Hey! This countdown is Part 2 of a 2-part special, so if you haven't read part 1 yet, here ya go.
And now, on with the Top 10!
10
I've stated this before, but A Thousand Suns is a very dark, at times even bleak record. The sadness and regret of that album's more emotional moments an be really touching, if not heartbreaking.
But sometimes, in even the darkest of places, just that faint glimmer of hope, that faint moment of clarity can lift you up and inspire you to keep moving forward.
#10. "Iridescent"
from A Thousand Suns
This is one of the greatest ballads of all time. Not exaggerating.
This song is purely and utterly breathtaking. Mike's breathtaking vocal performance, the grand, uplifting chorus, the spacey, almost ethereal production... it all just weaves together brilliantly into a massive spectacle of music. I could go on for hours talking about how beautiful every second of this song is.
Iridescent is a song of hope. About persevering and moving forward, even in the most hopeless of times. Sometimes, even just a glimmer of hope can get you through the darkest of times. That is Iridescent represents to me.
9
Some songs are so beautiful and amazing that you could go on for hours about them.
Others are so beautiful and amazing, you can barely find the words to describe them.
#9. "Shadow Of The Day"
from Minutes To Midnight
Shadow Of The Day is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It's just so flawlessly crafted that I'm at a loss for words. I mean, I could list off things like Chester's vocals, the amazing electronic production, that guitar solo... all of them are amazing, but really, I don't think my words can fo it justice. You just have to hear it for yourself. It's really something special.
8
When I said Linkin Park knew how to end an album, I meant it.
#8. "The Little Things Give You Away"
from Minutes To Midnight
Linkin Park closed out their most diverse album with one of their most powerful songs.
In a lot of ways, The Little Things Give You Away feels like a spiritual predecessor to A Thousand Suns, with its bleak nature and heavily political undertones.
This song shows Linkin Park at their most musically proficient, as the music is really what makes this song. The slow strum of the acoustic guitars and the slow buildup of the production in the first half give way one of the most powerfully haunting songs of the band's history, the pained screaming and repetitions of "all you ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you" create such an intense mood and is one of the biggest emotional moments the band has pulled off. It's absolutely heart-wrenching just hearing the absolute pain and hopelessness of the song. It's a sad one, but well worth the listen.
7
Huh, the last 3 have all been slow songs. Let's change that, shall we?
#7. "The Catalyst"
from A Thousand Suns
Ooh yes, this song is awesome.
This song serves as the climax to A Thousand Suns, and what a hell of a climax it is. It's the most intense and powerful song on the album. This is more than a song, this is a battle cry. This is the soundtrack to an epic final battle for freedom.
The best part of this song is the chant. My god, that chant.
God bless us every one
We're a broken people living under loaded gun
And it can't be outfought, It can't be outdone
It can't be outmatched, it can't be outrun
God save us every one
Will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns
For the sins of our hand, sins of our tongue
Sins of our father, sins of our young
Just look at that. That is great fucking songwriting.
The real emotional heft of the song comes in the bridge. That "lift me up, let me go" is fucking powerful, the best part of the song.
A Thousand Suns is my favorite album of all time, and The Catalyst is my favorite song on that album. It sums up all the themes of the album perfectly, and is the perfect climax to a perfect album.
6
I've never seen the Michael Bay Transformers movies. I hear they're the worst thing in the world, but they don't look all that bad. Maybe I'll check them out one day out of morbid curiosity.
I mean, how bad can a movie franchise be when it gives us a song as amazing as this?
#6. "New Divide"
from Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen soundtrack
New Divide is pure, concentrated musical adrenaline. It sounds utterly massive and sweeping and urgent, the perfect epic song. Seriously, that instrumental breakdown in the middle... chills, man. Chills.
Remember like 10 seconds ago I said The Catalyst sounds like the soundtrack to an epic final battle? Yeah, multiply that by twenty. New Divide is the perfect pick to soundtrack a movie about an intergalactic war with robots and lasers and destiny and stuff.
Yeah, it's a soundtrack song to a cheesy movie, but it's a damn good soundtrack song to a cheesy movie.
5
OK, now's when we get into the really good stuff. The next five songs on this list rank up there with my favorite songs of all time. Not kidding.
To start off, we have one of the best songs of the past 5 years. Not kidding.
#5. "A Line In The Sand"
from The Hunting Party
A Line In The Sand is my favorite song of 2014 and yet another example of Linkin Park closing out an album in spectacular fashion.
The song starts off with a very tense, atmospheric electronic build while Mike delivers and incredibly haunting little sung poem, and I may add that this song is his best performance to date, before the guitars and drums kick in and the song explodes into a ferocious wave of anger and just hits you like a ton of bricks and it is glorious.
