Tag: Joe Hahn

LINKIN PARK – “From 0” review

LINKIN PARK is an alternative rock outfit from Los Angeles, California now consisting of lead guitarist Brad Delson, deejay Joe Hahn, bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, their new drummer Colin Brittain, co-frontman/rhythm guitarist Mike Shinoda & their new frontwoman Emily Armstrong. Originally known as Xero & Hybrid Theory, the band used the latter name for their landmark debut after signing to Warner Records & the sophomore effort Meteora became a childhood essential for me in addition to inaugurating Machine Shop Recordings’ formation. The Rick Rubin trilogy Minutes to Midnight as well as 1,000 Suns & Living Things marked them shifting away from the nu metal sound they made a name for themselves with although The Hunting Party was an underappreciated return to their roots. 1 More Light went full electropop & was universally scoffed at as the band’s worst album, resulting in Chester Bennington tragically taking his life on my mom’s 45th birthday. 7 years later, Colin’s replacing Rob Bourdon & Emily from prior Dead Sara fame is replacing Chester for the band’s 8th LP.

After the titular intro, the first song “The Emptiness Machine” is an alt-rock opener with additional elements of alternative metal & post-hardcore with Mike & Emily singing about wanting to be a part of something whereas “Cut the Bridge” taps into the band’s rap rock origins sabotaging it all. “Heavy’s the Crown” fuses rap rock, nu metal & alt-rock explaining today’s lthe day you notice ‘cause they’re tired of explainin’ what the joke is just before “Over Each Other” comes off as this mediocre alt-pop rock crossover.

“Casualty” lets off some angst over some guitars & drumming calling to let them out & set them free since they know all the secrets you keep leading into “Overflow” embraces a pop rock vibe even further singing that they both know they’re outta control all dressed up for a riot. “2 Faced” gets back to LINKIN PARK’s nu metal origins talking about certain people’s rules being unfair & their truths being unrigid, but then pop rock-inspired “Stained” references the tragedy of Lady Macbeth during the hook.

The penultimate song “I.G.Y.E.I.H. (I Gave You Everything I Had)” pushes further towards the final moments of From 0 by singing about the fact that forgotten doesn’t mean that it’s forgiven this time while “Good Things Go” finishes by showcasing Emily & Mike’s vocal chemistry, assuring that only they can save one another from their respective lack of self control feelin’ like it’s been raining inside of their heads for the last 100 days.

“Up from the Bottom” starts the deluxe run with an alt-rock/rap rock crossover with a hint of pop punk finding a way to escape aside from the exception of Emily & Mike having nowhere to go while “Unshatter” swaps out the secondary pop punk influences from prior with hard rock, post-grunge & power pop talking about undoing the damage of a broken picture because they were trying to see themselves. The final bonus track “Let You Fade” represents the band’s continuous evolution finding balance between honoring their legacy in the midst of forging a bold & new path forward.

Being as skeptical as I was when Emily was announced to be replacing Chester since I grew up listening to LINKIN PARK & felt that it wouldn’t be the same without him, I nonetheless came away from From 0 a little indifferent towards it although I very much wish the band all the best in this new era of their’s. Mike’s production abandons the lifeless electropop from 2017 in favor of a melting pot consisting of alternative rock, alternative metal, rap rock, nu metal & pop rock whilst Emily’s performances compared to Mike’s are hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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LINKIN PARK – “1 More Light” review

Given that LINKIN PARK’s last album The Hunting Party was a return to form for them, at first I was pretty excited going into their 7th full-length album over here. However with each & every single that was released for it, I started to worry about it. Despite this, I still gave it a shot with an open mind. The opening track “Nobody Can Save Me” sees Chester Bennington singing about fighting your inner demons, but the dubstep instrumental sounds absolutely God awful.

The next track “Good Goodbye” is the only song on the entire album to feature a rap verse from Mike Shinoda & while his verse along with the guest verses from Pusha T & Stormzy about a failed relationship are just ok, the instrumental on here is pretty generic. The song “Talking to Myself” is told from the perspective of Chester’s wife Talinda, but the only good thing about the production is the guitars during the beginning & the hook.

The song “Battle Symphony” talks about picking yourself up when you’re down, but it just comes off as really sappy. The song “Invisible” is the one of the only 2 songs on the entire album where Mike is on lead vocals & while he may be sending a heartfelt message to his children, the production just ruins it. The Chester/Kiiara duet “Heavy” addresses holding onto one’s sanity & the instrumental enhances it’s status as THE worst song on the album. Especially how it starts off with a quiet tone, but then we get a crescendo during the hook to make it sound dramatic.

The song “Sorry for Now” sees Mike apologizing to his kids for being gone over a wavy instrumental, but I would much rather listen to “Where’d You Go?” from his Fort Minor side-project. The song “Halfway Right” talks about Chester’s drug addiction & the cliché snares throughout most of the track made me genuinely angry. The penultimate track is the title track, where Chester is singing about death over a settle instrumental that lacks any form of progression. Then we have the final song “Sharp Edges”, where Chester is reminiscing about his youth over an acoustic guitar & it’s actually ok.

I can honestly say that this is EASILY the worst album that LINKIN PARK has ever done & it’s not simply because of the fact that they ditched their metal/rock sound to go pop on here: it’s because the production is sickeningly sweet & it makes almost every track sound corny. I have no problem with artists experimenting with sounds & the band did come through with a couple ok songs, but they just failed miserably at this outside of that. I’m sorry but as much as I really respect these guys, I don’t see myself coming back to this garbage ever again

Score: 0.5/5