Back in the 2010’s a compelling but controversial movement arose within film criticism circles called ‘vulgar auteurism’. It sought to reappraise popular but critically-maligned filmmakers like Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich by finding praise–worthy elements in their gaudy, maximalist but distinct aesthetics.
For those that don’t ‘get’ Linkin Park, this approach offers a way into their world. The nu metal-turned-electro rock megastars have proved a deeply-divisive band since their 2000 debut ‘Hybrid Theory’. This brash but undeniably pioneering blend of electronica and rap with metal and alt rock, along with their teenage poetry lyrics has been as embraced by disaffected youth as it has been reviled by more studious (and generally older) listeners.
‘From Zero’ is Linkin Park’s much-anticipated comeback album. Following the 2017 death of powerhouse vocalist Chester Bennington and a series of diminishing returns in the album department (2017’s ‘One More Light’ was an EDM pop disaster) it looked like the band were finished. However, a, let’s call it, complicated 2023 reformation, along with the surprise addition of lead vocalist Emily Armstrong has breathed new life into one of the 21st century’s most successful rock bands.
The title ‘From Zero’ surmises the album’s approach. It’s a reset, but also the musical equivalent of the currently popular filmic ‘requels’, where new franchise films take all the best elements of previous instalments and repackage them as a ‘new’ narrative. ‘Two Faced’ is an aggro early noughties nu metal rager, ‘Cut the Bridge’ recalls the band’s mid-period daytime radio alt rock era, whilst ‘Overflow’ channels the ambitious and underrated quasi-industrial experiments of 2010 album ‘A Thousand Suns’.
Tracks like ‘Overflow’ and ‘Stained’ are the album’s most impressive. They fuse electronica and rock with genuine elegance, in a way that feels contemporary and, to a certain degree, even cutting-edge. To return to vulgar auteur theory; these moments serve as a reminder of Linkin Park’s technical imagination as well as their influence on similarly massive but critically-maligned acts like Imagine Dragons and Twenty One Pilots.
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Few other tracks catch fire in the same manner, however. Lead singles ‘Heavy Is the Crown’ and ‘The Emptiness Machine’ are prosaically plotted and lack energy or dynamism, similar to many of the aforementioned re-quel films. However, like casting a great young actor, Emily Armstrong proves a compelling new addition. Her voice is a dead ringer for Bennignton’s and gets deployed in similarly potent fashion. ‘Overflow’ utilises the more gentle, falsetto end of her range, whilst ‘Over Each Other’ sees her take command of an otherwise middling alt rock track.
Several major flaws also need highlighting. You will not hear many worse sounding drum kits this year than the one played here with commendable skill by Colin Brittain. The quietly-mixed cymbals and dry, flat snare sound means way too many tracks lack punch and bite; see the unnecessary cavernous space afforded to the “cut it down, cut it down” chorus of ‘Cut the Bridge’ and their inexplicably restrained mix on ‘Heavy Is the Crown’.
Then there’s the rapping of co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda, whose repetitive rhymes rear their angst-laden heads once again. It’s incredible that this far into his career, every rap that Shinoda pulls out on a Linkin Park track seems to possess an identical rhyme scheme, exemplified here by ‘Heavy Is The Crown’s 2003-tastic verses. Spike your hair, shave a soul patch and rap along to to “turn to run, now look what it’s become/outnumbered, ten to one/back then should’ve bit your tongue…”
Perhaps this familiarity will define ‘From Zero’s appeal. It cribs from every era of the band, from blunt nu metal anger to synthetic pop rock pomp. You can view this approach as a necessary course correction, pointing a way to a cohesive future where the band’s pioneering angst rock shall forever reign supreme. You could also read it as the equivalent of asking Chat GPT to write a Linkin Park album, which glistens with the same familiar unreality as an AI-generated image. Listeners who will hear both polarities; a reaction that the band seem eternally destined to elicit.
5/10
Words: Tom Morgan
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