Am I the only one frustrated about the second Mike's verse not being in the A Thousand Suns (regular edition) booklet ? But really I like Wretches and Kings a lot, although this is not one of my favourites from the album.
The "Wretches" beat is, for me, one of the best things the band have ever made. It's one of the things that first comes to mind when I think of the band's music. EDIT: also, of all the songs that have been used to follow after "The Requiem" during a live show, "Wretches" is far and away my favourite.
Wretches and Kings is the worst song on the album, and that includes interludes. (Because the interludes are awesome) So there is that.
i thought the catalyst was new and exciting when the single dropped, but i wasn't ready for this. this first time i heard this song, i was thrown right the fuck off. after hearing this, i was truly excited for what the album would bring.
This really isn't correct. For starters, the Savio speech wasn't dropped in favor of the Oppenheimer speech. It's the other way around. The Radiance instrumental would play, but Joe would sample the Savio speech and mess with it by scratching. Wretches and Kings also wasn't played "through, more or less, the entire [ATS] cycle." It was dropped entirely February 28, 2011, so about halfway through the cycle. I wouldn't exactly call that being played through almost the entire thing. Regarding Mike's Solo Medley, he'll rap a "hybrid verse" of Wretches and Kings (part of v1, part of v2, then end on v1). In regards to my opinion on the track, it's a pretty sweet track. Mike's verses are easily in my top 10 verses from him, and Chester's vocal delivery is unique in a good way. The usage of the Savio speech in the bridge is also a really nice touch.
The bass on Wretches. That's enough to make this song amazing. That first bass drop when the other instruments kick in is glorious. The scratching is my other favorite part of this song.
Everything you said is true. I half assed this post because the Blackout posts, for which I tried to make it really good, barely collected some replies to fill up a page. The Blackout post took over two hours to write, this one took less than an hour. As I mentioned before, it's annoying when I write this shit for so long and there's no conversation.
Too bad I missed Blackout and Waiting for the End, those easily belong to my favorite songs from the band. Anyway, Wretches is cool I guess. Nice beat, and I like the slightly Jamaican accent Mike has in the bridge. The chorus is interesting as well, as it's pretty much the only time Chester showcases his raspy vocals through through the whole ATS experience thing. And the scratch ending is killer. Overall I can't really say anything negative about the track, but for some reason I don't love it either. Right now, I'm just imagining two very short live shows. One only consisting of WAK, and the other one only consisting of Ther Radiance (or Fallout or WJL). Somehow I'm pretty sure I would enjoy the first show more. Ok, that was a weird argument, but anyway I totally disagree with your opinion.
maybe open the floor a little longer, an extra day or two. people aren't always able to drop a reply, myself included.
I was really surprised that this was the track they dropped after the Catalyst. I remember listening to it the first time and loving Chester's performance on this one. I really wish Chester's chorus on this song was expanded more because the way he sings the chorus is just so invigorating. Like you said I was really curious about what kind of album A Thousand Suns would bring. I thought it would be better mixture of their past elements but man was I wrong. I am really glad the band brought it back even if it was only for the rap medley because when Mike raps on this song, you can't help but get taken in by his awesome flow.
Agreed. I had a lot of work, and barely got in my Blackout comments before it closed. Just because we don't discuss the topic doesn't mean we don't appreciate what you do. I've learned a few things about some of my favorite songs from these posts. It's not always easy to write out a giant post, you know. People have other things to do.
I remember listening to this for the first time... they released it around the same time as "Waiting for the End", I think. That same day, I had the two tracks on my phone (or whatever else) and was listening to them while riding my bike in the street, super hyped for the upcoming A Thousand Suns. Good times.
Honestly, I've been following the thread, not for interesting discussion, but for the amazing info you put out in the posts, and hearing everyone's opinion. So...
I actually think that Wretches And Kings is a serious case of wasted potential. Chester delivers one of his best aggressive choruses ever, Shinoda is on fucking point for the verses and the instrumental is absolutely filthy. The problem lies in the execution. Chester is incredibly under-utilized, making the chorus glorious but far too brief. The speeches offer intellectual substance but ultimately drag the rest of the track down, and the bridge is downright cringeworthy. I will say however that the scratch solo at the end is extremely badass and would have transitioned well into an extended outro onstage. Throw some screams overtop and you would have an incredible climax. That said, I don't hate Wretches And Kings, but I haven't had it in a regular playlist since 2010.