AParallelogramInTheSand

Just heard finally. I don't understand the Paramore stuff. The flow feels a little disjointed on the chorus which makes me feel like it could've been great. Bridge is fun, end chorus is great with the switch up in lyrics. Will have to wait to hear the better quality version to really say anything about the music side but overall, I'm happy to get it but not surprised it didn't make the original cut.

Still would need some more incentive to buy another copy if it's for a deluxe version or its own thing.

On 3/9/2025 at 10:20 PM, AceWav said:

It makes perfect sense to release a Deluxe FZ... It's simple marketing. Who wouldn't want to increase the longevity of their album's release and relevancy ESPECIALLY when it's already doing well to begin with? Sure, they could do a double album (a new complete record) but i think their genius for putting together FZ with that quick and snappy track list and make it a short fuse. And then extend the album to a more complete picture a little later on with extra singles that I bet are going to be bangers (assuming it will be more than one song). It feels like we're still in the middle of the album's release this way, and not something of the past anymore. I love that personally. Anyways, still don't know exactly what it actually is, but it's a safe guess at this point, and kind of obvious to. We might get more music videos this way! Maybe another video game collab, or a return to transformers a bit down the road with one of the new tracks. 

My hope is they do it similar to what Rise Against did with Nowhere Generation + Nowhere Generation II

5 Songs on a separate EP and a separate physical release. All songs act as one cohesive unit, such as Nowhere Generation Deluxe, but also stand separately. I think I listen to the album and the EP separately more often than together

re: no Chester tribute, what do y'all want? Do you want an album full of another eulogy after PT? I feel stuff like this is better for them to properly tribute.

2 hours ago, zerothree said:

 

I mean everyone grieves in their own way and people from both sides need to be okay with that. Kind of tired of seeing people telling each other how to grieve. I understand wanting to try and move on and continue enjoying new LP music. I understand the frustration that on OML they had a tribute song for a friend that died by suicide and on this album there's nothing for their band mate. But there needs to be safe spaces for both sides of that, and this thread probably isn't it lol. (Yes, I see the irony that I'm adding to it).

Everyone grieves in their own way, yes, but this isn't that. I grieved by spending time with my partner, treating myself to comforts, etc. I also reflected on why I was grieving the loss of someone I didn't know and went to therapy and learned to process my feelings.

It is everyone's personal responsibility to address their mental health and seek help if needed. A 7 year mourning period for a parasocial relationship is not normal nor healthy. I don't entertain "both sides" or "agree to disagree". People on facebook posting on every single LP post enraged that the band isn't publicly stuck in the same hole they are and aren't writing songs about how their lives are consumed with grieving chester is not the move. It is their responsibility to seek therapy as it is clearly affecting their ability to handle day to day.

This isn't yelling at you, it's frustration at the whole situation.

25 minutes ago, xxHybridXeroxx said:

Yeah, I feel this way too. I think it’d just bring everyone down if they’d keep mentioning him. Both band and fans. I also think that people are very sensitive still when it comes to Chester and a lot of people still obviously haven’t accepted his passing. With this being said, I think them continuing at all is a tribute to him, as Ryan Shuck said in the LPLive DBS interview, Chester would want his friends to still do what they love even if he wasn’t there. 
 

 

I don't understand the insistence that the band must constantly be actively and vocally mourning the loss of Chester at every opportunity. They did a massive tribute concert while they were still in the trenches of grief specifically for the fans to have that closure. Mike said at the LPU return "filling in for Chester, is every single one of you". That was the prime audience to say that to and I had hoped that message would spread to the wider fanbase.

Do I miss Chester? Yes. Did I think about how he would've sounded on these songs? Yes. Did I think that this album needed to be anything different than what it is? No. The album mashes all their past ideas up with new ideas and influences. Chester's influence is definitely seen in the fact we got songs so many people are saying "oh this could've been on this album". Mike did a full album processing his grief, it does him, the band, and the fans no favors to try and keep focused on the grief of the past instead of processing and moving forward.

People need to go to therapy and actually deal with their issues instead of obsessing over it and letting it consume them for now 7 years. I know it sounds harsh but it's everyone's responsibility to take care of themselves. 

Did a whole ranking thing for all album LP songs and today's mood and the matchups given puts From Zero tied at 5th place with Hybrid Theory. I think it could rise up after seeing the songs in concert and letting them fully sink in as nostalgia and "the vibes" played a decent factor in my choices.

