Maybe not as much for Given Up, but Papercut and Faint were released at a time where that style of music WAS incredibly popular. ...Guilty was the FIRST single, and Rebellion was sent to radio back in October of 2014. Keys has no place as a single. It'd be like releasing Victimized.
Disturbed are radio-rock staples, nothing on THP should have had trouble doing well on modern rock charts.
I would say theyre pretty satisfied with the album considering how much they seemed to be enjoying themselves when performing songs from it, particularly ALITS and Wastelands. I know I'm wholly satisfied with it lol.
If LP is really that satisfied with how THP turned out, I wonder why their next album is said to sound nothing like it? You'd think that Mike and the others would at least want to use some of the more creative or enjoyable elements from it on LP7, especially if they were received well by the fans and the band itself. What I mean is use some of the features that made THP stand out in their discography but re-work those features so that they sound fresh enough on LP7.
They don't have to dislike the album to want to completely change their sound again. I think they were quite proud of MTM, but ATS sounded nothing like it. Same from Meteora to MTM, and LT to THP.
Chester has said before that the album he's most proud of is ATS (this may have changed since THP? not sure). Doesn't mean that LT or THP sounded anything like it.
You bring up a really good point that I have not thought of in a while. What makes LP so distinct in the music industry is that they stay consistently inconsistent with their sound, regardless of how an album did in sales or popularity. Always trying to do something different, even with considerable risk, is what causes me to respect the band so much. I find it kind of funny that ATS was Chester's favorite of all the albums, given that it was so unconventional, compared to what he had been used to musically. Considering he had stated at some point (and I'm paraphrasing) that he could do the style of THP "all day", I do wonder if THP has replaced ATS as his favorite.
He was just very excited, like he usually is. And of cause he was proud and happy about the direction the band was going - he did grow up listening to mostly rock music after all. In the interview where he called ATS his favorite studio album, he was in a much more neutral and reflective state. Besides the band members have said multiple times that their newest album will always be their current "favorite", since it's what feels freshest to them.
I think for Mike, ATS will always be the most personal album to him. As a band, THP shows the band at their best musically and captured the energy of their live shows the other albums didn't. People make fun of Brad as a guitarist but he and the engineers and techs come up with some of the best guitar tones (post Meteora). Him making the switch to a Strat and using different amps changed their sound for the better, imo. But again this thread isn't about Brad. The band is proud of the album. It was their first time making an album focused on aggression and musicianship at the same time. They didn't do too bad.
This. If any album a band is writing doesn't feel fresh and therefore their current favourite it should be scrapped.
I think for the band ATS will likely always be their 'overall favorite' because it proved a point, and it proved it extremely well. It was a direct answer not only to their critics, but also to themselves, that they could completely run away from their old sound...and make an album that is still every bit as creative and musically impressive as their debut. That they weren't a one trick pony with a single sound, and that if they felt like it...they could adapt into any thing they want to be. It's likely one of the biggest reasons why Linkin Park impresses me as much as they do. It's not that I feel as if they are the most talented and instrumentally proficient band out there (there are certainly bands out there with more 'ability') but they have always had an ability to be chameleons with their sound. They can at any time, bust out a folk song, a pure hip-hop song, an EDM song or even a thrash punk song, and it won't feel any bit out of character for them because they never settle for just doing the same thing over and over again (except for Meteora ).
It is definitely still Chester's favourite, here's a quote from an interview with him yesterday: Q: I think the biggest risk you guys ever took as a band was the song "The Catalyst" and the A Thousand Suns record in general. It's funny, I think A Thousand Suns is my favorite record that we've done. The process was really fun, and everyone was ready to just be weird and comfortable being weird. We were just in a cool headspace and I think it really allowed us to make music that was pretty cool. The Catalyst was certainly for me one of those songs that I knew right when we nailed "God Bless Us Everyone/ We're a Broken People Living Under Loaded Gun." I was like, "Holy fuck we just nailed this song." It was just a great song, and I think, like, "The Catalyst" helped the vibe of the rest of that record. My idea was to release that whole record as one track because I thought it was too good not to listen to the whole thing. Go sit back in your chair and close your eyes, get as comfy as possible, push play, and just listen to it. There is a version where you can buy it as one track, it's called "A Thousand Suns The Full Experience."
What a nice interview piece that was I hope that the band members know that there are a whole lot of fans who really enjoy their post "Meteora" music.
I think the biggest risk the guys ever took as a band was releasing the song "DaveS Beat feat. Joe" on LPU XIV. And Burn It Down, of course. Btw, nice interview snippet. It's good to hear that Chester feels about that song exactly the way I do. I think they nailed it, indeed. It must have been so satisfying to finalize The Catalyst.