Linkin Park
Warner Bros.: A Thousand Suns
In an interview with MTV in 2008, Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park revealed that when presented with the idea of making their fourth studio album a concept album, he was afraid that his confidence would drop at such an overwhelming task. But after a friend suggested that the concept should be about living with the reality of nuclear warfare and the relevant theme of conflict and war, Bennington reacted with inspiration.
Two years after the announcement that the production of the fourth album was underway, the band has released A Thousand Suns. The two years it took to tackle the record, with the help of producer Rick Rubin, has resulted in an ambitious collection of tunes about a war-ridden apocalyptic world set to the script of a thrilling rock-opera.
Just as their previous album, Minutes to Midnight, strayed away from the nu-metal/ rap-rock of Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the latest outing has followed suite. It embraces the traditional instrument base that encompasses alt-rock, not so much reliant on electronic production as before (Remember that it is Linkin Park though, so even though it isn’t a force it’s still there).
This time around, the vocal interplay of Bennington and co-producer/ resident rapper Mike Shinoda does not play a major role in the cohesiveness of the album. Their classic handoffs aren’t as clean and numerous as the first two albums. In fact, the albums best tracks are Shinoda-less. “Burning In The Skies,” a mid-tempo song driven to perfection by a deep plucked melody and the album’s first single “The Catalyst,” a bouncy track spotted with light jabs on the keys and tenacious drums where Bennington cashes on Tiny Tim’s famous line – “God bless us everyone/ we’re the broken people living under loaded gun/ And it cant be outfought/ it cant be outdone/ it cant be outmatched/ it cant be outrun.”
The album’s theme is strong throughout the lineup. It boasts three interludes with effects featuring theoretical commentary about war from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Robert Oppenheimer and Mario Savio. Shinoda has even said in interviews that he admires Chuck D and Public Enemy, who are good at masking political themes in their music. Linkin park does the opposite in Suns; the themes of the album are neither masked nor shallow.
The band has done a complete 180 as far as musical identity goes. They have four complete albums, but two distinct sounds. Many Linkin Park admirers argue that they are sell-outs for shelling the heavier sound of old, but others can respect the fact that they have had the courage to head in a new direction. As far as worth is concerned, I’d much rather turn my headphones up loud to “Faint,” rather than “Iridescent.” Artists generally mature their sound as they progress, but in this case it’s reverse. Linkin Park’s sound is dead and gone, so how can it mature?
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