That being said, the resulting ranking of songs from From Zero are more balanced I think.

1. Good Things Go - I love the ATS atmospheric music vibes and the general build up to a relentless paced bridge from Mike and a scream sing chorus to just a full cut to end the album
2. Overflow - a lot of experimentation and it has the build up of intensity I enjoy. Feels really like the whole band got to shine. Reminds me of the demos released from ATS era.
3. Cut the Bridge - Choppy guitar makes me think of bongo cat. Mike and Emily have a great back and forth. Chester would've fucking loved going feral on this live imo.
4. Stained - this seems like a Mike Shinoda song that got worked into the album. Not a bad thing. It has the poppier vibes that I think they tried to move towards in OML but didn't quite reach. I think there's a space for rock in general pop music and this is that.
5. The Emptiness Machine - looking at the album and looking back at everything, this had to be the lead single. Mike singing the first half with a new but familiar sound shows LP's still here and bringing Emily in the second half with higher note into growls for the verse then scream for the chorus is a quick showcase of how she is alike and different to Chester.
6. IGYEIH - fun rock song that I think mixes a lot of Meteora and THP. The bridge/outro is gonna be sick live
7. Two Faced - Figure.09 part two. Mike rapping on the verses really matches the Meteora vibes, the seeming multilayered vocals for Emily also matches those early songs.
8. Heavy is the Crown - I'm not a huge fan of the flow of Mike's verses but they've grown on me. Chorus bops, bridge scream is wild that they tried that after knowing Given Up was such a big push for Chester live. Pays off
9. Over Each Other - nice break to breathe honestly. The music flows a little weird to me but, like HITC verses, has grown on me. It's meant to be like the LOATR/Powerless/FM, but I feel it's a bit weaker than those.
10. Casualty - the Emily parts are good, reminds me of like Victimized and QWERTY, but I just don't like Mike's parts. His delivery and the pausing just holds back the whole song in my opinion. I think this was the place for an angry rap similar to AFN or KTTK.
11. From Zero - nice peek behind the scenes and a good way to start this specific album, especially paired with the other easter eggs in the other songs.

1 hour ago, leftshoe18 said:

Just got back from the listening party and I loved the album. Overall, I got some Minutes to Midnight vibes with the way the album flows. There's a lot of heavier song, then softer song, then heavier song throughout similar to that album. There are a lot of different sounds packed into the half hour that comprises the album. It definitely feels as short as it is, and I wish it were just a little bit longer. A couple of transitional tracks like A Thousand Suns or even just one more "full song" would have gone a long way.

 

Anyway, here's the notes I took during the listening party.

 

Cut the Bridge

- staccato guitar riff, bouncy

- Mike's rapping reminds me of All for Nothing

- dreamy little prechorus

- chorus has a fun back and forth dynamic with Emily and Mike

- very catchy, was mouthing along to the words by the second chorus

- blackbear-esque bridge from Mike

- This song feels like it would be at home on Minutes to Midnight, but at the same time doesn't actually sound like any song that's actually on Minutes to Midnight.

 

Casualty

- heavy as shit, like Victimized meets Keys to the Kingdom

- Emily's screaming is awesome

- Mike kinda yells his verse, reminded me of something between Year Zero era Trent Reznor and Rage Against the Machine

- raw sounding verses

- bridge reminds me of Figure.09, Mike raps and Emily screams with him, scratching

- "It's only a matter of time"

- This might just be the heaviest song Linkin Park has ever released. Wow!

 

Overflow

- intro has synth stabs, crushed drums, and an echoey, chopped vocal

- very unique sound in the LP catalog, kind of like Fine mixed with Lift Off but very much its own thing

- Emily has dreamy, soft vocals that get harsher as the song progresses

- "white sky to a black hole/sunlight to a shadow"

- This song feels like if Fine was a Linkin Park song in the same way that Heavy is the Crown kind of feels like Already Over if that makes sense.

 

Two-Faced

- was that Stick N Move in the intro?

- more metal riffing (hell yeah!)

- "counting to zero"

- Mike's raps have a Hybrid Theory album vibe to them (got By Myself and Hit the Floor vibes from the song)

- Emily with a big chorus and frantic outro vocals

- breakdown feels like old school Linkin Park with scratching

- This song feels the most like an early Linkin Park song since Meteora - even more-so than Heavy is the Crown.

