10 Underrated Linkin Park Songs

Looking back on it, a lot of the nu metal fans tend to consider Minutes to Midnight as a bit of a lull in the Linkin Park discography. Since they already had the odds stacked against them after Meteora, this felt like the band were trying to make something a lot more radio friendly instead of their usual schtick. Once you got past the hooky singles like What I've Done though, they hadn't forgotten the heaviness on the first track.

Beginning with just a barebones riff, Given Up feels like Linkin Park at its most concentrated, with a verse that's only Chester and Phoenix leading the charge before the chorus comes screaming in. Although the lyrics deal with misery and feeling pain, this is one of the few times that the music gets as heavy as the subject matter, especially in the breakdown where Brad Delson comes up with a riff that would have made Kerry King proud.

If you're looking for the real MVP here, it has to be Chester, who goes into a full scream for the entire breakdown and holds the final note for nearly 20 seconds without losing any power in his breath. That's the nature of Linkin Park though. They may be just a couple of talented musicians, yet when you bring them together, they tap into something that's superhuman.