:: Linkin Park - Road to Revolution (CD/DVD pack)

Linkin Park

A wise person once said if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all… and Linkin Park's new Road to Revolution is a testament to the rule. Now don't be confused, the very clean and polite rock band that is Linkin Park has not gone AWOL. Instead they have released yet another version of the same bunch of songs they've been peddling for the last five years and thus embody the saying….if you haven't anything musically nice (or new) to say, don't say anything at all (or release another album). Road to Revolution begs the question, does Linkin Park actually have any new songs or do they just expect their fans to continue listening to new, or in this case, live versions of the same over done hits? This time it's tracks from the 2008 Projekt Revolution festival at the Milton Keynes Bowl in England and, as the CD cover espouses, also comes with a DVD packed with “over one and a half hours of previously unreleased live Linkin Park footage”…oh goody! Masters of repackaging the same old rubbish and making a killing from it, Linkin Park have included hits like “One Step Closer” and “In the End” with lesser known singles such as “More Sorrow” and, lest we forget, remixed gems like “Numb/Encore” to create a live CD that comes complete with the additional treat of screaming fans singing along to every song. Now there's no doubt that Linkin Park are talented, but enough is enough. We don't want to pay $40 for a CD/DVD of songs that are already on the other Linkin Park CDs and DVDs because yes, in case you were confused, this isn't the band's first concert DVD either. But there is some consolation in the fact that Linkin Park sound a lot better live than most bands. The vocals are clear and crisp enough not to make you cringe but not perfect enough to raise questions about whether they're miming. The DVD shows that the boys have some great stage presence and tracks like “Numb” and “Breaking the Habit” are packed with an energy and emotion that you never get from the rather sterile studio recording. But is it worth paying good money for? Not in the slightest.