thats-the-teen-spirit

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PoE2 is almost here, I soon will have a reason to live again

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I like the new LP album but the new Poppy record might even be a little better... I only heard the first 4 songs but I liked the non-singles more on Poppy's album

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

Linkin Park - From Zero - Album Review

Well, a few months ago I didn't think that I would write such a review but here we go. So Linkin Park announced their return in September followed by a tour and an album, to everyone's surprise. The new singer after the great Chester Bennington's passing was announced to be the former Dead Sara vocalist, Emily Armstrong. The announcement was followed by many controversies which I'm not gonna touch on in this review, I'm just here, purely for the music, so take all my opinions with a grain of salt.

From Zero (Intro)

A very short, barely even 20 seconds intro is a Queen-like gang vocal/choir harmony followed by Emily asking about the name of the album. It sounds like they recorded her first reaction to Mike's idea for the album name, which is - as Mike mentioned many times throughout the promotion of the album - a double entendre. From Zero means from the ground up, a new beginning which is definitely true for the band after losing a beloved former member and a friend, but also From Xero which was the first name of the predecessor band of Linkin Park. It's genius if you think about it, and by the short and cut end of the intro Emily realizes this as well.

2. The Emptiness Machine

The first single and the song that started the return. The video and the song are both great, though it left a sour taste in some fans' mouth, expecting either a Chester-imitation or someone completely different (rumors were Amy Lee and Deryck Whibley). The Emptiness Machine opens up with a modern beat and Mike's rapping, he even sings the first chorus hinting at something new to come. The second verse starts with Emily singing and while at first I thought she lacks the power Chester had, by the end of the second chorus she proves her place is right among the boys. The lyrics are about an abusive relationship to someone or something which left people thinking about Emily's past (imo the lyrics definitely fit into Linkin Park's past catalogue as well). The passion of the last chorus and the "I only wanted to be part of something" bridge will leave you wondering though: how would this song sound with Chester?

3. Cut the Bridge

Already a non-single with a choppy hard rock riff and octaves, Mike starts rapping and you realize this is definitely a Linkin Park song. In my personal opinion this sound would have fit into The Hunting Party as well as this album. I'm not the biggest fan of the chorus but it's a fun song that might get a few headbangs at concerts. Emily definitely carries this song, the bridge melody by Mike is... not the best, a little jarring and does not fit his vocal style and range. We'll hear a few moments like that in the coming songs.

4. Heavy Is The Crown

Heavy Is The Crown was the second single and the anthem of this year's League of Legends championship which gave to already one of the biggest bands of the planet some extra boost of publicity. If I had to describe this song with old Linkin Park songs I would say this is a renewed version of Faint with the breakdown of Given Up. The beat and the melody throughout the song is very Meteora-era and the "THIS IS WHAT YOU ASKED FOR" breakdown pretty much calls out the fans who wanted a nu-metal banger. It's like they knew their return was controversial and they have to do the maximum nostalgia factor to appeal to the same audience that once loved them. Emily shows her real power in this one, letting out the beast and hinting at what's coming.

5. Over Each Other

A pure Emily song and the third single. Mike is not singing nor rapping in this one, and in the video we see Emily being in a relationship, breaking up and fighting with her girlfriend until the story takes a dark turn when she fakes her own death to get away from her now ex-girlfriend. It's a very honest and upbeat song that really arrives by the second half. The lyrics show a burnt-out relationship that seems to be over soon. This one I cannot even imagine with Chester's vocals, which is the first and the last time this happened during this album. The instrumentals in the second half are (in my personal opinion) very much Minutes to Midnight-like, almost as if Rick Rubin produced this one as well.

6. Casualty

Undoubtedly the heaviest one on the record, there's barely any clean vocals, (even Mike is shouting for most of the song) and there's even a hardcore punk beat in it. This is basically like their song Victimized was on The Hunting Party instead of Living Things. The guitars and drums are filled with rage and in the bridge we hear a new sound from Emily which is very In This Moment/Maria Brink. I didn't expect a hardcore song by Linkin Park but in 2024 even that could happen.

