Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns (2010)

Tracklist:
1. The Requiem
2. The Radiance
3. Burning in the Skies
4. Empty Spaces
5. When They Come For Me
6. Robot Boy
7. Jornada Del Muerto
8. Waiting for the End
9. Blackout
10. Wretches and Kings
11. Wisdom, Justice and Love
12. Iridescent
13. Fallout
14. The Catalyst
15. The Messenger

Best Surprise in a Long Time – 9/10

How everybody had lost hope for the American sextet known for combining electro, rap and metal under the name of Linkin Park. After Meteora, which sounded almost exactly the same as the debut album Hybrid Theory, the band really needed something new to their sound and they knew it. In 2007, they released Minutes To Midnight and it was one of their biggest mistakes. You don’t change your style from kickass nu-metal to cheap radio hits… that’s just unethical. But then they said they were going in a completely different direction again and at that point you have got to stop hoping for Hybrid Theory III. A Thousand Suns is totally different from anything Linkin Park has released before, but it’s still unmistakably the same band.

It’s really a shame a lot of “fans” gave up on this album after only a few listens. I have reasons to believe this is their strongest album to date. The approach for this album is without a doubt very different than their previous efforts, with Mr. Hahn in the leading role. The entire album is very dominated by electronic sounds, drums and effects. It seems drummer Rob Bourdon and especially lead guitarist Brad Delson were on holiday during the recording sessions for this album clearly was not in need of a lot of drums and guitars. Most drums are done by the band’s DJ Mr. Hahn. A more positive move from the band is the more dominant position of the band’s rapper Mike Shinoda. After having very few space on Minutes To Midnight it is a good move by the band to bring the raps back in. It’s one of Linkin Park’s trademarks to mix the raps with rock and at least they didn’t give up on that. Mr. Hahn’s DJ-scratches have returned from absence as well; even as far as a scratch-solo on “Wretches and Kings”. Chester Bennington’s screams have not returned as persuasively as on the first two albums, but they did return on the aforementioned track and on “Blackout”.

In order to embrace this album you need to understand it and I think that’s where most fans decline. A Thousand Suns is a concept album and it deals with quite a serious, though not original, subject: a possible third world war, which would be a nuclear war. As a concept album, it’s brilliantly built up. Of the fifteen tracks present there are only nine full songs, but it doesn’t disturb because the album feels as one. The many interludes really add to the concept and to the feel of the album. Loose excerpts will not be half as impressive as the album in its entirety. Once you get that, you can enjoy this.

The journey begins with the electro-dominated introludes “The Requiem” and “The Radiance” which set the right atmosphere for the modest opener “Burning in the Skies”. This modesty of this opening track is a real strength of A Thousand Suns; it keeps the mystery of the album intact and brilliantly introduces the concept. Mike Shinoda gets to dominate on the drum-heavy “When They Come For Me”, featuring middle-eastern rhythms and chants in the chorus. A track like “Robot Boy” doesn’t really add a lot on its own, but in the flow of the album is fits perfectly. The song itself is mostly electronic with the exception of Bennington’s mellow vocals. My personal favorite part of the album begins with “Waiting for the End”, a great duet between Bennington and Shinoda. It opens up with some experimental electronic rhythms and Shinoda imitates a Jamaican accent for some catchy raps, only before Bennington takes the song and turns it into an electronic rock track. The reprise of Shinoda’s intro is the highlight of the track. Next is “Blackout”, probably very notable due to Bennington’s aggressive vocals like he did them on the first few albums, but this time the background music is not guitar but some kind of beat or autotune, which only adds to the concept and the atmosphere of the album. About halfway the song turns into chaos and after that into a gentle track. The album does not handle with standard song-structures.

One of the best moments on this record is “Wretches and Kings”. It takes off with a long speech by Mario Savio before we begin with the first and only guitar-heavy track on this album. It’s a bit of a catchy hip-hop beat portrayed by a heavy guitar and computerized drums. Shinoda handles the verses extremely well with some inventive raps before Bennington gets his chance to scream at the chorus. This song truly feels like the good ol’ Linkin Park. After the second chorus we get a small sort of bridge before the speech returns and a good scratch-solo by Mr. Hahn. A speech by Martin Luther King Jr is included in the interlude “Wisdom, Justice and Love”; a real resting point after the violence of previous songs. Here is where the album reaches its climax. The rest of this speech is reflected in the Coldplay-influenced “Iridescent”. And then the interlude “Fallout” reprises some of the most important lyrics from earlier tracks before we enter the grand finale “The Catalyst”, which begins with electronic beats and some panicky vocals by Shinoda predicting our end. Bennington joins him and the panic starts to rise until halfway the song where the full band joins them in some sort of prayer for survival. Album closer “The Messenger” features nothing but acoustic guitar and Chester Bennington with his very powerful voice; this time preaching there’s still hope for mankind.

Now, I see in my enthusiasm the review has been given quite a length. I will say no more. A Thousand Suns is not for everyone, but only for those that can look beyond what they hoped it would be. This is not Hybrid Theory III and there never will be. Accept that and take Linkin Park for what they are now. This album is a grower and will grow on you if given the chance.

Strongest moments: “Waiting for the End”, “Wretches and Kings” and “The Catalyst”.