There's horns buried in the bit of "Castle of Glass" before the bridge! Really really buried, but they're there!
Honestly, I just want them to feel free to explore more of the experimentation found on songs like "Overflow". From Zero did a very good job of showing the world that they can still capture the magic of their best records, and that Emily can handle anything they throw at her. Now I want to see this lineup dive headfirst into whatever creative direction their minds take them. Lots of these songs were written prior to Emily fully joining, or even Colin becoming the official drummer. LP9 will be the first record where they're all involved from the start, and with those two new creative energies in the band, I cannot wait to see what that means for their music.
Knowing Linkin Park, we can be sure the next record won’t sound anything like FZ. They always try something new, and whatever direction they choose, it’s exciting to think about what they’ll come up with next.
An album where every track is played live at shows, none of this Powerless / Mark The Graves / Robot Boy BS
Hey Robot Boy has been played! Never in full, but I think what we've gotten so far counts for something. I'd like to see Dave record some vocals as well, to just throw something else out. I feel like he could sound pretty good, and with his basslines he could definitely pull it off live.
They must be the only band that does this, it's actually ridiculous. Most artists play all their music live at least once.
Already feeling eager for new music Every song on From Zero is resonating with me, and I'm just greedy for more stuff from this new lineup. In regards to the thread itself: I know it's probably not going to happen, but actually, part of me hopes the next record doesn’t do a total 180° switch anymore. Instead, I’d love to see them use the foundations they have to create something bigger and weirder on top of it. Elements from songs like Overflow, Stained, Casualty, IGYEIH, and GTG could easily go in a blender and be used to create some kind of new Reanimation/ATS Frankenstein beast. The reason I’m saying this is that by always changing gears, you end up in a "jack of all trades, master of none" situation. It may also lead to experimenting with sounds that other artists do better (THP/OML). Instead, by expanding on what you’ve already built, you may craft something that people will call your masterpiece. To some extent, I think ATS already did this. Sure, it was a very different sound from their previous records, but still, it reused a lot of the elements that had made the band so loved. You had the melodies, the mix of genres, and also a lot of the core elements from HT/Meteora: the rapping, the screaming, the "heavy/dirty" guitar-ish tone—sampled in WTCFM and WAK—the scratching, the ambient electronics, etc. Anyway ^^ I hope I’m making sense. I wouldn’t mind a 180° switch, but I think LP has delivered a very solid record this time around—probably the most solid it’s been in 14 years for me—and I hope they keep that momentum going.
- more back and forth between Mike and Emily - tribal drums (like WTCFM) - more instrumental parts - atmospheric sounds (By Myself, Valentine's Day) - songs with unusual structures
Analog synths An orchestra More sounds than just distorted guitars, like how Wretches and Kings is heavy despite the lack of power chords in the chorus
Colin wants to play "Robot Boy" live so this aged poorly I'm sorry I ever doubted you Master Brittain. Self-titled double album LP9. That's my dream. No expectations of song structure, genre, or anything. Just write whatever strikes their fancy and string together the best. I think that would be fitting for a self-titled album.
I've been wondering about LP9 a bit lately. With the huge success of the comeback, From Zero, and its tour, Linkin Park is currently sitting at a peak of popularity they haven't enjoyed over more than 15 years, and in some aspects, they're hitting peaks they've never reached before - Champions League Final, Berlin, Wembley. I don't know, but I think this is bound to create some kind of pressure for LP9. A bit of the "sophomore" vibe again. For sure this is a record that'll be looked up with huge anticipation when the time comes. For many, it's going to be a test of if the comeback has longstanding power. Which makes me super, super curious about what kind of direction LP will take. It can't really be a From Zero 2 - we know how the bands work, and also, it wouldn't hit the same as FZ did - but a 180° would be incredibly risky as well. Also, unless trends are proven wrong, I guess the musical landscape will give some vague hints of where they may head up next, because, with the notable exception of THP, LP has always more or less aligned with the musical landscape of the time. It's impossible to tell at this point. But it'll sure be very, very interesting when the time comes.
We had something happen that we've never gotten before, Up From the Bottom. We've never had the band release a new song that was fully written and recorded after the album was released. UFTB is a weird case in that it can either show where the band was at at the time they wrote it, or they wrote it to fit in with the rest of From Zero. So will LP9 be more like UFTB/FZ, or will it be something completely different? Personally, I'm always in favour of the band not looking back and doing what they've already done, so even though I love FZ and UFTB, I do want something different.
I feel it will be in a middle spot between all the material they started writing once they kicked off the band again and some new experiments. But yeah, so impatient at this point and even the tour isn’t even halfway!!
It would be really funny if they just unexpectedly dropped an album while still touring. They've never done a surprise drop and the fanbase would collectively lose its shit. I doubt it would happen but I would be quite amused.
It wouldn't surprise me one bit if LP9 is further along than we expect. Mike is always writing and I'm sure the band doesn't want to lose any of this momentum. They're truly taking none of this for granted.