Review Rinse Repeat
Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington releases a side project of Creed-like proportions.
There is no mistaking Chester Bennington's voice. It trademarks Linkin Park songs with a towering tenor, and now he's put it to work for a side project. As you may recall, the other frontman of Linkin Park, rapper Mike Shinoda, released his project Fort Minor's album in 2005, finding frequent radioplay with the single "Where'd You Go." Now it's Chester's turn, but it doesn't feel that different, despite the separate styles. Dead By Sunrise is as Fort Minor was: carrying forward that part of Linkin Park that the respective member enacted, and doing it competently, but not astoundingly.
Though many fans of rock music despise Linkin Park (almost to the point of Creed, who will be referenced very soon), I've always loved it. I think most people do. It's a sublime mixture of genres with direct, emotive lyrics, and each album is useful for different purposes. For example, I put on Hybrid Theory when I'm pretty damn angry, while I listen to Minutes To Midnight when feeling introspective. But this isn't a referendum on LP. What I've said is simply to set up the context for this review, which is that if you've heard Linkin Park's modern rock tracks like "Pushing Me Away," "What I've Done," and "Easier To Run," you've already heard Dead By Sunrise. It was there in Chester's head all along.
But its highs are not high enough and its lows are not low enough. Lead single "Crawl Back In" is comparable to "Given Up," but the aggression is tempered by an Achilles' Heel: the lack of the rest of the members of LP. "In The Darkness" and "Walking In Circles" both recall Midnight's slower moments like the hit "Shadow Of The Day," but though both are above mediocre, neither will become anyone's favorite song. Or even close. "End Of The World" recommends you "grab your crucifix and fall to your knees, and beg him 'please, have mercy on me'" in a bit of religious move. But without Shinoda's political lyrics ("Hands Held High"), this turns into the worst track on the album.
Much better are "Too Late" and "Let Down" (power ballads), the angry-yet-loving "My Suffering" (rock out!), and the gorgeous "Into You" (think Creed). The album's best track, oddly enough, if the bonus track "Morning After," which mixes an industrial sensibility with an sky-high chorus. In the end, Chester hasn't created another Linkin Park album, but it's a little too close for comfort. And his writing doesn't seem to be separated from the band's style, which casts a pall over any future solo career he might attempt. But don't worry. He is, by no means, dead by any sunrise soon.
