From Zero Out Now | Release Day Thread

It's almost as if there are some messages that are spread over several songs to make it a more cohesive album.

 

nah, they are just lazy fucks

 

True. They DID take 7 whole years to put out a new album even after canceling a world tour. 7 whole years to write 10 songs is a maddenly slow pace.

 

Honestly, the album keeps getting better with every listen. Still not sure where I'd rank it in the discography, but I'm not sure it really matters.

Mike's constant presence on the record is like a reassuring hug. It's a "don't worry, I got this fam" comforting feeling and something I'll never take for granted.

 

So upon further reflection and listening to the album repeatedly the past 10-11 days, I still have it as a strong 8/10 and as my 4th favourite album of theirs in their discography. However, my rating has changed for Cut The Bridge and Stained. For the latter, it's gone up to a 6/10 as for me, it's a decent song and I do like the instrumental, the beginning electronic beat that kicks in, the harmonies in the background from Emily before the song breaks into the first verse from Mike and I do like the chorus as well as the back-and-forth between Mike and Emily in the 2nd verse (as mentioned in my original review post) that I really like and hope they continue to do this in future songs, the catchy bridge with Mike and Emily singing together and the last word being sung-screamed by Emily at the end of the song, but I don't know, it doesn't grab me like the other songs or like the other pop-rock ballad in Over Each Other, where I prefer Emily's singing on that and it captures me more. Still, it's a pretty decent track and one that I will listen to but it's not one I rate as high as the others.

As for Cut The Bridge, this has gone up to a 7/10. I was unsure of the chorus initially and I'm still not big on the "cut it down" part in the chorus and feel it didn't need it or could have been delivered differently for me but I do like the chorus as a whole and Emily's delivery in this. It's a catchy chorus that I find I'm singing in my head along with the other catchy tracks from this really great album. I also have to commend Mike for his amazing vocal work in the bridge and the way he goes up in his register twice as it leads into the final chorus. I also like how Emily has such a raspy voice in the chorus and how she gets a bit more aggressive in her delivery in the final chorus.

Overall, this is a very welcome return for the band and a very cohesive album that can be listened to from start to finish. I have to praise them for the order of the album as it flows so well together and has a great balance of genres and with that nostalgic feeling in parts that dates back to their Hybrid Theory EP days (and before then) as well as including lyrics and samples from their other albums and also showing a glimpse into the future on songs like Good Things Go and Overflow which are experimental sounds/genres I'd love them to explore more in future releases (along with the kickass songs like Heavy Is The Crown, The Emptiness Machine, Casualty, IGYEIH and Two Faced) - it shows how fantastic this album is in terms of respecting their past and welcoming their future.

 

Anyone else besides me have the Amazon exclusive Alternate Art version of the CD?

 

I missed this thread somehow
I'm not going to pull any punches in this review.

1. From Zero (Intro): Love the sound of this one. Nothing to complain about, it segues nicely into The Emptiness Machine and makes it feel more complete.

2. The Emptiness Machine: I enjoyed this song on my first listen, and it's only grown on me since then. Instant classic. One of the best Linkin Park singles ever. It firmly introduces something new into the Linkin Park musical universe, as it does sound like various eras of LP mixed together but also sounds like its own distinct thing as well (it doesn't remind me of any specific LP song, just of LP in general). 9.5/10

3. Cut the Bridge: I really enjoy this one too, but Mike's singing in the bridge section is pretty bad (the instrumentation is nice though). No idea how I'm seemingly the only one who has this opinion. Side note, the "cut it down cut it down down" part reminds me a bit of the anthemic nature of All For Nothing's chorus. 9/10

4. Heavy Is the Crown: This song is Faint 2.0. However, unlike Faint it actually has some dynamics, and the bridge section is much more impressive. It's a strict improvement of Faint, since Faint's string sample part sounds really dated and low quality nowadays whereas Heavy Is the Crown's string sample part feels fresh. I'm not huge on Faint aside from nostalgia, but HItC has enough freshness and maturity to it that I'm a fan. 9/10

