Review Summary: Been searching somewhere out there, for what’s been missing right here......
Linkin Park was such an important band to so many people my age. ‘One Step Closer’ came out and had little me screaming ‘SHUT UP WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU’. I was such an angry pre-teen/teenager. I ***ing hated
everything but I always put on a happy face to fake my way through it all.
Chester spoke to me; he spoke to lots of people. There is no denying lyrically, Linkin Park hit the teens of the time right where it hurt. They had the ability to help us take that sadness and form it into something that was some sort of
community.
I saw Linkin Park live about 5 times. Each time I was simply blown away by how tight they were live and Chester's vocal ability. ‘One More Light’ is the epitome of this. What we have is no more than a generic pop/RnB influenced album. Chester is the reason why there is anything here to hold onto, his voice as always, is powerful and soulful. Long gone are the 20 second screams of ‘Given Up’ or the ferocity of ‘Papercut’. We have Chester embracing his full vocal range here and it’s a beautiful thing to hear. Not only is his voice captivating, but the words also that are pouring out of those lips are the reason I am still listening to this album, despite it being generic and having no sense of that Nu-Metal sound we grew up with.
There are songs here that wash right over me, which is unfortunate, mostly those are the songs that Mike takes the lead vocals on. His voice is ok, but compared to Chester, what is the point? ‘Sorry For Now’ is a nice pop song, despite Mikes monotone nature and really kicks in when Chester comes in.
‘Good Goodbye’ is one of the rare instances where they lean into the Hip-Hop side I grew to love.
Mikes verse is well, ‘Mikes’ verse. It is what it is, and I enjoy it whilst also having no idea who the two guys featuring are, but the Pommie fella has a
sweet voice and some really nice bars. ‘Battle Symphony’ is the Chester lead track that just doesn’t work me for me even with his strong vocals I am left feeling slightly empty by the lack of emotional connection I have to it (I know that sounds ***ing lame).
Knowing this is Chester's last release a few songs here feel like a knife in the heart. Chester’s lyrics have always been straight to the point and opener ‘Nobody Can Save Me’ really lays the platform for where Chester was, and unfortunately it reflects on what was to come. ‘Heavy’ features ‘Kiiara’ and her voice fits perfectly with Chester as they weave in and out of each other effortlessly towards the ending of the track. ‘Halfway Right’ being the
worst track for this old emotional Linkin Park fan. It’s obvious, really from ‘Hybrid Theory’ that Chester had lots of issues, ones that were never resolved and ‘Halfway Right’ is a self-reflective look at that.
I scream at myself when there’s nobody else to fight….
There is not a lot that I can say about the title track here that isn’t obvious already. Simple synth and Chester's voice, not much more is needed for this old Linkin Park fan to feel warm and fuzzy inside, mixed with the incredibly sad feeling that such an important voice that helped me grow is gone. I still have moments when I sit down, and it trips me out his really gone. Those iconic flame tattoos, that blonde hair and lip ring. Those words he wrote and screamed that helped countless kids find themselves and be ok with being different. Chester helped save a lot of people, I’m sure he was aware of that and what may have felt like a burden to him really was
everything to us.
