Follow-up thread to Hybrid Theory : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-1-hybrid-theory.47086/ Meteora : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-2-meteora.47107/ Minutes to Midnight : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-3-minutes-to-midnight.47112 A Thousand Suns : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-4-a-thousand-suns.47118/ Living Things : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-5-living-things.47122/ The Hunting Party : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-6-the-hunting-party.47127/ One More Light : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-7-one-more-light.47132/ We made it! As the world tour is about to begin, it is time for LP latest release, From Zero, to get its review moment. It was, all along, only a matter of time. (Probably wrote too much on this one, but hey, this was the last ) ---------------- Top 3 Qualities Vocal Performance : With From Zero, the world gets to meet the new lead vocalist of Linkin Park—although it would be more fair to talk about a new co-lead vocalist, given how well the vocal duties are split within each track. Nevertheless, Emily crushes it through and through, elevating each track to a new height. Starting with her breakthrough performance on The Emptiness Machine, with an especially empowering second chorus, she continuously brings to the record a ferocious rasp—see CTB, HITC, IGYEIH. There are also plenty of moments where her voice shines melodically, such as in OEO or GTG, and a few completely furious screams that give an extra edge to the album’s heavier moments—this is especially the case on Casualty, but also, for example, in the intro of Two Faced. Such versatility echoes the unique quality Chester had, alternating between the most vulnerable moments and some out-of-this-world passages fueled by anger. And it gives a hell of a convincing answer to the question most fans had when thinking about the possible future of the band: how could a singer do this well in so many styles? But while Emily’s performance certainly deserves praise, Mike should not be left behind. Throughout the album, he displays a willingness to experiment with his flow, showcasing on one end bars and rhyming schemes that wouldn’t have felt out of place on the older albums (HITC, TF), while also bringing fresh elements to the table, venturing into territories resembling his work on Post Traumatic (Overflow, Stained, GTG). And of course, something has to be said about his absolutely dope moment of going RAWR hardcore-punk style on Casualty. It took eight albums for Mike to give a shot at aggressive vocals, but here’s to hoping it won’t take another eight for the next trial! Finally, one of the main strengths of this album lies in the way the vocals constantly switch from Mike to Emily, and from Emily to Mike, going back and forth in a fashion that really goes all the way back to the band’s origins. This interplay is embellished by subtle but rewarding harmonies that are “hidden” throughout the album. Be it in the final chorus of HITC, in the chorus of OEO, or in the one of GTG, Mike provides backing vocals that add an extra nuance to the tracks. While some may find it questionable to have those lines mixed pretty low, it has the added value of bringing an extra touch of richness to the sound, often only to be picked up on after multiple listens. Consistency : Something that has been said again and again about From Zero is how it feels like a “no filler, all killer” album, and consistency therefore comes as a no-brainer for me. What we have here are 10 solid and diverse tracks, each one of them having a unique flavor and a strong, catchy hook. While the tracks have already been discussed a lot in other threads, I think another aspect where the consistency shines is how the tracklist is arranged. Band members have been adamant about how meticulous the tracklist selection process was for this album, and I think it shows. The very first track, TEM, gives you the most “let me reintroduce myself” moment that could have been, and it is followed by two bangers that also sound unmistakably like Linkin Park. Over Each Other, while being the first track to feature Emily from beginning to end, has a power ballad quality and a melody that feels all the more familiar. From Casualty onwards, the band shifts into mostly uncharted territory, delving into soundscapes that begin to give a new, distinct identity to this iteration of the band. One notable exception, though: Two Faced. This track has an interesting aspect to it—when transitioning from Overflow’s distorted ending and the Fuse snippet, it creates a sudden flashback effect. Almost like a time glitch. It’s a moment on the record where you can picture yourself back in 1996, albeit in an alternative reality, where the band is at its beginning again, having the most fun they could have. Before ending on the consistency quality, I still wanted to highlight another element that strengthens the cohesion of the record and the flow of the tracklist: the regular use of smooth transitions. These can be pretty obvious, like the studio banter between OEO and Casualty, or more