LP Underground 6.0 [EP] Review

Release Date: Dec 5, 2006
Label: Machine Shop Recordings
Genres: Nu-metal; Rapcore
Number Of Tracks: 6
The LPU6 is meant to be a gift to the fans, and it’s likely that the most dedicated LP followers will love it. It gives a taste of what the band is working on for the future, which is a great gesture on the part of the band.

Sound:	7
Lyrics:	9
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	8
Users rating:	7.2
Comments:	49

overall: 8

Featured review by: UG Team, on december 15, 2006

Sound: Enough can’t be said about bands that go above and beyond the usual yearly full-length release by putting out little bonuses here and there. Linkin Park is one of those bands, which since it began in 2001, has released EPs full of rare material and future album sneak-peaks to it's fan club Linkin Park Underground. The latest “in-between CD” called Underground 6 or LPU6 is now even available to non-fan club members through Best Buy stores, but unfortunately it doesn’t match the quality work that Linkin Park has done in the past.

While it is still admirable that Linkin Park (vocalist Chester Bennington, vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, turntablist Joseph Hahn, and drummer Rob Bourdon) continues to connect with fans through these EPs, LPU6 just doesn’t quite satisfy. The intro track is cool enough, using a primarily instrumental and synthesized basis for it. You hear vocalist Chester Bennington’s screams (which apparently are heard and reverse; if heard forward he says, “You should brush your teeth and you should wash your hands”) a few times toward the tail end of it, which actually acts as an instrument in itself and gels really nicely with the other instruments. It sets a great mood to the EP, but it ends a little too quickly.

Two of the tracks are dedicated to different version of the song “Qwerty.” It’s a catchy number with a really cool guitar intro, but the chorus can be a bit grating. Bennington screams the word “lies” a little much and it gets a bit tiresome. The following track is a live version of “Qwerty” from a Japan show back in August, with this version sounding more intense and effective. There’s just something about the band’s live show that really evokes emotion, and “Qwerty” loses that monotonous feel during the concert experience.

There are two beautiful ballads on LPU6, and it’s on these that Bennington’s voice is at its best. “Pushing Me Away (Live)” is as stripped down as you can get. With primarily just a piano and Bennington’s voice, the songs really accentuates how powerful Bennington’s singing truly is. “Breaking The Habit (Live)” begins much of the same way, but transforms almost into a different song when the full band is added in at the end. The chorus on “Breaking The Habit” does get repetitive quickly, but the addition of the band -- particularly the synth effects -- helps add a new twist that is needed to finish out the song. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: A lot of Bennington’s inner struggles have been in the public eye, and his lyrics always seem to add a little insight into the emotions he might have been going through at the time. “Breaking The Habit” seems to put all of those feelings out on the table. He sings, “Clutching my cure; I tightly lock the door; I try to catch my breath again; I hurt much more.” It’s that honesty that is one of the reasons the band has connected so well with its fans.

There’s a great contrast between the lyrics that are sung and those that are rapped, but both are high points in the band. Mike Shinoda’s rapping proves always entertaining, and the words are downright clever. In “Reading My Eyes” Shinoda raps, “The microphone molesta; The Chevy undresser; Stupid dope fresh tight shit resurrector; Top gun man mod best of the besta; The living MC, peace and resta.” If you like your rock free from a more urban flavor, the rapped lyrics might make you cringe. However, there is a lot of creativity that goes into Shinoda’s rapping and it’s a high point on the latest CD as well. // 9

Impression: It should be said that the musicianship is still excellent on each song on LPU6 and vocalist Chester Bennington’s vocals are stronger than ever. The rap-sing-scream style gives Linkin Park a unique sound all its own, even with the other bands that attempt to try the same thing these days. The LPU6 is meant to be a gift to the fans, and it’s likely that the most dedicated LP followers will love it. It gives a taste of what the band is working on for the future, which is a great gesture on the part of the band.

In terms of overall listening quality, it wasn’t the best that Linkin Park has offered -- but again, it’s not necessarily meant to be. While the live shows add a fantastic energy to the shows, the songwriting underneath it all still gets a bit monotonous at times. There is still a huge amount of musical talent in Linkin Park, so it’s likely they’ll have the know-how to make the full-length record a solid one. // 8

Comments

[SpeedballxPro]

Im really excited about the upcoming album, and this LPU6 will have to be something I definetely check out

[AlmstMickT.]

