A.M.D.G. Linkin Park has gone down the gutter for good. It's not that there bad now (I really like a couple of their new songs like "Waiting for the End"), but they are terrible compared to what they used to be. They used to inspire the heck out of me as a young teen, and I looked up to them as role models as much as I would to anyone else. I think that it is safe to say that their radical change in style is a main reason why I moved to metal, though only Christian metal. Linkin Park had me in the palm of their hand for their first two albums, and I was unashamed, even as I shy young boy, to shout out from the rooftops that Linkin Park was indubitably my favorite band. LP had the most potential out of any band that has ever, and probably ever will, exist. I mean Mike, wtf? Did you forget how to rap, are you Jamaican now or something? Do you not remember how you sounded on the first two albums? Chester, there are some crazy good vocalists out there but you have the skills to be the best, and you used to be, but now you've lost it. Your superb growls and screams are almost non-existent, and your beautiful clean parts are dwindling as well. Where did your passion go? You are such a better vocalist than M2M and ATS show. Joe, cut the techno crap and and get back to nu-metal sound; the goal of LP's music shouldn't be to played in nightclubs and stations like 96.5 Kiss FM. And Brad, please get back to the head-banging riffs that we knew so well on HT and Meteora. Whew...now that I got that off of my chest... Since I can no longer rely on LP to give added purpose to my life, I have turned to the Christian band Red. Not only are their lyrics more wholesome than the old LP's (and even the new- what's with the profanity, LP?), but everything is just as good, too. Although Michael Barnes is no Chester Bennington, conversely, Chester Bennington is no Michael Barnes. The two have some similarities, especially the old LP and and Red's first album, The End of Silence. Barnes is a beast. He is extremely talented and he is not afraid to push his vox to the limit. The current Barnes destroys what Chester is right now. Red is hard rock, and they do carry a rather heavy sound compared to most contemporary Christian artists; they seem to be between metal and normal Christian rock. Red has said that one of the bands that inspired them was Linkin Park (and that was said before LP sold-out), so it makes since that some elements of the good LP are reflected in Red's music. Red is going off the charts with their upward trend, at least in my opinion. End of Silence was sick, but Innocence and Instinct might just be the greatest overall album I have ever heard- I really don't see how they could top themselves, just stay the same. Therefore, is you want to pick up where Linkin Park left off after Meteora, follow Red, and I guarantee that that is one band that will not sell you out. A.M.D.G.

War of Ages
Oh, Sleeper
As I Lay Dying
All That Remains
For Today
August Burns Red
Corpus Christi
Haste the Day
Miss May I (technically not Christian but nevertheless respectable lyrics)