ARTIST: Linkin Park
ALBUM: A Thousand Suns
LABEL: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: September 14, 2010
Time For a Change
Photo by James Minchin
Written by Mike Daclan
When asked about their latest release, frontman Chester Bennington of Linkin Park states, “We wanted to make an album that would challenge us.” A few days before its release the members of Linkin Park gathered with members of their fan base, the Linkin Park Underground, and various friends and family for a special listening party at The Music Box, in Hollywood, CA. Keeping with their usual merging of sights and sounds, the album was to be accompanied by a full laser light show on a screen above the stage. As everyone moved inside and began to crowd around, the lights dropped out and we were treated to the intro to of “A Thousand Suns“.
Ethereal sounds wrapped around us while a single piano note rang out in the dark. Choral chanting filled the air before we heard the opening lyrics of the album and it is immediately clear that Linkin Park is trying to head into a new direction. These choral chants and soft female like synthesized vocals were replaced by a somber recorded speech from J. Robert Oppenheimer, in which he talked about what it was like after America had detonated the first atomic bomb, overlaid with a heavy and distorted electronic drum beat. This somber and ominous tone will be a theme that is repeated throughout the album.
This is an album in which Linkin Park are trying to reach out to the listeners and warn them about the problems that society faces. It is a theme that was explored in “Minutes to Midnight,” so even though they are treading on familiar ground, there is a maturity to “A Thousand Suns” that was lacking in their previous efforts. This feels more expansive, sonically, as well as lyrically.
Themes and ideas are backed by a wide ranging collection of musical styles, covering everything from industrial (see the intro of “When They Come For Me”), trance and synth pop to straight forward, simple acoustic guitar ballads like “The Messenger”. Not all of these quite hit the mark but credit must be given to bands that reach to cover so much in one album.
One of the most notable moments of the album comes not from the band itself, but from a speech given by Mario Salvo, which is used in the song “Wretches and Kings”. After Salvo speaks, Mike Shinoda returns to MC duties before Chester brings in the heavy vocals and the song is given a dance hall vibe. Perhaps something only Linkin Park can really do.
Following immediately after is “Wisdom, Justice, And Love”, which is a line taken from the Martin Luther King speech sampled for the track. The piano backing it fits well but the real magic comes as it begins to cross over near the half way point, where the familiar and comforting voice is filtered and synthesized to the point where its heavy robotic tone renders it unrecognizable and fills the listener with dread.
Although there are many dark themes expressed throughout the album, the track “Iridescent” comes like a light at the end of a dark tunnel and the band finally seems to shift to a more uplifting vibe, which begins the final portion of the album. Iridescent is a definite dance friendly track that is equally at home being played live at an arena or bumped through huge stacks of woofers at a rave. This, along with the filler track after it, would have been a wonderful way to close the album, however, two more tracks follow.
The first of these two is the first single “The Catalyst,” which has done a great job at immediately polarizing its listeners. The jarring contrast between the two halves of the song may throw some people off. It almost feels like these were two separate song ideas that were fused into one song.
Closing the album is “The Messenger”. Placed as a bookend to the album, it feels slightly out of place and tacked on. Rather than being a summation or culmination of everything before it, the song seems to stand solo. Perhaps an afterthought they grew very fond of.
As a whole, “A Thousand Suns” seems to be a solid progression of new ideas for Linkin Park, although, this is an album that will not appeal to everyone due to its extremely contrasted nature. It may turn away the old and die hard fans as well as convert former criticizers. What really matters most, is that Linkin Park has made a conscious effort to move forward and constantly evolve. For that, no matter how you feel, you must appreciate the work that went into forming and recording “A Thousand Suns“.