" from the Music/HybridTheory sessions).

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: The album covers everything from 1 to 8.
** 1: "In Between"
** 2: "Shadow of the Day", "Hands Held High"
** 3: "Leave Out All the Rest", "Valentine's Day", "The Little Things Give You Away"
** 4: "Wake", "In Pieces"
** 5: "What I've Done"
** 6: "Bleed It Out"
** 7: "Given Up"
** 8: "No More Sorrow"

** The seventeen-second, two-note scream Chester bellows out in "Given Up"

* YourCheatingHeart: "In Pieces":
--> ''There's truth in your lies\\
Doubt in your faith\\
All I've got is what you didn't take''

* DemotedToExtra: Mike is largely demoted to a backing vocalist who harmonizes with Chester, rather than one half of a tag team. Only three songs feature him rapping, and only one features their signature VocalTagTeam.

* RapRock: The notable ''lack'' of rapping was one of the main criticisms of the album. Only "Bleed It Out" can be classed as rap rock, as the other two songs with rapping in them ("Hands Held High" and "In Between") are PoliticalRap songs that sound like they belong in Music/FortMinor.

** Additionally, Mike gets two songs to himself, one PoliticalRap songs that sound like they'd belong in Music/FortMinor and another song that has him singing solo for the first time. The iTunes version adds another track that just featured Mike Shinoda singing

** Additionally, Mike gets two songs to himself, both PoliticalRap songs that sound like they'd belong in Music/FortMinor.

The album became a massive hit, even though it undersold its predecessors. "Given Up" and "Bleed It Out" served as the heavier singles, while "Leave Out All the Rest", "Shadow of the Day", and "What I've Done" helped expand the band's appeal into mainstream AlternativeRock. The political themes of the DoomsdayClock, environmentalism, TheWarOnTerror, and social unrest helped transition the band members into a more mature phase in their development. The recurring concerns of betrayal and loss helped keep the subject matter consistent with Linkin Park's previous work.

** "Hands Held High" protests TheWarOnTerror.

* CarefulWithThatAxe: The seventeen-second, two-note scream Chester bellows out in "Given Up"

* MetalScream: "Given Up". It's ''seventeen seconds long''. However, Chester generally avoids holding it for that long during live performances in order to preserve his voice.

'''Minutes to Midnight'' is the third studio album by Music/LinkinPark, released in 2007. This album marked an [[NewSoundAlbum unusual change in the band's repertoire]] in many ways, spurred on by the band members' desire to experiment in the studio. LighterAndSofter tunes dominate the album, vocalist Mike Shinoda began to embrace singing and harmonizing over traditional rapping, and famous record producer Music/RickRubin encouraged the change in musical direction by introducing new styles in ArenaRock.

* BackToFront: The "Given Up" music video does this creatively. While the band performs in real time, the surrounding bar fight rewinds from its culmination to its beginning.

'''''Minutes to Midnight''''' is the third studio album by Music/LinkinPark, released in 2007. This album marked an [[NewSoundAlbum unusual change in the band's repertoire]] in many ways, spurred on by the band members' desire to experiment in the studio. LighterAndSofter tunes dominate the album, vocalist Mike Shinoda began to embrace singing and harmonizing over traditional rapping, and famous record producer Music/RickRubin encouraged the change in musical direction by introducing new styles in ArenaRock.

* NewSoundAlbum: Very much so. This led to their decline in popularity, even though they broke out of their niche to appeal to a wider fanbase.

Critics panned the change in the band's style, despite having praise for the lead singles. Older listeners who love the NuMetal in ''Music/HybridTheory'' and ''Music/{{Meteora}}'' think [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the band sold out]], while others embrace the newer direction because [[PeripheryDemographic they tend to like softer rock]]. It has sold over 15 million copies, and helped Linkin Park remain relevant for the latter half of the decade.

Nevertheless, ''Minutes to Midnight'' remains a BaseBreaker. Critics panned the change in the band's style, despite having praise for the lead singles. Older listeners who love the NuMetal in ''Music/HybridTheory'' and ''Music/{{Meteora}}'' think [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the band sold out]], while others embrace the newer direction because [[PeripheryDemographic they tend to like softer rock]]. It has sold over 15 million copies, and helped Linkin Park remain relevant for the latter half of the decade.

** It is rumored that "The Little Things Give You Away" is about the Bush Administration's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina, though this has not been confirmed by the band.

* GrowingTheBeard: This album marked the first of many albums for the band to reference more political themes and develop a distinct style.

Nevertheless, ''Minutes to Midnight'' remains a BaseBreaker. Critics panned the change in the band's style, despite having praise for the lead singles. Older listeners who love the NuMetal in ''Music/HybridTheory'' and ''Music/{{Meteora}}'' think [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the band sold out]], while others embrace the newer direction because [[PeripheryDemographics they tend to like softer rock]]. It has sold over 15 million copies, and helped Linkin Park remain relevant for the latter half of the decade.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]