7. Overflow

After a very lengthy intro the song arrives to a space-y, flowy verse which is reminiscent of Deftones and I.O.U, the song Mike recorded with Chino Moreno off his solo record, Post Traumatic. The chorus keeps up the same slow pace and by the bridge I figured that this song would be very fitting to A Thousand Suns. Which is possibly the only song on this record that I can say this about. Like a more modern version of a medley of that album, strange sound and it's not gonna be my most listened song but I think it will find its audience.

8. Two-Faced

Ever wanted to hear a Meteora/Hybrid Theory song sung by a female singer? Well, here you go. Imagine if Figure.09, A Place for My Head and One Step Closer got together on a drunk night and had a lovechild. The verses are also very much like Nobody's Listening, another song from Meteora. The breakdown is so much fanservice to the HT fans that it's almost exactly the One Step Closer riff (even the turntables are there). This will be one of my favorites for sure, it gives me that Cure for The Itch for a old-new HT sound. The fans who can get over to be ready for the new era of the band and only love the first album will be happy to hear this one.

9. Stained

Another song that is hard carried by Emily's vocals, I swear it's like they're doing this on purpose. Mike is one of my favorite songwriters and musicians but man, is he boring in this song. This is the first song where I felt like it's a filler. Chorus melody is alright especially in the last one where it's much more epic, but the verses, the instrumental and the overall vibe of this song is very forgettable. If I wanted to be really harsh I would say, this one is a more pop-ish song of One More Light got rerecorded with a different vocalist and distorted guitars.

10. IGYEIH

IGYEIH or I Gave You Everything I Had is another heavy banger. The riff is very nu metal, reminding me of Burn by Three Days Grace. It's another one that Emily is carrying on her back, her performance is 110% again. Mike's "the clock keeps tickiiiiing" call-ins are very much forced, and in my opinion lack chemistry with the rest of the song. The yea-yea-yea-s by Emily are also somewhat forced before the chorus, the buildup and the breakdown are great though. It's not as mid as Stained but I honestly expected better from the riff.

11. Good Things Go

Probably my favorite song of the album, straight up. The modern rap beat and Mike's work on the rapping and the wonderful vocals by Emily make this composition a pleasure to listen to. Some people I saw online compared it to Leave Out All The Rest, I don't think that is true. While this is a ballad of some sort having very emotional lyrics, it's an unfair comparison to LOATR. The delivery by both Mike and Emily is amazing though and the buildup is one of my favorites of this year, it's both relieving and cathartic. This is this album's take on Good Goodbye and this one undoubtedly wins both the message and the delivery battle.

Overall I'm not gonna lie, I expected more. Upon the second listen I realized that I lost recency bias already. Some moments turned out to be probably the worst in their catalogue while others were highlights of this year's musical journey for me. The singles are definitely the stand-out songs, though Good Things Go and Two-Faced are up among them. Emily carried most of the songs as I mentioned many times before and it's clear that the band's intention was to make the audience love her as much as they loved working with her, even if this effort cast a dark shadow on the rest of the bands' performance.

7/10

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

spotify has music videos now so my tv officially became an MTV machine that pretends to "live" in 2007

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i finished probably the oldest game in my backlog

i started playing tomb raider legend when i was around the age of 12-13 on the ps2, today i finished it using an emulator

i'm 27 now

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i'm officially 27

if i was a musician i would be scared shitless rn

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the new INK song is a fucking bop, perfect for the spoopy season, the video is way too much for me though

i like the punk and SOAD sound and the breakdown

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the three days grace reunion genuinely got me hyped as fuck

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funnily enough this song instrumentally is the closest Linkin Park has been to their original sound since like 17 years

I cannot not imagine it with Chester's vocals though, would've been sick

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

well i've just been through an examination when i was put to sleep, it was painful, the diagnosis is not yet certain but

when i was trying to wake up i saw the Mercy Overwatch meme but not with her face but my girlfriend's, i literally saw her as an angel waking me up