 

Stained

- Mike's vocals remind me of PT (no song in particular, but that vibe)

- heavy hip-hop type beat

- poppy chorus vocal melody, reminds me of something Rihanna would do

- "You try to hide the mark but it won't fade"

- This song feels very different from the rest of the album. It's easily the poppiest song and, with some production differences, wouldn't sound out of place on One More Light.

- The ending of this song cut off at our listening party due to some technical issue and the person running it went to the next track.

 

IGYEIH

- "I give you everything I have"

- Emily screams the intro

- more heavy guitars and scratching

- mixture of Emily singing and Mike/Emily rap/sung back and forth ala Lost

- "Forgotten doesn't mean that it's forgiven this time"

- very aggressive chorus vocals

- more old school breakdowns, similar vibe to Given Up instrumentally

- "FROM NOW ON I DON'T NEED YOU"

- ends like Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit with Emily yelling over and over 

 

Good Things Go

- verses are Mike and Emily singing to start and then Mike raps

- clean, ballady guitar - closest thing in the LP catalog would be maybe Primo

- more dreamy vocals that get aggressive later

- "sometimes bad things take the place where good things go"

- big, explosive end to the song (and album)

- Mike's bridge reminds me of A Line In the Sand

- This song joins Linkin Park's list of closing songs that don't really feel like closing songs along with Pushing Me Away, Numb, Powerless, and Sharp Edges.

I don't think I can verbalize my thoughts better than what you have, a lot of overlap to what I would've said 

We're so fucking back

My guess is that if they release anything, it'll be an EP like Nowhere Generation II from Rise Against. They were more songs that were I think finished after the album and they released them separately. I hope it'll be treated as its own release as well so ppl don't have to buy the album a second time for a few more songs.

11 minutes ago, Qwerty18 said:

I've thought about that a few times. 

 

In a way, I'm mildly confident the state of the market has always been in the back of the heads of (some) band members. I re-watched part of the ATS making-of recently, and in there you can see in spots how the band was uncertain and stressed about going full "unconventional" with the song structures and the singles.

 

It's not at all a criticism about the artistic value of the band.  I just think, maybe even unconsciously, this element has always been there one way or another. The amplitude of the its impact, that's something we can never know for sure though.

 

That said, when most of the songs you have written in your career are 2:30 to 3:30, you probably also just mostly enjoy writing sweet brief tracks  

 

Grandson's ILYIT, Sabrina Carpenter's Short n Sweet, and then I've heard others that I can't name rn, all have short track lengths. You're right about the market pushing length down. I think LP's done well so far making the tracks feel largely complete by the end of song without overstaying their welcome

16 minutes ago, leftshoe18 said:

How is anybody saying this sounds like One More Light? It's more similar to something like Leave Out All the Rest or Final Masquerade than anything from OML. This is a classic Linkin Park ballad through and through.

The lyrics feel very OML-esque, but the song itself feels like it would've been a Mike MTM or Final Masquerade type song imo.

Meanwhile, used the spotify web player bc phone was updating. Audio was garbage. Youtube audio was so much better.

I like it, but it kinda makes me feel like they take the momentum building in each part and rein it back in for the next section. I would've loved to have it build up how Friendly Fire did

29 minutes ago, Coizu said:

In some weird technically way this won‘t be the first involvement of Linkin Park in the worlds anthem. Collin was the vocal producer on Legends Never Die which was the anthem in 2017. 

 

 

Also be prepared for a similar music video like this and don‘t expect a normal Linkin Park video. 

 

 

Wild to think a week ago, you would've been incorrect saying this. A LOT has happened since then 😂 😂 

On 9/7/2024 at 1:12 PM, nickishere12345 said:

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.

I think FF was a unique occurrence in that they wanted something to drive sales of Papercuts with both hardcore and casual fans, as well as maybe for contractual reasons (compilation of old music vs new music). The fact we got something with Chester outside of the 20th releases was a surprise and I don't expect to see anything else honestly as it would really fall into cash grab perception. They're making new music so including Chester tracks should be reserved for anniversary releases. I think we'll get MTM20, ATS20, and LT20 and that may be it, but that's a discussion for another day.

On 9/7/2024 at 1:13 PM, leftshoe18 said:

I guess the band could put out a couple of demos that didn't make HT20 or Meteora 20.