I love Linkin Park and I would like to get my hands on the EP...but even more on the new album when it gets here!!

[ZeRoGuY]

Being in the Underground since Year 1, i have listened to all the CDs. I really like the opening track on here, Announcement Service Public. It's a great instrumental track when i expected that it was goin to be the band actually talking haha.

But yeah, Qwerty i'm still unimpressed with, but so was the band last time i heard. They said they weren't sure it was going to even be on the album so ah well!

Linkin Park's new CD is gonna kick some major ass though.

[con job]

i HAV to get this ive been waiting long enough for the new stuff.after the jay-z thing they owe us....lookin forward to this new album though its gonnaa rock

[we_all_rock]

ASTIG TALAGA ANG LINKIN PARK!!(LINKIN PARK ROCK). THEY NEED TO ROCK AUSTRALIA, COME DOWN HERE LP!!

[worldsucks]

Nice

[Emma_Loves_Cops]

Yahoo! I love Linkin Park!!!!!

[aidypie]

Yhusssss!!!! Can't WAIT for the new Linkin Park record. i hope its gonna turn out like thier last albums, just kickin ass. this sounds good! In The End is thier best song. cant wait to hear more!

[Leonheart]

Haven't listened to them in years. But I'm looking forward to what this cd will sound like.

[DaveGilmour1189]

should be said that the musicianship is still excellent on each song

Now theres something I thought id never hear. Nothing against them, but I wouldn't consider them musicians in the traditional sense of the word.

[lyingfromyou118]

DaveGilmour1189 wrote:

should be said that the musicianship is still excellent on each song
Now theres something I thought id never hear. Nothing against them, but I wouldn't consider them musicians in the traditional sense of the word.

Well in the traditional definition of the word, they are very much musicians.

# someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
# artist who composes or conducts music as a profession

[Mr.Glue]

CANT WAIT

[Adamantium]

yea, i used to hate this band, but they're actually pretty respectable. i used to think like DavidGilmour1189, that's why. but just cuz they don't have crazy guitar riffs or whatnot, doesn't mean they aren't musicians, or good ones at that. they get their point across through music, that's enough for me.

[Mr Choung]

I second Adamantium. Music doesn't have to be technical. Some of the best records don' teven use crazy patterns.. it's all how the band sounds together

[doommaker]

Hell look at Status Quo, they were known as the 3 chord band and they got huge!

[gldragon]

i've been listening to lp since before i knew what their name was...In the End and Crawling formed the base and Numb built the bridge. Can't WAIT for the new album!

[caucasian_ninja]

LP have talent in writing instrumental sections and arranging and stuff, but seriously, they could branch out a little more in the lyric department. I'd say about 1/3 of their songs (and yes, I HAVE heard most of them) have to do with some kind of suffering on the part of the singer, induced by (most likely) some girl. Which gets kind of old.

But that's my only complaint. I don't particularly like the band all that much, but I give them huge props for integrating different forms of music into their own, and doing so nearly flawlessly. Listen to the Reanimation album if you want to know what I mean.

[Mr Choung]

Yeah.. I credit LP because of how great they can arrange and utilize different styles to create something actually nice. If I was basing them off technicalities and guitar riffs and stuff like that then I would probably give them a low score. But then that would defeat the purpose of what music is all about.

[k1ng]

I've been an LP fan pretty much since the beginning, but recently, I don't know if my musical liking has changed, or LP has gotten worse, but I think both.

I absolutely loved Hybrid and Reanimation, still listen to them daily, but the meteora songs just completely got old to me. I've heard qwerty before and I was not impressed musically at all, and the other single I thought was good until the entire band started playing (meaning the electronic part is good / interesting).. yea.. nj LP.. unless u really shock me with this album, you lost a fan.

[Cyclops31388]

nothing TOOO new.. QWERTY was recorded in August for the live thing and i guess a recorded version is cool and all. but they were saying QwERTY probably wasn't going to be on the CD.. and as for Reading my eyes.. thats a demo they've had since before Hybrid Theory...

Checked.

[fubu4545]

same old shit. they don't have ideas for the new album

[bobthemonkey14]

I only have two issues with LP...they use similar chord progressions way too much (In the End and Numb, for example), and they're lyrics are too angry for my liking...it's not very deep in my opinion. I'll stick to my Hybrid Theory, but that's as far as I'm gonna go anymore.