5. Over Each Other: Not sure if anyone is familiar with my original take on this song, but the song immediately feels so much better in context with the album than it did as a single. The "oooohhhhhhhhhh" part in the bridge after the "are we over each other?" line is executed kinda poorly IMO and makes me cringe but otherwise I like it a lot, feels like a better version of 8.5/10

6. Casualty: My reaction to this song has been the same as my initial reaction to Emily singing Keys to the Kingdom. Sounds forced, shoehorned in, stupid and cringeworthy. Maybe I wouldn't mind it if it was Chester doing the screaming, coz at this point it just sounds like Emily embarrassingly trying to imitate him. She obviously is a good screamer, but idk, I just don't like her screams in this one at all. Mike's growly vocals are interesting although not my favorite Mike verses. 6/10

7. Overflow: Not their best atmospheric song ever (most of A Thousand Suns easily clears it) but really nice. Love the harmonies in the "going down" lines. Mike singing is always welcome, and the production is fantastic. The song should have been longer though. 9/10

8. Two Faced: This song FLOORED me on my first listen. Not even Hybrid Theory, Meteora, or The Hunting Party have the type of heaviness that opens up this track. Unfortunately after repeated listens I've found the bridge section to be clear "fan-service" nostalgia bait. Like... good job, you copied One Step Closer's bridge and added some record scratching... sounds like Hybrid Theory I guess? It sounds dated, and I really cringe every time Emily screams "I can't hear myself think, yeah". It's a deliberate attempt to forcibly bring back the over-the-top angsty teenage bullshit that Linkin Park deservedly left behind years ago. The song is still a banger though. 8.5/10

9. Stained: The intro of this song immediately reminded me of PVRIS just because of the production. I figured that would be it, but the vocal melodies from Mike in the verses also sound EXACTLY like Lynn Gunn's melodies in PVRIS. I agree with @minuteforce that the chorus is kinda weak though. The meandering staaaAAAAaaaaaAAAAiiiiined vocal movement feels a bit irritating, although it personally doesn't really bother me coz of how much I like the rest of the song. 9/10

10. IGYEIH: Just like Casualty, the intro of this one is just insufferable. YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH. Really? Fortunately, the verses of this one are actually really good, and I love the aggression in both Emily and Mike's clean vocal parts there, and I like some of the lyrics here ("I write all the memories down all over my skin, hopin' it'll snap me out when this happens again"). The intro, choruses, and outro of this song are just too much though. The chorus lyrics and the "from now on I don't need ya" repetition in the outro are both juvenile and don't really work for me. 7/10

11. Good Things Go: Beautiful guitar! This song has the perfect mix of the MTM/ATS sound with the more modern OML-style sound. I really love this one. "Best closer since ATS" is nonsense though, Powerless is an absolute masterpiece. 9.5/10

The album is overall really good, however I have really mixed feelings about this entire situation.
On one hand, it's amazing to see Mike happy, and to have some new fresh LP live performances, and obviously I would put both The Emptiness Machine and Good Things Go into any "essential Linkin Park" playlist I could make at this point.
However, I'm feeling pretty disappointed with what this means for the LP fanbase. While it's valid to call this album an amalgamation of all Linkin Park sounds, to me it's mostly a "return to roots" thing. It harkens back to Hybrid Theory and Meteora wayyyy more than any of their other albums. What From Zero has done (and the new live shows that focus mostly on HT/Meteora material) is revived the excitement for nu-metal and awakened all of the previously dormant "fans" who think that nu-metal is the REAL Linkin Park and that the band went to shit after Meteora with the only good song on Minutes to Midnight being Given Up (lol); not only because multiple songs on this album feel like returns to roots, but because the biggest hits (that casual fans are most familiar with) are all from HT and Meteora. In the most respectful way possible, the only time I thought that Hybrid Theory and Meteora were "peak Linkin Park" was when I was 12 years old and had shit taste in music. I view From Zero as a regression. Living Things and The Hunting Party were not return to roots albums, they were their own distinct projects that stand out as distinct evolutions of Linkin Park. I don't want to be the only one in the world who thinks Linkin Park are so much better than their nu-metal days. Guess that's the way it's going.

 

I don’t see how Em is trying to scream like Chester. She’s screaming, that’s all.

 

Idk man, such a slander of some of my favorite parts All those sounds like going berserk/nuts and I love 'em for that. It's deluxe material for moshpit lovers.

