Album title: One More Light
Artist: Linkin Park
Genre: Pop/Pop Rock/Electropop
Nationality: American
Release date: May 19
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:
Have I heard of this artist? Yes
Have I heard anything by this artist? No
Average RYM Score: 1.45
Linkin Park get a lot of hate here. Personally, I've never even heard a song by them up to now, but when this began I thought I had accidentally cued up an Imagine Dragons album (the only legitimate way, of course, to cue up an Imagine Dragons album is accidentally) but no, it's them. Well knock me down with a sixteen-ton weight. And now we have Pusha T getting in on the act. And Stormzy. Not a bad song, to be fair. I read that the lead singer died after recording this, so perhaps I should cut the band some slack. Yeah, I won't be doing that.
Seems a lot of people were accusing Linkin Park of selling out on this album, though I can't comment because, as I already noted, I haven't heard anything else by them. The lead singer, Chester Bennington, did seem to go on a tirade against the fans, and ended up committing suicide, though whether the two are connected or not I can't say. It does seem a pretty weak album though, however I have to question why this would be seen as a deliberate act of selling out, given that their last two albums hit number one and three respectively. It doesn't appear as if they needed to sell out. But sure what do I know?
“Battle Symphony” is a good, anthemic song, and “Invisible” is another good one, also kind of marching, anthemic in its way. Kiiara adds her talents to “Heavy”, not one of the best tracks to be honest and perhaps an odd choice for a single, but there it is. Listening to the lyric to “Sorry For Now” I do kind of wonder if he was telegraphing his intentions? Possibly not, but it's a little chilling when you hear lines like “I'll be sorry for now that I couldn't be around/ There'll be a day when you will understand” considering what happened later. The title track is another one - “Who cares if one more light goes out in a sky of a million stars?” Indeed. Lovely song, but again, scarily prophetic quite possibly. Guitar on this reminds me of something, but I can't place it.
But look at the titles of the songs: “Good Goodbye”. “Nobody Can Save Me”. “Invisible”. “Sorry For Now”. All could be interpreted as relating to someone considering ending it all. And then my theory falls apart as I notice that Bennington didn't write any of those songs. Well, I guess I won't be opening up that detective agency just yet, then.
As someone coming to Linkin Park without any previous history, the contempt and dislike they're held in here doesn't mean anything to me, and as for this album, I'd say it's decent and listenable, if not anything particularly special. Nothing, however, deserving of the pitiably low RYM score given above. I guess it's a case of how sharper than a serpent's tooth, huh? The fans, it would appear, have spoken.
Check out more from this artist? Might
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
Actual Rating:
