nickishere12345

There's clearly two guitars in this mix. Was mike's tech playing offstage or something? I think the right ear is Alex but there's clearly another guitar in the left ear

wanted to finally post after sitting with my thoughts for a few days. First of all, I love it, it's great. It's a tour of their entire career, from straight up Meteora worship on Two Faced to a One More Light track in Over Each Other and the experimental electronic Living Things vibes on Overflow. Reintroducing the world to Linkin Park, and who they are now in 2024, was always going to a be a tricky question, and I think Mike & co. nailed that as best as they possibly could. This record unmistakably sounds like Linkin Park, even with a new lead vocalist. I don't want this to be the future of the band though, if that makes sense. LP was at their best imo from MTM through Living Things when they were taking absolutely massive risks with their sound. Then they released Hunting Party which was still great but wasn't quite up to the same standard as the previous 3 records. And then One More Light which was just a total disaster. I want the next LP record to be a big artistic statement again. Something that really sounds like nothing we've heard before. Since the OML sessions Mike has been trapped in this pop music mindset, where the songs have to be no longer than 3 minutes with the same structure. It just feels like he's been stuck in this rut where the songs never take left turns anymore, the way a song like Blackout does after the bridge or the way Castle of Glass builds from a quiet folk song to a massive anthem. For the next record I want him to purge all of the modern pop influences from the songwriting. Write something anti-commercial again. Let me be clear I'm not equating that with loud guitars and metal. I just want something that feels like a real artistic statement the way ATS does again. I know MIke still has it in him.

praying for guilty all the same emily debut!!!!! i know it wont happen but let me dream

NEW JERSEY LET'S GO Not a PVRIS fan and wish we got Architects or Spiritbox but whatever I'm not complaining lol. LPU pre-sale on Monday!!!!

One thing I've been thinking about is I hope we hear the backstory on each track. Like we know at least that Good Things Go was kicking around on Mike's hard drive since 2020 at least. Which songs came from the 2019 sessions? Which are the newest? Was the HT/M influence a result of Meteora20?

I don't understand why they made HITC the big single over Two Faced. Two Faced is better in every aspect AND sounds more like HT / Meteora which would really hit with casual fans.

Two Faced is crazy man. Like the band has flirted with their classic sound here and there over the years but we've never gotten a song that LITERALLY sounds like it could be on the first two records. That song could sit after Hit the Floor on Meteora and no one would notice. I'm a fan of LP at their more experimental but I'd be lying if i didn't say how cool it is to hear a classic LP track one more time.

ALL FOR NOTHING AHHHHHHHH ive been waiting for the band to bless a crowd of five-star general infantry controllers for years, so glad it finally happened. Page sounded absolutely terrible though, I want them to keep playing it but with Mike singing the chorus. Casualty is crazy, can’t wait to hear the studio version

The song melodically feels like it would be at home on OML, but it's got way more energy and LP-like production. It's not a masterpiece or anything but it's pretty solid imo and much better than most of OML. I just wish the songs were a bit more adventurous in terms of structure. They're all so short and with no real twists, I want something like Blackout or A Line in the Sand where the song just takes a big turn and goes somewhere unexpected. I think all 3 are good though, with Emptiness Machine being really great. EDIT: Also wish Brad remembered how to do literally anything else on guitar besides play octaves lol.

I didn't even think about the fact this was a possibility. I just assumed Mike would be on every track on some level (like how Blink without Tom had Mark on every song on some level). I'm glad they're doing this though, it means they have tons of conviction in their choice

I also read One Step Closer, and agree that fans should read it as it's pretty interesting. But it's also worth noting that Jeff very clearly sees himself as a main character and I don't think you can take everything in there at face value (for example, Mike has said for years Jeff was the one pushing for him to stop rapping and just play keyboards, but Jeff very conveniently blames "the higher-ups" in the book). It's also just written terribly, like a high school creative writing project. Jeff is clearly not an author and could have used a ghostwriter imo.

Fair enough! Definitely going to wait for the studio version before I judge any more either way. Let me be clear again that I like the song by the way! It’s just that I like when LP surprises me with new sounds

There is a certain level of sad irony to Linkin Park finally returning to nu-metal when it is, in a sense, too late. But it makes sense that with so much being different about the band that they would return to a sound that is familiar. I’m just wondering what goes through Mike’s head over the years since he spent so many years running away from heavy music, and even when they returned to it on THP, seemed ashamed of it afterward. but this is not a negative post, I swear! The song is good, feels like Faint a bit. The chorus could have used a variation the last time but overall it’s great. i just think I liked TEM a little more - that song sounded recognizably like LP but also fresh and different. This sounds like them trying to write a HT/Meteora song

I agree, I just thought it would happen. It seemed like the one song that would have staying power in LP setlists (even before Chester’s passing, I thought it was the most likely song to stick around in the future from that album)

After thinking about it I’m honestly really shocked they’re not playing One More Light (the song). I really thought they would use that in every show as the sort of “Chester tribute” moment. im happy that they’re not though. I think moving on full steam ahead and not being constantly mired in grief is the right move.

I mean, Rob didn't have much charisma either. He's a drummer, they don't really need any lol.

Speak it into existence please

There's probably some complicated emotions about OML given what happened. Also I think the Post Traumatic tour doubled as a kind of sendoff to that era

Mike singing the verses of Leave Out All the Rest is cool as well

Ok so I may have jumped the gun that night saying they were “done” but it IS clear from that interview that LP is her priority for now. If dead Sara plays shows it will probably be after the From Zero cycle is over. Either way the point is dead Sara is not active right now (and hasn’t been in over a year).

Yeah, I think we all understand if Rob wanted to leave for whatever reason, all of the reasons floated are perfectly valid, it’s the fact that we essentially got ghosted that feels weird.

I hope we get more details about this someday. All we know is that Rob had "a conversation" with the band a few years ago - did he officially quit the band then? Because Mike talks about Rob not showing up for Papercuts, and that was only this April. So was it more of a thing where Rob's status was in limbo and they didn't finalize he departure until recently? I know Rob doesn't owe us anything but selfishly I wish he would record a quick goodbye video so we could understand his reasoning and get some closure. All these lineup changes are just so jarring because LP had the same lineup for 20 years.

I think Friendly Fire is the last Chester material we will get for a loooooong time (maybe MTM20 in 2027). I don't think they are going to want to steal Emily's thunder for a while.

Have they confirmed that LPU CDs are coming back this year?

It feels to me like THP but with more polished, slick production. I think that was a big mistake on THP, the raw, garagey production style threw a lot of people off because the hypermodern production style has been a LP trademark going back to Hybrid Theory. I have mixed feelings on some aspects of this reunion (the changing of keys live, the lack of Brad live and Rob at all) but I think new music was the most important part of this and based on the first single, they absolutely nailed it, which makes me so incredibly hyped for the full record