If LPU cds come back, I think this would be it, assuming they haven't already released everything worthwhile before? I could also see a few early session cuts with Emily being included. There's likely material that wouldn't be in the running for an LP album where they were starting to consider returning, maybe even him throwing her on a song like Still Alive or something to demo it before recording the final thing. But that's just me spitballing

Barring Cedric responding with like a recent thing, I feel like her post is what we needed to confirm she's not a supporter of a sexual predator and has grown since then.

6 minutes ago, street-soldier said:

What? I can’t believe I’m reading this. 
Definetley, Chester wouldn’t be proud.

 

btw, delete other’s posts (without infringing any rule) just because you don’t like is a real shame. 

 

Who's deleting ppl's posts?

5 minutes ago, YRQRM0 said:

 

I'm sympathetic to whataboutism and didn't mean for it to sound that way. I think it is legitimate to critique her and scientology if you want, of course. I was mores echoing the sentiment that it's a lot of virtue signaling, and that a lot of coverage and talking points here aren't actually coming from critical thinking but from people being like "oh yeah, I've heard that thing is bad, let me chime in and say I also think it's unacceptable". I think those people actually need to ask themselves why they find it unacceptable, and why they're chiming in on one moral front and not countless others. That kind of reflection gets you being productive and actually choosing your issue to meaningfully contribute to rather than just yell about it on twitter. 

And yeah I think this was really taking shape during AO, TEM sounds like it could have been on an EP with AO imo.  

I mean, your argument still is whataboutism, even with the clarification. I'm not gonna put out a thesis on other religions when that's not relevant to this. I find the actions and histories of religions bad and am vocal when relevant. Hell, lemme explain how all medieval churches are classist if you want one of these days.

The issue at hand is people are upset about the singer being part of a cult that is known for human trafficking (Emily may be a victim of HT as a result). It's been said by myself and I think Coizu that just her association isn't the dealbreaker, the degree of her participation is worrisome as scientology would likely try to use her as an anchor for shit. Also, the main focus has also been about her association with convicted rapist Danny Masterson. According to Cedric, she harassed his wife at the trial. If so, it brings up the question of "was she manipulated by the cult to do so or was it of her own accord"

Anyways, it basically boils down to "yes, xyz is bad too, but we're talking about abc right now" and trying to label everyone who dares say anything negative about the situation as "virtue signaling" is incorrect 

4 minutes ago, vinifeijo said:

Did LP had to make a statement about people clamining Chester's death was a murder and a hoax with some deep state political stuff behind it?

Not everything needs a statement.

Those claims were not made by members of the band. Two different situations

7 minutes ago, letdownagain said:

This is the first I'm seeing about her being openly gay, but along similar lines, the single (and presumably album) was mastered by Emerson Mancini, who openly identifies as a transman. For whatever that's worth in this particular context.

I think it was SPTV? who did a livestream last night about her. He's ex scientologist with a similar story to her upbringing. He also argues that the simple fact she's part of it isn't the be-all-end-all, and some of his arguments I've included in my posts - mainly 'she's likely just trying to keep her head low to avoid their wrath' if she's still in. He's also one who's concerned about what level of connection she still has to Masterson.

Re: Emerson, that's new info to me and part of why I (and I assume other people) are giving LP the benefit of the doubt are willing to try and find out what we can and hope for a statement of clarification from the band instead of automatically writing them off. I think it's getting lost/ignored that if we didn't care about LP, we would've just been like "k cya" when this news came out. I want to keep being a fan and be hyped for the return, but I can't justify that if the worst case scenario ends up being true re: Emily and subsequently the other band members.

7 minutes ago, Coizu said:

Assuming the religion of the people posting here is a wild move now.

I resigned from church and religion years ago and as far as I am concerned all religions can go away but I don't see how that is relevant anyway.

None of our western religions currently lock their own people away, intimidate, harass and abuse them only to cover each other up once someone speaks up about it.

Yeah, those things existed in the past, and also still exist in other parts of the world. So what am I supposed to do? Can one only criticize a religion (which as far as I am concerned Scientology isn't anyway) if I list all the other religions and their wrongdoing as well?

 

I said this before but not having a problem with someone being affiliated with Scientology is fine.

But coming in and actively defending or at least downplay Scientology must be the craziest thing I have ever witnessed on this forum.