I've stated before that The Hunting Party is Linkin Park's heaviest album, and A Line In The Sand is the perfect example of that. It's every single member of the band at their best, pulling together a truly jaw-dropping song.
4
Remixes are a tricky art, especially remixes of things that were already great to begin with.
Reanimation is one of those rare occasion where the remixes not only lived up to the original, but even improved on them.
In fact, I would argue Reanimation is much better than Hybrid Theory and is one of the band's absolute best album.
You might think, "but Michael, it's a remix album, why would you consider it one of their best if you don't do so with the original?"
This is why.
#4. "1stp Klosr" feat. Jonathan Davis
from Reanimation
This is the prime example of a remix that surpasses the original in every way.
Don't get me wrong, I like the original One Step Closer a lot, but it pales in comparison next to this incredible remix.
This is a song that is mostly buildup. Most of the song is spent building up and atmosphere, creating tension, immersing you in the dark, heavy intensity of the song, as the electronic effects, churning guitars, and Johnathan Davis's haunting guest verse just create this massive wall of sound, building the anger and the intensity before the ending where it all just explodes.
The last minute and a half of this song is one of my favorite musical moment of all time. It's so intense and thunderous and powerful that it just overtakes you. It's every bit and angry and hard-hitting as the original was taken to the highest level possible.
That is what remixes are capable of, and that is what this remix does and does expertly.
It's simply massive.
3
Yeah... this band really knows how to hit the emotions.
#3. "Breaking The Habit"
from Meteora
Breaking The Habit easily the most raw and personal song Linkin Park has put out, as well as the darkest.
It speaks on the struggles of addiction and self-harm (both of which are shown in the incredible music video) even to the point of depression, and... it just captures it. The pain, the struggle, the wish to get out even if you can't... and that perfect display of emotion comes from Chester himself.
This song is a very close track to him personally (he's stated it's his favorite song that band's every recorded), and his performance on the track shows it. It's raw, pained, screaming... it's very striking and makes the song truly powerful. It's one of the two LP songs that has ever actively made me cry.
Believe me, it's fucking powerful.
2
This is the big one.
This is the song that first got me into music. As a young teen, I knew very little about music outside the pop charts, and I didn't have very developed tastes or eye for quality.
It's safe to say if it wasn't for this song, I wouldn't have ever come to appreciate just what a beautiful medium music is. Just how much it can do, what it can do.
Yes, this song, upon first listen so thoroughly blew me away that much. If it wasn't for this song, I don't know how different my life would be.
It was just that incredible.
#2. "Numb"
from Meteora
Even ignoring my very close personal connection to it, I can say that Numb is still an incredible song.
It's one of the most real and striking displays of true anger and feelings of being utterly trapped that I've ever heard. It's production is outstanding, that opening synth line, the pianos, guitars, drums... all weaves together into a grand and powerful instrumental, and Chester's incredible vocal delivery just ties it all together.
The best part of this song is the bridge. It's short, but it's one of the band's greatest moments. Just that massive scream of;
And I know
I may end up failing too
but I know
you were just like me with someone dissapointed in you
;is one of the most striking moments and one of the best pieces of songwriting and emotion I've heard in a song... ever.
It's all just so masterfully put together, I, to this day, admire this song. For being one of the most striking and real displays of angst and musical capabilities I've ever heard, and for being the reason I developed such a true, undying passion for music.
If it wasn't for this song, I wouldn't be nearly the same person I am today. And for that, Linkin Park, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
1
I am, to this day, absolutely floored by this song. Most songs tend to not hit me as hard or with repeated listens, but this song is not one of those songs.
Every I hear this song, I am just as if not more blown away by how purely, strikingly beautiful this song is. It is, no doubt, one of the greatest pieces of music I have ever heard.
I highly respect Linkin Park as musicians, and this song is a big reason why.
There is only one word that can properly sum up this song for me:
Masterpiece.
#1. "Krwlng"
from Reanimation
Remember when I said only two Linkin Park songs have made me cry? This is the other one.
This song has brought me to tears through its sheer, utter beauty. It's truly breathtaking.
The way this song progresses, starting off slow and it just builds and builds, every verse and chorus perfectly placed and hits you right in the heart with just the sheer soaring power and beauty of everything... it's almost otherworldly. This song sends chills down my spine and brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.
Krwlng is unlike any other song I've ever heard. It's a true testament to what the art of music is capable of. It's one of the greatest musical compositions of the 21st century, it's my second favorite song of all time, and it is Linkin Park's magnum opus.
That's my list. Happy Birthday to Hybrid Theory, Happy Linkin Park day to all of you, and I'll see you all next time.
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