subtle, like going from a synth outro on HITC to a similar-tone synth intro on OEO. And of course, we have a couple of Easter eggs sprinkled in as well, with snippets of Fuse and Step Up appearing in the second half of the album. Accessibility : The album consists entirely of catchy, memorable bangers that shine through their ability to grab the listener instantly. The anthemic nature of TEM, the instantly-stuck-in-your-head synth of HITC, the earworm melodies of OEO—all of these have immediately resonated with millions, contributing to the gigantic impact of the comeback and leading to heartwarming sequences of the crowd singing these new songs as loud as they can during the live shows. Linkin Park currently sits at a peak of popularity that arguably hasn’t been matched since MTM, and it’s hard to imagine the band would have reached such heights again if the music hadn’t spoken to the masses. While the album doesn’t reinvent the wheel—although it does come up with its fair share of new experiments—its infectious energy, “best-of/DNA” approach, and overall accessibility achieved what was an important milestone at this point in time: proving the band is still a force to reckon with, and a band that could maintain its essence amidst the biggest challenge it had ever faced. To finish this section, I’d like to give a shoutout to a few of the Easter eggs spread throughout the record—moments that intentionally send the listener on a journey through Linkin Park’s discography and amplify the feeling of familiarity and therefore accessibility of From Zero. We have a BIO-like rhythm pattern and loose-party vibe on CTB, as well as a very Faint-like synth and drum groove on HITC—a song that also contains a long 16-second scream as a direct tribute to Chester’s performance on Given Up. We also have scratches on Casualty that reuse the same samples found on And One, and a bridge on TF that totally mirrors the one in One Step Closer. With a negative mindset, it would be easy to take a shot at these moments, arguing that the band is somewhat “ripping off” themselves. But I think there is a much brighter way to look at it: these moments act like a celebration of the past, from a band that had almost ceased to exist. In some way, it is Linkin Park “coming home,” paying tribute to who they were and what they had achieved as a musical entity, before starting a new journey with this brand-new lineup. And I can’t wait for that journey to keep going on! Top Issue Lyrics : I honestly don’t really have a problem with the lyrics on From Zero, and there are definitely some highlights. Simply put, I just have a hard time figuring out something else at the moment. There is admittedly one spot on the record where I think the lyrical content could have been improved, and it consists of the two verses of HITC. I also suppose a lot of the texts on the record come down quite vague and prone to interpretation, but in a way, this is an integral part of the band’s DNA too. Let me phrase it this way: the lyrics on From Zero are pretty decent/good by Linkin Park standards, but they are probably one of the areas with the largest margin for improvement. Thank you all for the contributions and posts in all the threads of this serie!
Overall, a good album, not great, but a step up from last few albums. This is more of a wink and a nod than ripping them selves off, unlike CTB and HITC.
Sorry for the late reviewing, so busy: For me, From Zero is both a great album in and of itself, and also, the greatest comeback I've ever seen. How would you recompose yourself after tragedy? How do yo fit new pieces? How do yo do it superbly, freshly, amazingly AND IN SECRET? From Zero is the answer. TOP 3 Qualities: Consistency (All killer / No Filler) - Track after track it gets you to known places, comfortably, honoring the past, but not sleeping in with nostalgia, and then it takes you into the Unknown: OEO, Overflow, GTG. Some new sounds to experiment with, but all of them are exquisitely crafted. I can't skip any of it. Of course, the short run of the album makes it a lot easier, but still. Production / Mixing - The parts are SO WELL balanced. Nice and warm tone, really well recorded and produced, with so many layers to dive into. It does not feel mechanic or overproduced at all. Vocal Performance - Emily Armstrong. Enough said. Hehhe We see here all of her range and capabilities, a truly good introduction to an unknown singer (at least for non-Dead Sara fans, like me). I need to say that, (sorry for the comparison, but hey, here we are after Chester's loss) she has some quality in her voice, on her breaks or melodic shifts, or the soft-hard-soft game she does that I've become addicted to. It's like, gosh, I can't stop listening to her, the fragility, the harshness, it's like a drug. And she kills it live. Full stop. Note aside, Mike's rapping is good as always, I love his phrasing, his delivery, since minute 1. The rising tied is such a good measuring bar for me, and here in FZ he does it just as good. AAAANNNDDD the roughness of his part in Casualty is so new and cool. Top Issue. I'm sorry but I can't find one. Maybe the lyrics, MAYBE. But for me is a 10, seriously.
