A Thousand Suns is the fourth album from Agoura Hills, California rock band, Linkin Park. This album reaches its fifteenth anniversary this September, as it was released on the 8th of that month in 2010. This album is a huge departure from their first two albums, which were known for their unique, refreshing sound in a field of nu metal that really hasn’t aged well. Linkin Park has been the outlier, as their take on the genre still sounds great to this day. As for their prior record to this one, 2007’ s Minutes to Midnight (which is the first Linkin Park album I’d ever listened to as a kid), there are some similarities as the sound is less nu metal, and more alternative. This album’s rollout in my eyes, truly started with their 2009 single, “New Divide,” which is a phenomenal track. On this record, there’s tracks that aren’t relying on super heavy distortion, as they opt to go for a cleaner sound. That being said, it still has some noticeable differences from that project as well. What really makes it stand out is the fact that unlike any of their other albums, A Thousand Suns is a concept record. That being said, let’s dive into it.

    We open up with “The Requiem,” which serves as a nice introduction to the record, and creates a dark, foreboding atmosphere to the rest of the record. Mike Shinoda’s robotic filter on his voice echoes the chorus of a track that comes later on in the record. The second half of the introduction serves as a separate track, “The Radiance.” It’s a short spoken passage from the inventor of the nuclear bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, saying his famous quote, “I have become death, destroyer of worlds.” It’s really chilling to hear over the production. “Burning in the Skies,” is the first real track on the album, as well as the third single on the record. I love how melancholy the song is with the mournful pianos and clean guitar riffs. The lyrics are dark, even by Linkin Park standards, and they connect very well to the introductory tracks. “I used the deadwood to make the fire rise, the blood of innocence burning in the skies,” is such great lyric writing. In addition, when Chester Bennington sings, “I’m losing what I don’t deserve,” that line is clearly meant to call out how war generally leaves nothing but destruction in its path, with the people responsible for it losing what they take for granted, and show a complete lack of empathy for. I will say with most of these tracks, they all tie into the album’s themes of nuclear war and its devastating consequences, human mortality, and the concept of rebirth. 

     Following a brief interlude, we follow up with another track, this one being one of my personal favorites, “When They Come For Me.” A track that’s basically a middle finger to the critics. Whether it’s the distorted, almost synthetic sounding guitars, the heavy electronic bass, the tribal drums. or Mike Shinoda’s aggressive raps about how people need to stop making their band stick to the Hybrid Theory format, rather than try sounds that are different and sounds that are what they want to do creatively. This is highlighted in the lines, “‘Cause even a blueprint is a gift and a curse. ‘Cause once you got a theory of how the thing works. Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first.” And the end of his verses, he’s shutting down the haters, “Opposite of lazy, far from a punk. Y’all oughta stop talkin’, start tryin’ to catch up motherfucker.” I really love how the song is heavily influenced by Middle Eastern music, especially in the chorus. Chester’s sung bridge is glorious as well, as he reinforces the song’s core theme that Linkin Park will always be evolving, no matter what. That third chorus where all the production and instrumentation builds up is absolutely heavenly. “Robot Boy,” features beautiful harmonies from Chester and Mike, and lyrically, it covers the concept of human apathy. The people who are unfazed when it comes to destruction and death as being robots. “Jornada del Muerto,” which is the following track’s name in Spanish serves as anoth chilling interlude as the Japanese refrain, “Mochiagete, tokihanashite,” translates to “lift me up, let me go.” “Waiting For The End,” is another favorite of mine, as it’s the second single off the record, and while it’s still a dark song it still sounds euphoric and hopeful, hope being something you won’t find on this album, often. Chester’s voice is so beautiful on this song, and the lines, “I know what it takes to move on. I know how it feels to lie. All I wanna do is trade this life for something new. Holding on to what I haven’t got,” make me tear up, not just because of how gorgeous they’re sung, but because they’ve taken on a whole new meaning now that Chester is no longer alive. The concept of loss and letting go of what you’re still holding onto, rather than accepting it and embracing the new. After that, we have one of my least favorite tracks on the album, “Blackout,” as I feel like the sound is a bit too chaotic. I love Chester’s screaming, and the sung outro from both Mike and Chester, but the song overall just feels too all over the place, for me personally. I do respect the ambitious sonic direction they were going for though. Back to tracks I enjoyed, “Wretches and Kings,” has this mean, rebellious and aggressive sound, both vocally and sonically. The fuzzy guitars and synths follow a simple looped pattern, but they provide a strong foundation for Chester and Mike’s anti-authority message. 

    It’s not the best track on the record, but it’s still solid, plus I like that they included a speech from political activist Mario Savio. After a haunting spoken word interlude from Martin Luther King Jr., that still resonates to this day as one of the best anti-war speeches in history. The fourth single on the record, “Iridescent,” is one of the most beautiful tracks on the record. The somber pianos, warm guitars, and airy synths combined with the lyrics that serve as a symbol of hope in the wake of catastrophic destruction, it’s simple but an incredibly effective track. After a prelude, we get to the climax of the album, “The Catalyst.” The track serves as an ultimatum to the listener, urging the listener to not let our world “burn inside the fires of a thousand suns.” I really like the line about oceans bleeding into the sky, and like a lot of this album there’s really not too much guitar on this track. It’s not Chester’s best vocal performance, but as a track it’s a fitting climactic one that really was built up well from the beginning of the record. Finally, we end the record with a track completely different than the rest of the record, “The Messenger.” It still stands as the only acoustic track ever made by the band, and has a beautiful backstory. According to Chester, he wrote the song for his kids, where the message is that even though things will get harder as they grow up, he’ll always love them. It’s another song that has a heartbreaking new meaning to it, now that he’s gone. Instrumentally there’s no drums, no bass, just vocals and guitar. However, as beautiful as the message is, Chester’s vocal delivery just doesn’t really mesh with the stripped down sound of the track. His voice isn’t bad on it, it just feels out of place. It’s another track I’m unfortunately not a fan of, and I do feel like it brings down my enjoyment of the album overall.

     A Thousand Suns is one of those albums that really polarized both critics and fans at first, but over time, it’s become regarded as one of their strongest records. The central concepts of the album are cohesive and reinforced throughout the album both lyrically and instrumentally, it’s well written and still has messages that resonate to this day. Chester and Mike both have incredibly strong performances. There’s not as heavy of a reliance on guitar as there is on other albums, but the electronic-heavy sound the band went for still sounds good 15 years later. Some of Linkin Park’s most beautiful tracks are on this album, and it’s a shame that the next three albums following this record were so disappointing. I love the dark lyrics filled with desperation, and the overall production of this thing. This album set a standard for future Linkin Park releases, and in my opinion they’re still trying to live up to this one. From Zero was definitely a strong step in the right direction, though. This is by no means the band’s best album, in my opinion, their best one is a tie between Meteora and Minutes to Midnight. Most of this album is consistently great, aside from “Blackout,” and “The Messenger.” A powerful album that is a must-listen for new Linkin Park fans.

Overall Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: “Burning in the Skies,” “When They Come For Me,” “Waiting for the End,” “Wretches and Kings,” “Iridescent,” “The Catalyst,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “Blackout,” “The Messenger,”

Listen: https://youtu.be/5qF_qbaWt3Q?si=XDI-Y2aFqfMiS6eW

Genres: Alternative Rock/Experimental Rock/Electronic Rock