Justin

Yeah I remember at the iHeartRadio 2014 show Mike mentioned that they intentionally sequenced each song to be totally different from the song before it in terms of their overall vibe. Thats a pretty cool touch.

Yeah definitely far different vibes, but LOATR could almost be seen as a calm reflection after the storm. GU - "Put me out of my fucking misery! I've given up, I'm sick of feeling" LOATR - "Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself, I can't be who you are. When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done, help me leave behind some reasons to be missed" It's almost like LOATR is lyrically full of thoughts that occur after he's fully resigned to his fate and decided to "give up", pun intended. Some of the lyrics express similar sentiments found in Given Up. In GU he's more angry and aggressive. In LOATR he's more thoughtful and almost apologetic with lines like "don't resent me".

Speaking of Given Up, Ive always believed that Leave Out All The Rest was placed after GU on the album intentionally given the lyrics of both songs.

I definitely think it's about death and losing a loved one. I always imagined it as losing a spouse/significant other. "I used to be my own protection, but not now. Cause my mind has lost direction somehow" is a super dark line that I always took to mean that his grief has overwhelmed him to the point that he's losing his sanity to a degree. OR an even darker take: It could be about his depression/demons and how they caused him to push people away and isolate himself. The "black" and "heartless" wind being a metaphor for the demons inside of him that just wouldn't go away. "A black wind took them away from site and held the darkness over day that night" = "I have pushed away everyone I care about and am now alone in my darkness/depression" That still wouldn't explain the line about the ground growing colder really... but it's just a thought. Side note: Valentine's Day is a very underrated song in my opinion. The lyrics are amazing and shows how great of a songwriter Chester really was, the music is great and compliments the lyrics perfectly... The atmosphere of that song is great in how it builds slowly and then explodes at the end. Finally, with Mike saying that to you it makes me wonder if he actually did know but didn't feel that it was his place to try and explain something that came from Chester. I would respect that if that is the case. I might be wrong but I doubt that Mike never asked Chester what the song was about throughout the recording process.

Lol... You're the biggest Chester fan I know. I'm just saying there are so many variables that could affect who can and who can't be there that I'm not even concerned anymore. I'm more than certain that the band have reached out to way more people than we've heard about so far, and they may have said that they're unable to make it or they may still trying to work out their schedule to be there. We will most likely only hear about who they've invited after they've accepted the invitation. The announcements of who will be in attendance will probably be staggered all the way up until the show itself.

I'm not worried about who will or won't attend. It's a tribute for Chester, not a festival.

That bridge........ I saw the flashing images, and when I saw the WFTE video flashing past.... for some reason that's when it all hit me at once.

There was no promotion, no radio push, no mention of it by any members of LP, nothing. Chester's death caused most people to go back and listen to older LP material and reminisce. There was no push for TTM to succeed as a single, as it was the last thing on the band's (and fans of the band's) minds. If Chester hadn't passed, the song would have been pushed harder on radio, been advertised by the band's social media accounts, played on tour, been mentioned in interviews with the band, etc. ALL of those plans were halted immediately in the wake of July 20th. I don't see how anyone can think that Chester's death had nothing to do with TTM not performing well as a single.

TTM didn't chart well because the video was released the day Chester died. Understandably there was literally zero promotion. I didn't hear it on the radio once.

If this winds up being true and One More Light receives a genuine push as a radio single, then I take it as a sign that OML will be closing out the Chester era of Linkin Park. It's a beautiful song that completely fits this situation, and I think releasing the song as the final LP single with Chester's vocals would be a fitting way to end one chapter and look towards the beginning of another.

I just watched the live debut of that song yesterday! New York '07. One of my favorites too.

That moment, and everything about TLTGYA from the song itself to the story behind the lyrics with Chester talking to people in New Orleans that stayed for Katrina... All of that will always have a special place in my heart forever. From the show notes for the Milton Keynes RTR show: A few fans in the front started cheering for the band to play 'No Roads Left', which prompted Mike to shake his head. Does anyone know when this moment occurred?

The acapellas for By Myself and Forgotten have not leaked or been officially released. Nobody knows what the sample was that was used in Pictureboard, only that it allegedly is the reason that the song has never been released. Also this should have been in the "quick question" thread.

Is it true that In The End was recorded in New Orleans? Wikipedia says that and has said it for years, but there's no source attached to that info so I've always been skeptical since I've never heard that anywhere else.

This thread has officially gone off the rails. Lol

I think this conversation happened a while ago, but while it's true some metalcore vocalists are one dimensional, there are some truly amazing singers who can scream and sing equally as well. That's still irrelevant though, because it's more than about who can hit the notes. Chester left it all the stage every night and had so much passion. That's something that goes beyond just vocal ability.

Yeah maybe he "could do", but he said he doesn't want the job and has zero interest in it.

Thanks!

Can someone tell me which show it was that New Orleans was specifically mentioned on stage before TLTGYA?

I think it's kind of cheesy honestly. Most of the hologram performances happened because there was no new era coming. Tupac and MJ were solo artists. Their hologram performances are basically a novelty thing. Ronnie James Dio has a hologram because the band IS Dio and the band is older now. They're a legacy act. LP has always been more than just Chester and more than just Mike. Also, the members of LP are relatively young. 40 is not old and the band has said repeatedly that they don't want to become a novelty/legacy act. I think the band would rather try and find a creative way to move on while still honoring Chester rather than touring and using a hologram and playback to try and still stay the same. This is going to sound corny, but that would be the band "holding on to what they haven't got", so to speak...

LP will never ever be the same no matter what the band decides to do in the future. That's not in question at all. I don't think anyone here cares more about the band continuing then Chester's life ending. The point of the thread about the future of the band is not to downplay the importance of what happened. The point of that thread is to give fans who are grieving a way to start to look forward. I don't think that anyone who talks about the future of LP, whatever that will be, thinks it will be "easy" to just keep going like nothing happened.

I don't think that will be a concert in LA. I could be wrong, but the wording of the announcement didn't make me think it would be a musical performance.

Not necessarily. If they continue as a 5-piece with Mike on lead vocals, then they automatically will have to retire a lot of the older and heavier material right away. Most of the already existing material they play would be the songs that Mike already sung lead on as well as possibly some of the more doable Chester songs. From there obviously they would have whatever new songs they make in the future. If that is indeed the case, remember that Mike already plays keyboard and sings live for some songs. Iridescent, COG, etc. He could just keep doing that... They could just rearrange their setup on stage in order to have Mike front and center with his keyboard/other equipment at standing level. Worst case scenario? They could just use playback for the parts that he would have too much trouble playing while also singing. I don't think they need to add an entirely new member to the band just to play keyboard.

I've been seeing your posts recently, and I was wondering: Are you saying LP is done because you're trying to be a realist, and because of that you're assuming LP is completely over and done? Or are you hoping they're done because you believe it's the right thing to do? If LP announces unequivocally that they're continuing, whether as a 5-piece or with a new touring member, would you feel that it was wrong?

EDIT: Disregard.