[shossni]

All those comments that they are "not musicians" is bullshit.. slipknot aren't musicians cuz there's nothing creative about that.. but the effects in LP are off the hook, having a great DJ is a plus, a good rapper, and a singer who can scream his balls off, plus, all playing different instruments, and a great bassist

[Funkasious]

LP are the best ever!!! i listen to meteora practicaly every day! from the inside is the best song on the album but they are all wicked.

[Funkasious]

LP are the best ever, i could listen to thier songs forever and never get bored

[Funkasious]

fubu4545 wrote:

same old shit. they don't have ideas for the new album

What the hell u tlkin about!!

[ironwolg]

shossni wrote:

All those comments that they are "not musicians" is bullshit.. slipknot aren't musicians cuz there's nothing creative about that.. but the effects in LP are off the hook, having a great DJ is a plus, a good rapper, and a singer who can scream his balls off, plus, all playing different instruments, and a great bassist

not tryin to make fun of anyone but Linkin Park has only one good musician and that's the DJ. everyone else pretty much sucks. i like the music but they could use some lessons.

[PowerChordAway!]

This is kinda weird, since Mike(rapper) and Mr. Hahn(DJ) aren't even in the band anymore. They're the rap group Fort Minor. So this is kinda ****ed. But oh well, whatevs

[PowerChordAway!]

Alright, before people start jumping down my throat about my previous comment, I retract my statements. Thank you

[HybridEffect]

PowerChordAway! :
This is kinda weird, since Mike(rapper) and Mr. Hahn(DJ) aren't even in the band anymore. They're the rap group Fort Minor. So this is kinda ****ed. But oh well, whatevs

Shows how much you know about the band, Fort Minor was Mike Shinoda's side project and Mr.Hahn wasnt even part of it. Mike wrote just about everything himself. And they are very much still in the band..

Check out the pics on my site....http://fromtheinside.eloquensa.net/index.php?subaction=showcomment
s&id=1164847795&archive=&
start_from=&ucat=&
And the other dude is the Producer Rick Rubin who is also producing the new Metallica album.

[Night_Lights]

i like their stuff.

[drummerdude92]

PowerChordAway! wrote:

This is kinda weird, since Mike(rapper) and Mr. Hahn(DJ) aren't even in the band anymore. They're the rap group Fort Minor. So this is kinda ****ed. But oh well, whatevs

Since when?

I can't wait for this album, after what they did with Jay-z we deserve it lol.

And stop calling them crap, even if they are there the ones that have everything while you sit at home and bitch about them on an internet site.

[thrash minded]

LINKIN PARK ROCK!!! can't w8 for the next album, i'll proably b 1 of those weirdo's who sleep out-side the shop till the cd gets there! =)

[jonnieb123]

every single member of the band is a musician! whether you like them or not is up to you, but there is no way you can argue that they are not musicians. They make music for a living! it couldn't be much clearer..and it is incredible music

[thissideup]

maybe its me, who had put down his anger a dear while ago, but i dont feel lp being that much of an interest anymore. indeed, i acknowledge every comment about them having very weak chord progressions (and i dont mean just the guitar parts). still, their (and most of all mke shinodas) feeling for arrangement and excellent fitting samples is absolutely awesome. and btw. hes way better musically than mr. hahn, though both are a whole bunch better than other (metal) musicians for that matter.

and for the lyrics part:

A lot of Bennington’s inner struggles...

as far as i know, mike is the one who writes about 80% of their stuff, henceforth he is the one who must have had struggles in the past.

[SMK626]

i think there creative. really good guys. but i'm jus not gonna give them a shot anymore. I really liked the demo and hybrid theory but after that they changed a bit too much out of my taste. for the best or worse, thats up to the fans and record sales but im not looking forward to anything new from them.

[daniel coogan]

mike is the one who writes about 80% of their stuff

since when was that, ???

[metalbassist12]

ok so i have a couple of things to say:
1. What does any of this b*****t of LP being real "musicians", as you people say, have anything to do with the album? It doesn't so shut the f**k up about it
2. This is an EP, let me say that again, EP. It doesnt mean that this is the new album it means it is IDEAS for the new album or a PRECURSOR so don't get your panties in a wad.
3. It sounds great and if you feel differently and are apart of LPU then you can post a comment on the boards and let them know how you feel because they read the boards. They love their fans and don't want to dissapoint.
4. Rock on LINKIN PARK!!!!

