(Linkin Park)+Catalyst ⇋ 30 Seconds To Mars

The promised to be huge new album from Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns, released in little under a week, has a confusing first track.

One of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2009 was 30 Seconds To Mars' THIS IS WAR. It is also one of my top 15 albums of all time, so we should all be rejoicing in Linkin Park's new musical heading with The Catalyst...

Imagine The Catalyst as a cocktail;

Take Night of the Hunter, add a double of This is War's intro verse, top up with the chorus and outro of What I've Done after about 3 minutes, and you've got The Catalyst in a glass, and an overwhelming aftertaste of familiarity.

This isn't a bad song, it's no mojito, closer to a sex on the beach - Sounds alright, you know what you're getting and you don't really care, and it leaves you empty and without anyone to get off with by the time you're finished with it

If you like Linkin Park's last album, you'll like this, if you liked 30 Seconds To Mars' last album, you'll like this - but the overriding similarities The Catalyst has to other tracks in this genre prevent it gaining respect for its artistic quality.