Let’s have a little trawl of the internet to find out what people are saying about ‘One More Light’, Linkin Park’s seventh LP. Well, what a turn up! It appears that Chester Bennington is on the defensive about his band’s new direction, inviting naysayers ‘outside’ and promising a “punch in the fucking mouth”. Question their motives, meanwhile, and you can “stab yourself in the face”. Well, what’s there to say? The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Before we start analysing the album, there is one thing that can be said about it: it is definitely, oh so definitely a departure. Not only that, it also gives credence to Bennington’s plea to the band’s fanbase to move on, because Linkin Park have done exactly that.
This is a band that is unrecognisable from their 2000 breakthrough, ‘Hybrid Theory’, both musically and lyrically. Bennington’s voice, touted as one of the finest in metal, has now been reduced to a poppy whine.
You could now place him into an Ed Sheeran song as a guest vocalist and you’d barely be able to tell the difference between the two. Mike Shinoda’s role as co-vocalist has also been re-imagined, with his efforts as a rapper only audible on one track.
The closest that Linkin Park have come to the pop mainstream to date was back in 2010 with 'A Thousand Suns'. But that record still maintained some of the band’s nu-metal identity. With the band seemingly 100% behind this transformation, that has now all but evaporated.
‘One More Light’ is so run-of-the-mill, so middle-of-the-road, that it’s difficult to imagine a group that was once so severe are responsible for it. Well over a year in the making, the band took the step of opening up the recording process to fans on social media. It begs the question of why the hell nobody stopped them.
Heavy, the lead single and a collaboration with Kiiara, is pure Chainsmokers fodder. But, amazingly, it would probably work better in their hands given its limited chords and cheap sounding synths. The two tracks featuring Shinoda as lead (Sorry For Now and Invisible) even out-saccharine the truly uninspiring opener, Nobody Can Save Me. The only saving grace for ‘One More Light’ is that it’s all over in a little over half an hour.
We all know that Linkin Park can write a tune, but whatever integrity and relevance they held before this record has now vanished. Chester, a punch in the fucking mouth would be a lot less painful than this – bring it on.
Linkin Park Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon July 03 2017 - LONDON O2 Arena
Thu July 06 2017 - BIRMINGHAM Barclaycard Arena
Fri July 07 2017 - MANCHESTER Arena
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