I see which categories of "fans" you mean, but let's not forget there is a good bunch of HT/Meteora lovers that never went dormant, and followed up the band all-along. I am one of them. Even though I've enjoyed (most of) the journey since 2007, it feels awesome seeing the band embracing their origins and celebrating a bit more the sound that made me fall in love with them. It feels like coming home for Christmas after a long travel abroad, and before the next trip.

I mean this in a respectful way too, but I think the idea of Hybrid Theory and Meteora being peak has nothing to do with being 12 or having poor music tastes. It seems that’s how you interpret your growth, and in that regard, that’s fair. However, there are people (also *old* people) that have been exposed to a decent amount of music over many years—some of it is regarded as masterpiece stuff—and yet, still think Hybrid Theory is peak. One could attribute it to nostalgia or stubbornness, but I genuinely believe the record offers something great that a lot of more intricate material doesn’t come close to.

I don’t mean this bad, but I’ve always found the "I liked (old) LP when I was 12" argument—which has been around forever—a bit condescending. It vaguely reminds me of the idea of "societal development," where there’s a linear path from "primitive society" (primitive, naive music tastes) to "developed society" (good, mature music tastes). I think, in both cases, reality is much more nuanced than that.

Lastly, regarding the idea of regression in music. If I had to define what "the right direction" would be, I’d struggle to come up with anything other than, "Music the band wants to write and is enthusiastic about." In that regard, I think From Zero is the polar opposite of regression. This music reinvigorated the band so much that "Linkin Park" now exists again as an active band. For that reason, if there’s one album I’ll always be overprotective about against any "regression/wrong direction" arguments, it’s this one. Going from hiatus to a thriving band is the definition of progression—and nothing else.

 

I think that they are the type of band that won’t make anything they feel obliged to. The moment people started asking for the same meteoras and hybrid theories, they revolved and refused.

 

So my FZ copies arrived Friday afternoon but I could pick them up this morning.

The Photo Zine version is absolutely gorgeous. I got a little nervous when I got the package because it was in the shape of a vinyl, I don't know what I was expecting but it's a "square" version format similar to the limited edition of Post Traumatic (magazine-shaped), the difference with PT in terms of the CD is that the sleeve is glued to the back cover, instead of just being loose, which is important, you don't want it falling off.

For some reason in none of the pictures of Dave he appears playing a bass haha. It's him on guitar on a couple shots.



As for the Boxset version, it feels like a 2-in-1 because you get the normal CD on its slipcase and booklet along with the other goodies. It was neatly packaged so I was very happy with that! I told this story before but I wanted the boxset first but got the Zine because I thought the box was too expensive, I was seeing it in another currency by mistake so I put in the order as well and decided to keep both. No regrets!



There's a short, sped-up unboxing I did for my Instagram here, along with a few photos of the albums. Not sure if you can embed the post but check it out if you'd like.

 

Oh wow nice to know I was not the only one hahaha! And I checked the LP website and it described the edition accurately so I don't know why I thought any differently lol.

 

Debatable. For example, Living Things was an obvious response to ATS not doing as well as previous records, so it could be that they had to put more accessible songs. Also, it is noticeable if you just look at the difference between demos and finished songs (eg. Primo > I'll Be Gone). Another example is MTM. They experimented, but when it came to the first single, they were "on some What I've Done shit". I personally love that song, but Mike's comment basically meant that label made them create a safe song.

 

Yeah that one felt obvious when relistening to MTM recently. WID stick out as "the purposeful single". I like the song, but I wish it would have been left out the record, and used as a promotional thingy elsewhere. Songs like ATL or WWDK were also kinda upbeat, while probably fitting the artistic vision better.

 

Safe? going the opposite of the style that made them take over the world? I thought that was even bolder. But IDK, maybe that's what was going on

 

Safe in terms of MTM. They could not release some nu metal banger as the first single, it would not fit with the sound of the record.

 

Living Things was a continuation of the synth-y sound the band had embraced with ATS. There was no chance of them making ANOTHER experimental album after ATS, regardless of label pressures IMO. If the band really wanted another commercial sellout album they would have just gone back to nu-metal.