Yey! Just woke up to the release of Sharp Edges delivered in my mailbox.. Annnnddd it seems to be from the show in Amsterdam Great!!! I loved the conversation in the end that show. It reminds me of the look on Chesters face while playing this right in front of us. It was also so inspiring for me as a beginner guitarist. This album is turning in something quite important.
Oh man, what is with the metallic tapping sound happening in the background between the 20-30 second or so mark at the beginning of the song... could they not have removed it or used another performance of the song? Just find it really distracting, and once you’ve heard it, you can’t unhear it
I can see your perspective, but I'm not on board with it. This seems over-thought by those having a problem with it, or looking for more from this cover, and this coming from a guy who overthinks all the time. There's a certain virtue in paying respects by way of 'business as usual' mentality. Chester seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't want things done specially for him, even in matters like this. Carrying on with a possibly standard live tour shot actually seems fitting in this regard. I don't disagree that I could do without that security guard, but I don't think it's an actual problem. Mike may be more in the foreground, but I disagree that he's 'featured way more prominently'. You still see pretty much all of Chester, his face, his passion in singing, and nothing important to convey on him or his body is cut off. Lastly, that now-iconic photo you mentioned, is the back cover image. I'd say that suffices. So I disagree that this 'falls short' in honouring Chester. It does its job. This is the tour poster I saw posted at the Budweiser Stage venue in Toronto, where their show on August 8th was to be held, so to me it's very much a One More Light tour promo poster, and that's the content this album is delivering. Sometimes there's something to be said for simplicity or subtlety, and not trying to do too much, in this case trying to find a grand or specified cover, when really what matters most is the music, and the music delivers the experience of Chester and the 5 others on tour. It would be one thing if they forgot about him or paid no attention at all to the cover art, but I don't feel that's the case here, at all. I also think the circular sticker on the front, attached to the outer plastic wrapping on the CD, was a nice touch.
Bit late in replying but I agree with everything you said here. Chester was never the kind of guy who wanted all the attention on himself. He never seemed to want to be seen as the 'front man' and was even a key component in pushing Mike to sing more on records. Having his face plastered on the front with all the other band members ignored, on a 'Linkin Park' album would fly in the face of that. I feel like the band even did it tastefully with the tribute concert, as even though it was for Chester, they went great lengths to make it feel like a Linkin Park show instead of just a memorial...and I think Chester would've appreciated that.