[xion665]

DaveGilmour1189 wrote:

should be said that the musicianship is still excellent on each song
Now theres something I thought id never hear. Nothing against them, but I wouldn't consider them musicians in the traditional sense of the word.

Anybody that writes music is a "Musician" Just because some people are less complex in their writing doesnt make them less of a musician. There are some bands i just cant stand to listen to, but i give them props because they are somewhere in the music industry that i can only dream of right now. They had to have done something right to be traveling the world playing their music. It can be said vica versa also. There are bands that i hate personaly because i have met them and they are very egotistical and hateful, but i still give them credit where credit is due...to their talent and abilities as musicians.

[Covin]

A lot of the best, catchiest music is actually simple. Overcomplexity tends to ruin a lot of bands.

[k1ng]

To everyone who is saying stuff like "LP RUELZ R U SERZ, U HAVE HORIBLE MUSICAL TASTES": suck it. I say the new LP blows, thats what I believe, believe the opposite if u want but dont try to call us retards cause we dont like em.

Also, I grew up in a very musical family.. I like any kind of music that I think takes skill to make, and generally anything that just sounds good. Nothing on this release, in my mind, sounds good, end of my story.

[Tortiss]

Covin wrote:

A lot of the best, catchiest music is actually simple. Overcomplexity tends to ruin a lot of bands.

Undercomplexity also kills alot of bands.

[TheGuitarDreams]

HybridEffect wrote:

PowerChordAway! :
This is kinda weird, since Mike(rapper) and Mr. Hahn(DJ) aren't even in the band anymore. They're the rap group Fort Minor. So this is kinda ****ed. But oh well, whatevs


Shows how much you know about the band, Fort Minor was Mike Shinoda's side project and Mr.Hahn wasnt even part of it. Mike wrote just about everything himself. And they are very much still in the band..

Check out the pics on my site....http://fromtheinside.eloquensa.net/index.php?subaction=showcomment

s&id=1164847795&archive=&

start_from=&ucat=&
And the other dude is the Producer Rick Rubin who is also producing the new Metallica album.

Actually, Mr. Hahn was part of it, one song (Slip Out the Back) but yeah.

Can't wait for the new album

[Judas_rising]

Who in the hell classified this band as metal ??!!
This is bloody techno and rap with some weird a$$ DJ putting off little scratches and an over-distorted guitar playing the same stuff OVER and OVER and OVER again !!

How the f**k cud these guys name bands like Metallica and Maiden as their influences when they play the complete opposite ?! These guys take advantage of currently rising trends and the musical ignorance of mainstream music fans...ie..they're sellouts.Nuff said.Atleast Mick Thompson fought for the right to solo...I dnt think these guys can.

[ill niño]

What the hell have they done to qwerty in the studio??
The studio version sucks compared to the live version.. The vocals are of poor quality, the effect in the verse sucks and the rhythm in the chorus doesn't fit in. I used to love linkin park, but I'm afraid their next album will be a disappointment.

[mshinoda20]

-No se en que estubieron pensando los integrantes de LP para hacer una version "demo-studio" de QWERTY, en vez de darnos una buena canción en STUDIO para que nos guste más esa cancion. Sinceramente no parece una cancion de LP ya que con toda la experiencia que tienen no nos pueden brindar algo asi. Yo esperaba algo más de esa cancion ya que como no va a estar en su nuevo CD, debieron de hacerla mejor.
-Not about which estubieron thinking the members of LP to do a version "demo-studio" of QWERTY, instead of giving us a good song in STUDIO in order that we like more this song. Sincerely it does not look like LP's song since with all the experience that they have they cannot offer to us anything this way. I was waiting for slightly more of this song since it not going to be in the new CD, they had to of making it better.

[KimK]

I listened to LPU 6 QWERTY not a listening catcher for me anyways - I would of like it if they put chester's duet with Paul McCartney from the grammy awards would have been great - love LP for all their great lyrics they are deep and meaningful even if they are about somethings in chester's life those songs have great meaning. My ten year old son loves LP and thats they reason why I let him listen - hopefully their next album will be as great as hybrid theory and meteora. can't wait!!!!!

[lpgreatfan]

a great ep for the true linkin park fans, as me...
is very shorty, but good...i really can't wait for their new album!!it will be good, i'm sure...