"Minutes to Midnight is composed of sounds made by a practically Arcade Fire-esque array of instruments including banjos, marimbas and vintage guitars and amps." -- Rolling Stone

"We have put more into the new album than anything we have ever done before." -- Phoenix

"A breakthrough in the development of the band's sound." -- Mike

"This was a year-and-a-half long process of really hard work and experimentation in the studio that yielded about 150 rough songs ... Not only is this album incredibly diverse, but the depth of the material is really strong." -- Brad

"They really are reinventing themselves. It doesn't sound like rap-rock. There's very strong songwriting. I've heard guys in the band say that it transcends everything they've done before, like it puts them in a whole different light in their minds, and they really like that. It's very melodic. It's a progressive record." -- Rick Rubin

"People have always tried to lump us in with the whole rap/rock stereotype, but we don't intentionally want to be part of that scene. We've always had our own personality and I think it really shows on this record." -- Mike

"We wrote in new ways and used instruments and equipment we hadn't experimented with, from vintage guitars and amps to mellotron to Rick Rubin's original 808 drum machine he used on the Beastie Boys' first record." -- Mike

"No, not emo. also, not rap rock, not nu metal, not metal, not punk, not scene, not hip hop, not classic rock, not polka, not any other lame label." -- Mike

"I hope people can listen to it with an open mind because this is a whole new animal." -- Phoenix

"We've ventured into different musical territory. There aren't a lot of big, heavy, banging guitars. We've been focusing more on musical layers and textures." -- Chester

"There's more soul behind what we're doing now. This music has more heart and a much deeper feel to it." -- Phoenix

"There's more vulnerability and colour in the way I'm singing now." -- Chester

"OH SH*%!" -- AOL Music

"Not only is this record the most melodic and diverse stuff they've ever written, it's also some of the best music they've ever recorded. It blew away all of our expectations and we've got no doubts that the band has another monster on their hands." -- AOL Music