I think i love her ma dudes

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

All the celebrities that I thought were actually good people are getting fucked around and found out lately:

Jack Black, Mike Shinoda, Dave Grohl

If Keanu Reeves is next I'm gonna be super fucking sad

(btw I'm not talking about worshipping these celebrities, they just used to seem like very down-to-earth people to me)

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

also holy fucking shit, tokio hotel are back to their rock roots, what the fuck is happening in 2024

if the goal of the new disney pop punk album was to make me want to get a disney+ subscription for the kid in me, then it was very fucking successful

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

if the goal of the new disney pop punk album was to make me want to get a disney+ subscription for the kid in me, then it was very fucking successful

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

Okay I get that there's a controversy around Emily and how people are talking about the band's decision is disrespectful to Chester's memory

But can we talk about how it's not even a full day after The Emptiness Machine came out and there are already a fuckton of AI covers with Chester's voice???? TALKING ABOUT DISRESPECTFUL

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

One more thought, this is the first time that there's a big shift in Linkin Park's lifespan that it's not related to the production or style of their music. People ALWAYS hated any new direction since Minutes to Midnight. If she proves that people could change (as she might have been able to) and the new music is faithful to the band I'm fine with this lineup.

Some songs sounded really weird transposed to her voice, Numb/Encore was jarring to hear for example. And if this means that they will change these songs permanently live than that's a hard pill to swallow.

But I'm excited for the new material, especially because Post Traumatic was one of my favorite albums after Chester's passing for like a year. I still consider Mike as one of the best songwriters of this century and I'm very interested what he's been cooking.

I'm conflicted on the Linkin Park return

I like The Emptiness Inside, I think it's a very good song. It really is a powerful The Hunting Party era sound that I loved back then. I'm happy they returned to more of a rock sound for their comeback and also happy for them to finally solve their inner conflicts about reunion.

However (according to many sources I saw so far), she's a (maybe former?) scientologist and a questionable rape apologist which makes hiring her sound like a really weird PR decision.

Replacing a guy, who had mental struggles all his life and ultimately committed suicide with someone who supposedly doesn't even believe in psychology is wild. Also Chester was an all around nice person even despite his demons (from what I've heard) so we have to wait and see how she turns out. She will definitely not be a fan favorite, but let's be real she probably doesn't want to replace Chester because that would be an impossible task for anyone.

Idk man, they should've renamed the band or just release new material under their original name 'Xero' since the album is gonna be called From Zero anyways.

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

I'm conflicted on the Linkin Park return

I like The Emptiness Machine, I think it's a very good song. It really is a powerful The Hunting Party era sound that I loved back then. I'm happy they returned to more of a rock sound for their comeback and also happy for them to finally solve their inner conflicts about reunion.

However (according to many sources I saw so far), she's a (maybe former?) scientologist and a questionable rape apologist which makes hiring her sound like a really weird PR decision.

Replacing a guy, who had mental struggles all his life and ultimately committed suicide with someone who supposedly doesn't even believe in psychology is wild. Also Chester was an all around nice person even despite his demons (from what I've heard) so we have to wait and see how she turns out. She will definitely not be a fan favorite, but let's be real she probably doesn't want to replace Chester because that would be an impossible task for anyone.

Idk man, they should've renamed the band or just release new material under their original name 'Xero' since the album is gonna be called From Zero anyways.

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

cheesy 80's production in music is one of the best i swear

midi-like synths that drive the melody

vocals with chorus filter on and a lot of compression (that sound like they come from underwater)

chorus effected guitars that can also be primer/secondary melody

slow (<100bpm) tempo

guitar/synth solos

key changes at the end

female vocals super high pitched and/or high range

male vocals always supported by distorted guitars or bass synth

funky guitar riffs during verses or choruses

very loud snare drum that overshadows the vocals

I didn't even live back then and yet these make me feel nostalgic