In 2010, ATS was not the album I wanted. The abundance of tender and vulnerable songs weren’t my thing. Even the high energy tracks were missing a bite that I came to crave. When I read someone say ‘You’ve never heard Brad play guitar like this!’ about WTCFM, I was imagining something else entirely, not a 1988 Cadillac’s car window. How n u t s this and all of this record would sound live was not on my mind. When I heard The Catalyst, I was really turned off by what I perceived as egregious repetitiveness and a serious, face-value appeal to God. I didn’t see the message that ties back to Oppenheimer’s grievances, a theme streamline through the entire album as sonder induced existential dread. I needed this album, though. It grew and diversified my appreciation for music when I only liked a very particular sound and energy. I continue to need it to this day. I could go into how I like to believe that they used the recordings of activists they used not simply just because it fit a theme, but because they’re knowledgeable on them and their politics and sympathize. (This includes Oppenheimer. If you isolate him to the bomb, you’re missing some unifying context.) I could explain how this “sonder-doom” isn’t a new idea and I’ve come to gravitate toward things like it. People who entertain this idea artistically tend to be on another level in my eyes. Have you ever watched “The Umbrella Academy”? “Vanya’s the bomb” type symbolism just hits. But that’s off topic. Taking a step back from the conceptual and very subjective stuff, this album also prioritized the live experience, if I recall correctly, and I wish I could have seen them during this era because I finally get that. WTCFM’s guitar for example sounds so satisfyingly massive and unique even over live recordings. I bet the drumming was badass, too. The heartfelt WFTE performances soared, for another thing. And I’m sure there’s more people who have seen and verified this could say. The album was unassuming in that it was also made to be really fun live, for everyone. If the band had a list of objectives for ATS, that very well might have been #1. (Correct me if I’m wrong?) Aside from the live shows, concept, and divergence, the band’s love and excitement for what they did with this album is roundabout exactly what made it great and I vaguely remember the ATS touring cycle being hyped up in a way I didn’t understand at the time. It may be their most solid lyrical outting for me, too.
I would just like to say that I love reading your posts. You have a very great way of articulating your complex ideas while interspersing your own personal experiences. I really like "sonder-doom" as a good succinct way to describe the overall feel and theme of the album.
Having listened to it, I'd say it might be the best electronic rock album ever made. The songs flow very well and the album is very cohesive. Quality wise, I agree that it is a masterpiece. That said, on a purely subjective level, it's still my 2nd least favorite Linkin Park album. I'm a metal head, not an electronic rock fan, and the style here didn't really fit what I enjoy. That said, the top 5 songs on this album were rather good and I'd definitely listen again. The Catalyst benefited the most from a full listen-through, as it serving as the climax of the album (Messenger's more an aftermath) made it hit harder. Those top 5 were 5. The Messenger 4. The Catalyst 3. Waiting For the End 2. Wretches and Kings 1. Blackout
You have no idea how much I appreciate that. Thank you so much. If I could ever kick myself in the ass hard enough to get healthy and get into a psych about divergence, I’d be unstoppable. https://youtube.com/shorts/ZlGlyj64UrM?si=qzLTEMJ4sYdUSa3u
I mean, words like "experimental" are relative terms, not absolute. A Thousand Suns was absolutely experimental relative to the precident set forth by Linkin Park's first three records (and still stands alone in this regard to this day). And I would still argue there is little else that sounds like it. As for its concept, I've always felt more comfortable interpreting it less about nuclear war specifically, and more about human fears in general. From this perspective I think it is executed well.
Exactly my thoughts. Nuclear war or the bomb itself isn’t the subject. It’s to put to scale our potential for anything, including self destruction, and how all that hangs on human things. I think the question it asks us is would you extend that understanding to the one with the finger on the button. Not to our detriment, I don’t think, but the best we can. Because, on the contrary, it would be to our benefit to understand the things that actually make the bombs dangerous beyond their literal physical potential. Here’s a video on paranoid-schizoid thought and depressive thought that I watched today, by chance. It felt weirdly relevant. Or maybe I’m crazy.
Give it time, sit with it a little bit. Listen to it once a week. I'd love to hear your opinion in a month or two.
The climax of Robot Boy is one of the most beautiful and hype LP moments ever. It's so fucking good, the synth that gets more crazy and erratic as it goes on, Chester's screaming and YEAAAAHHHHHs, all of it drenched in reverb and effects. It's so so cool. The wait of the world will give you the strength to gooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOAAAHHHHHH AAAAGGGHHH
Just adding a personal touch here: My daughter loves The Requiem. She will ask me to play it, and unless I have 45 minutes to spare, I tell her no, because then we would have to listen to the entire album. We usually do. I can't ever just listen to single songs off this album.
"Robot Boy" was an instant favourite for me after my first listens, and it stayed like that for a while. I haven't listened to it in a while - that last act is impressive, you're right
After my earlier listen, here is currently my approximate ranking of the songs on it (still not set in stone). Feel free to inquire about any of my placements, I will answer away. 15. Empty Spaces 14. The Radiance 13. Fallout 12. Wisdom, Justice, and Love 11. The Requiem 10. Jornada del Muerto 9. Robot Boy 8. Iridescent 7. The Messenger 6. Burning in the Skies 5. Wretches and Kings 4. The Catalyst 3. Blackout 2. Waiting for the End 1. When They Come for Me
^ Pretty fair ranking, I'd say. I'd put Robot Boy higher, otherwise really close to what mine would be. Iridescent strangely enough is also a song that resonates a bit less with me. Don't get me wrong , it's still really good, but maybe less unique, and the bridge somehow never fully convinced me with the bright gang vocals fireworks thingy.
Yeah, that part of Iridescent doesn't really work for me much either, though I do really like the melody and theme of the song overall, and that part's still decent Robot Boy's synths are really good, like everyone says. The main melody just doesn't hook me much, plus stays the same the whole time. So it's mainly the vocal parts that fail to rise up very high for me
A Thousand Suns is album about fear and hope. I feel like the bridge in Iridescent is the peak of that hope. As a single it comes off a little cheesy, but I think in the context of the record it's perfect. I've actually gone so far down the rabbit hole with this album that I've begun drawing comparisons to the Hero's Journey (with humanity at its core as the protagonist). Iridescent is "The Ultimate Boon" where the hero finds miraculous energy (in this case, hope), and the bridge onwards is "The Magic Flight" or moment of pure enlightenment. I've been trying to write a deep dive on it for some time now. Maybe someday.