I'll give it couple more weeks, but maybe planning for a last retro thread summing up the main statistics of the different threads (top 3, most votes, etc.. ). Think it gives an interesting overview of LP discography so far. About FZ, I'm glad to see the vocals performance is getting so much votes. It's really telling, after the loss of such an iconic voice.
Things have been wild on my end, and I also feel I haven't had enough time to let this album settle. It took a while for my opinions on LT, THP, and OML to solidify. So I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, especially since a variety of thoughts and opinions of mine are scattered across the various discussion threads. That said, where I think this album excels: Accessibility: I think this album does a great job of putting familiar classic "Linkin Park" sounds into an accessible packaged format. There's a little nugget of everything they've done in there, to some extent. Plus some of Mike's solo production and composition work that also influenced the songs. Even the most esoteric (comparatively) song, "Overflow," is pretty digestible. It does a great job of pairing familiarity with accessible formatting, even creating some songs that sound like some of their less-accessible records but in a new more approachable format ("Casualty" chiefly comes to mind). Diversity: I don't this album holds a candle to the diversity of albums like A Thousand Suns or Minutes to Midnight. Not by a long shot. But to refer to the last point again, there's a good blend of stylistic influences paired with the very pop-format rock style that underpins all these songs. It keeps things moving along and creates some dynamic to the tracklist, especially when you have pairings such as "Over Each Other" into "Casualty." Vocal Performance: Chester was a once-in-a-generation singer. There's always going to be a void felt because of that, since he recorded so much material with the band over 18ish years. But Emily really steps up here and her vocal performances are pretty solid. She's a great fit for the music and she has a raw harmonic wildness to her screams. It's a little different from Chester, who to me feels more power-oriented in his screams, whereas Emily's tend more toward being chaotic and frenzied. But I think it absolutely works. I also think Mike sounds amazing on this album, and it's a perfect progression from One More Light and Post Traumatic for him. He can really hold his own and writes really solid vocal parts. On the opposite end though: The weakest point of From Zero in my view is that it's just an extremely safe album. I know Mike says all that stuff about how they wanted a short album of firecracker songs or whatever, but I feel very "meh" about it. I don't end the album wanting more in the sense that I want to replay it, as Mike suggests. Rather, I finish and wish there was more to the album. That, combined with some production decisions that I feel were very safe choices ("The Emptiness Machine" and "Heavy Is the Crown" are two that really stand out to me in that regard), makes me wish the album was just a smidge more daring. And I know...it's a comeback album, there's a new singer so that's already a big experiment in of itself, etc. But looking at the music itself, that's how I feel. I really enjoy the album! It just hasn't held up over time as much for me since the hype wore off. Though again, this could all change dramatically in the near future. I tend to not really settle on a final opinion for months and months with albums by artists I follow.
The album is most definitely safe by and large, especially until Over Each Other included. I think it's a fair point. I can even imagine it getting reinforced through time, for example if the next album is more out there. As a little reintroduction fireball of 32 min, in the context of their discography , it hits the banger sweet spot for me. There is a lot I really enjoy about it's melodic quality, punchy energy, and sense of urgency. I agree with @juancpin in that I feel it gives a schoolbook example on how to comeback on full cylinders, with maximum impact. That said, I do admit I hope the next record ventures into slightly more adventurous and progressive songwriting, with more sonic experiments. Something in the scope of ATS is probably too ambitious for the time being, but maybe something less "3 min short pop tracks". For one, it'd make FZ identity more distinct. And also, more risks seems like the right direction to keep their journey as entertaining as possible