Mike Shinoda's new EP, "THE CRIMSON CHAPTER", has been released on digital platforms today. The 8-track release is centered around his guitar-heavy single "Already Over", originally released in early October, and its tracklist places it somewhere in the void between a maxi-single and a mini-album. There are five new remixes of "Already Over" here, including the previously-heard "Fort Minor Mix", which is a hip-hop reinterpretation featuring BROCKHAMPTON talent Dom McLennon. The "Scream VI" single "In My Head" from earlier this year also appears on this EP, a song which features Kailee Morgue and which was co-written with Jake Torrey. Tracklist: Already Over (Crimson Intro) Already Over Already Over (Reorganized Mix) fine (Finer Mix) Already Over (Fort Minor Mix)[featuring Dom McLennon] In My Head [featuring Kailee Morgue] Already Over (Nothing's There Mix) Already Over (Part 2) The EP begins with the "Crimson Intro" version, a sparse and mostly-instrumental re-arrangement of the song with no drums, which builds with layers of guitar before fading out. It might remind longtime Linkin Park fans of various intros the band has added to live renditions of songs such as "Somewhere I Belong" or "What I've Done" throughout their touring career. Later on, the more ominous "Reorganized Mix" mostly leans towards UK dubstep, complete with dub-inspired vocal delays, but Shinoda pairs it with his usual industrial grit by generously sampling guitar parts from the original song. The second drop ramps up the intensity from the first, building to a noisy climax before most of the instrumentation drops out for a transition into the next track. Easily the most radical and surprising out of the batch is the "Nothing's There Mix", where Shinoda veers towards an ambient downtempo mood with sliced-up piano and glitch-heavy IDM breaks. The largely-instrumental result naturally resembles works by Boards of Canada or Telefon Tel Aviv, or perhaps the more experimental end of deadmau5' music. It has virtually no reference to the original song at all, as the elements of "Already Over" sampled here are so brief and obscured that they are easily missed. Glitchy beats also appear on "Already Over (Part 2)", which closes out the tracklist. As its name may suggest, this version features new lyrics and vocals from Shinoda that carry on thematically from the original. The production here features electronic breaks and distorted bass stabs paired with guitar chords in the background. After the first chorus, Shinoda even switches it up with a brief rap verse instead of the expected singing, followed up by a double-chorus before going into an outro section. Also included amongst these tracks is Shinoda's brand-new remix of his 2019 single "fine", originally written and produced for the Russian sci-fi action film "The Blackout". This version abandons the original's midtempo stomp and replaces it with an uptempo rock breakbeat that puts it more in line with the live band feel of "Already Over". The track comes to a climax with a chaotic synth solo that feels completely at odds with the vocal refrain, "everything is gonna be fine". You can check out the "CRIMSON CHAPTER" EP on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital platforms. Tell us which track is your favourite on our message board!
This was way better than anticipated. I love the darker, moodier, more experimental approach here. The "Nothing's There"' mix reminded me a lot of Aphex Twin, and some other tracks had a kind of NIN thing going on. I'd have happily replaced "In My Head" with a brand new track, but I guess it's okay, it didn't sound too off in this playlist either.
Yeah, there were a lot of comparisons I could have made with that track, and I decided that mentioning Aphex Twin would look too lazy
Fair game I didn't know about the Telefon Tel Aviv thingy, just checked it out, it's pretty similar indeed!
Never* Over. Edit: actually... This is a good EP. And if I hadn't already listened to Already Over, In My Head and Fine before, I'd say this was an Amazing EP. It's weird... I actually really like the Already Over themes throughout but feel like the tracks should not be be called varying forms of Already Over, if that makes sense? I just imagine something like this being released before hearing anything else. 1. Crimson 2. Already Over 3. Fine (but with the remix version) 4. Reorganized 5. (alt name, non Already Over name for FM mix) 6. In My Head 7. Nothing's There 8. Outro And how fuckin mind blowing that would have been to hear the AO motiffs throughout the EP without previous knowledge of anything else. Again tho, this is actually a really good EP. I like it much more than I thought I would. It feels good to listen to as a whole, in the vein of ATS.