When a band is reduced to the point that I have to call enjoying them in the slightest a guilty pleasure, it’s pretty obvious that there’s something wrong. When said band reinvents their style and still fails to grasp my attention, there’s a bigger problem. Linkin Park is that band. I originally used to garner some enjoyment from them, but I’ve realized that bands should probably have some skill. Linkin Park was a holdover from the rap-metal days that now with their third album (not counting a remix album and a meeting with Jay-Z) Minutes to Midnight sounds like a watered-down version of Thousand Foot Krutch (not the most complex band to begin with)--shallow alt-rock with a few hints of rap.
So I could say Linkin Park has sold out. But honestly it’s more like a failed experiment. Responding to criticisms of unoriginality, the band decided to completely scrap what made them famous. They swapped angsty unoriginal rap-metal (see Meteora--and disregard my four-star rating)