If they go industrial I want the picture of the teddy bear with the gas mask on the train tracks. That picture was sweet.
I would like it if the band were willing to do a combination of The Hunting Party and A Thousand Suns but even crazier. The energy of The Hunting party with the atmosphere of A Thousand Suns.
This will be long. Then again, I don't post much (literally). Right now, Linkin Park is in one of the most vulnerable situations of their career since their label dispute post-Meteora. I am concerned that if they do something unwise in the next couple years, much of the band's new material will be largely ignored and will become a "legacy act". Here is why: The Hunting Party, an album that was geared towards heavy rock, featured a very, very present Mike Shinoda in the vocals and the instrumentals. Don't get me wrong, he is a brilliant guy who is one of the most versatile musicians in the music business right now. Some of his earlier lyrical stuff and his later production work are simply incredible. But where the problem comes is that he is not rock and roll . He produces some of the greatest hip hop and electronic instrumentals in my opinion, along with pre-Hybrid theory lyrics that are on similar technicality as Nas. Yet much of his early influence was not rock, and his weakness really shines on this record. He does not possess the knowledge of rock music on the same level as Chester Bennington (which I felt should have been more involved in) because of his largely hip hop background. When he produced the record, he failed to acknowlege the blues-oriented side of rock that is present in bands such as STP, which led to the album feeling largely unfinished and amature. Seriously, the guitar riffs are terribly simple with alternating power chords that pretty much sound all the same. Where are the 9th and 11th chords or complex guitar melodies (I also realize Brad Delson is not the best guitar player). So despite the band's attempt at producing a more rock-oriented record, it really sounded like a bad imitation of Rise Against or Green day with rap vocals. it failed to have the same instrumental maturity that is in many of their other records, including Hybrid Theory and A Thousand Suns (note, I say instrumental). The other band members need to begin showing much of their earlier influences and apply on the next album. Rob Bourdon in my opinion has become an amazing drummer with the Hunting Party, and this is coming from someone who used to think he sucked. Many of the drumming parts on the Hunting Party are technical, and some of the fills on Keys to the Kingdom are jaw-dropping. I've read on some interviews that many of his influences were from funk artists, such as James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone. Why doesn't the band enter into that territory? He's the most competent instrumnentalist in Linkin Park, and using funk and soul elements in their music is one of the ways they can make their songs "energetic" without delving into metal territory too much. Or let Dave shine more through more complicated bass riffs like he had played in his former band. If that happens, the band must hire an external producer and have Mike Shinoda back up a little during the recording process. I realize he had been the musical director of the band for much of their entire career now, but if they want to continue to push envelopes and boundaries, it's time for his signature sound to step back in their songs. By that, I mean let the instrumentals actually have "soul" in them instead of having such simple chord progressions on everything, even if they work or not. The chord progressions are making the songs more tiring and bland on every record since A Thousand Suns. Linkin Park has been experimenting so much through sounds, but not through the actual pitches of the songs. Even the Chorus of Guilty all the same, Wastelands and A Line in the Sands are virtually the same, with alternations between F, G, and A. Why not spice things up and add a 9th chord or have chord progressions that are longer than 4 bars. I don't understand why they don't do these kinds of basic, basic harmonic things. What I'm personally worried about is that they'll continue to produce mediocre material more frequently until the fanbase simply tires them out. And Mike Shinoda is a talented guy, but he has his limits. I don't care if the next album takes four, five, or even six years. Just let the other band members take charge and incorporate things from their early influences. Oh, and stop with the visceral thing. Linkin Park is the best when they experiment outside of hard rock, and this is clearly, clearly evident in their songs. /rant
Great points. Not to mention arrangements. What I've said in the past is that Linkin Park are really good at crafting some awesome sounds ... but they need to start using those awesome sounds in some interesting songs.
Nah, if I remember, Dave was a guitar player who shifted to bass because the band didn't have a bass player. Ergo, Dave is their bass player and I wish he did that stuff now.
>.> I must find out where I'm getting that faulty info from, I know I read somewhere that Dave played guitar for the Snax. It was all a lie!
That's exactly what I was thinking. A pink Floyd, spacey, yet have a thousand suns vibe with it. That would be mind blowing and I think linkin park could pull it off. (I think a lot of ATS has a space floaty feeling, and I love it)
Just do something fucking different. While I can enjoy LT and THP for what they are, they bore me a bit in comparison to HT-ATS. All of the songs have something interesting going for them, but none of them get actualized fully. Maybe LP needs to take 3-4 years for the next record.