It's whataboutism plain and simple. "Can't criticize this thing because what about other thing?". It adds no value and is only used to dismiss an argument instead of counter or address any point.

If she's distanced herself and isn't actively supporting the human trafficking and stuff, I wouldn't really hold the scientology stuff against her since I've seen how scary it can be to oppose them, especially for someone like her born into it. It's willlllddd to see scientology get defended. I wonder what Shelly Miscavige has to say about all this

2 minutes ago, JZLP-RoadsUntraveled said:

Technically when Emily & Colin became  official LP members?

My guess is around the time of Already Over for Emily. Given that Mike mentions Papercuts press for Rob, I bet Mike did the drums for the album and they brought in Collin slightly before practice/rehearsals

5 minutes ago, eyesburning said:

Can someone give some context how Scientology would make her life a living hell? I've even read murder or horrible things alike. How's that even possible in the US?

Leah Remini's a good example, as well as Cedric Zavala, both of whom are previous scientologists and involved to degrees with the Danny Masterson case - Leah as support to Cedric's wife, who was one of the victims. Both left the cult and both were harassed (likely still are) and such. Apparently the "scientologists killing pets of ppl who try to leave" is referring to Cedric's dog being poisoned.

Regarding her being involved with it, she was born into it and supposedly was one of the kids forced to work 14hrs 7 days a week, so she very well could be a victim and trying not to suffer at the hands of the cult. She's also openly gay which is not something the cult allows, so that could be a sign she's left it. Speculation until somebody confirms.
 

Re: the court case presence - I've seen she was only there during arraignment so it's possible she was blindsided. However, Cedric accused her of harassing his wife during the process, which is a serious accusation.

I think ppl on reddit and such want to just stir shit, but people here upset about it are worried about the implications of all this if it turns out she's actively supporting the cult as well as Masterson. If she still does, then supporting LP is supporting/ignoring the abuse that both those parties have committed to others, which is valid and enough of a reason to stop supporting a band. They're not our friends, they don't know us, we don't know them. If she comes out and apologizes and has shown remorse for her actions, then it's a different story as she can be given a chance to be better. If not, then people are not required to ignore actions/beliefs that they find reprehensible due her being tied to LP now.

What a wild ride lol

1 hour ago, GreyFox-AFCA said:

LIGHTS IS THE NEW SINGER, CONFIRMED!!! /s

So fucking excited, can't be soon enough.

Listen, there's gotta be a train she hasn't announced the release date for Damage, she's obviously holding out for Thursday 😂 😂 😂 😂 

1 hour ago, leftshoe18 said:

 

After 100 hours we had the date and after another 100 hours we had a time for something we've all been waiting 7 years for. That's not exactly "nothing" in my opinion.

We also got an audio clip and an image, likely confirming a music video (maybe?)

Also confirms that the 9/5 event isn't LPU only and we all can join in.

I threw a tantrum after it hit 0 but this is what I feel is appropriate and awesome tease-wise

1 minute ago, KiddIsAlive said:

That's more like it.

Part of me believes this was planned... but the other part does not. It's kinda weird to make this announcement less than 24h after the #EpicTrolling countdown. Maybe they thought people would take more time to figure out the 9/05 date (even though it was very easy to find) or they wanted to do a bit of damage control to the negative reactions. 

Adam is back, they didn't expect us to take longer than we did. Ht20 they had to lock things up specifically bc they know we would find ways around it

1 minute ago, LPBatman said:

So whatever happened to that Hybrid Theory tribute band? Where they posted the story of teasing big news on the eve of the BIO video update and then shortly deleted it. Were they just a bunch of dicks, riding the hype train?

 

Also, I do find it interesting that multiple people have posted LP covers fairly recently.

I think you answered your own question in your question lol

Just now, Numbrocker said:

The discord has been a cesspit of mods making fun of people upset how this is handled. Idk if they just got post 2017 people to mod or what. 

 

Even reddit is handling it better. And LPLive I knew would have people with reasonable takes. 

 

It is fine is people are having fun with this. But there are a lot of us who are not. And that's really sad. And everyone I've seen who isn't are the long time fans. Not the post 2017 ones. 

My discord servers have light razzing, but it's mostly just a lot of casual ppl saying they're bored with the whole thing

I stopped looking at the MS and LP servers really when the BIO videos had mods making fun of ppl for thinking LP was up to stuff. Like, they buy NFTs, they have no room to call ppl stupid lol