There are some things that I forget may not be that obvious to non-musicians.I was amongst those folks who, before any of us knew that Linkin Park would regroup, was consistently writing that they should just choose a new band name. After listening to their new release, my views have changed.I understand and recognize firsthand, as both a listener and as a fan of Linkin Park, how much of the “Linkin Park experience” from a purely musical standpoint was Chester’s easily recognizable voice. Still, that amazing voice of his was only one part of a formula.

That formula included not only the addition of Mike’s equally recognizable rapping and singing voice, but a particular guitar sound and technique, commonly recurring harmonies, very recognizable synths and electronic percussive elements, glitches, an intricate usage of guitars in parallel with synths and so much more. That is a sound people know and love even before the vocals kick in. 

That’s not the first thing that catches your ear, but it’s an integral part of what keeps you listening on and on.My voice sounds nothing like Chester’s (probably more like David Gahan’s in larva form). Still, I’ve had both my own listeners and fellow musicians say that they could “hear some Linkin Park elements” in tracks like “We Are Love,” “Vampire and Angel” and “Moonlight.”

 My example is one of MANY in the world of modern rock and metal, with many newer musicians citing Linkin Park as an inspiration.This “Linkin Park” formula/sound is the result of hours, effort, experimentation and subsequent creative input from ALL of the band’s members and that takes much time and dedication. 

Just to give you guys perspective, I buckled down in the studio in late 2019, because I was tired of making each new track a reinvention of the wheel, and wished to develop a single, coherent sound and to be my own producer in a way. 

Since then, it has taken me nearly nearly two thousand demos, which have yet to see the light of day, to explore and fit together various genres, instrument combinations and techniques, to see what does and does not feel right. 

It is 2024 and only this summer did I reach a lasting feeling that I have developed my own sound to where there is nothing further to “absorb” (DBZ/Cell fan here).Now, unlike Michael Night, Linkin Park isn’t a solo project in which one person writes and arranges all the music and sends it to musicians to learn and perform, as I have been doing since 2018. 

Their sound has been crafted into all those intricate elements working together by five other men, who have been doing the same that I alone was and COMBINING their talents into one machine. 

Unlike me, they have been at this for a whopping 28 years, not 5, dedicating their entire youth to it. And consider also, that while some of the music that I was “reverse engineering” for practice included Linkin Park, Evanescence, HIM and others, the aforementioned bands were the FIRST to do what they did in the exact flavor that they are known for. Linkin Park specifically had 80’s and 90’s rap, thrash metal, grunge and so much else to play around with.What happened to Chester is undeniably a tragedy. As I mentioned in my last post, I cried when I learned of his passing. 

I still can’t listen to “One More Light” without getting emotional and my heart still breaks for his family. However, it isn’t fair on the rest of the band to have to change their name, as Linkin Park is their baby too.

To abandon the name and make a new project together would be to: essentially give up on the project they had built and given so much of their lives and unique ideas to, start playing clubs instead of arenas, confuse people who don’t follow bands (like the ones on the September 5 livestream asking where Chester is) and doing it only because of the pressure that they had received from outside.

 Mike himself admitted that they considered renaming the band but that as the music came together, it sounded so “Linkin Park” that not calling it “Linkin Park” would been a misrepresentation. I’ll add that, truth be told, it would be really strange to have successful bands out there playing arena shows while at times being accused of almost plagiarizing Linkin Park… while 66.67% (4/6) of the band Linkin Park, who are responsible for everything aside from drums and lead vocals would continue making music with another name.

This is my take as someone who understands the behind-the-scenes of making music and, while I will again highlight that Chester’s death still hurts to think about, empathizes greatly with the rest of the band. 

Also, please don’t forget that I am a fan of their music too and, although I don’t know most of you guys in person, I hate seeing you guys frustrated or hurt specifically by the name change, without having a perspective that might help understand that the band’s decision with the name change has something deeper to it than “marketing” or what not. All the musicians in the band made a name for themselves. That name is “Linkin Park.”