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oh my gosh hi everyone leny Park Tano
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here the internet's busiest music nerd
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and it's time for a review of this new
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Lincoln Park album from zero yes the
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legendary alternative rock music outfit
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Lincoln Park is back with their eighth
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album it's their first Studio full
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length in seven whole years and uh also
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the first they have come out with uh
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that features their brand new lead
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singer Emily Armstrong of the band dead
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Sarah someone who out of the gate was
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proven to be a kind of controversial
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pick uh due to associations that she has
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had with the likes of Danny Masterson uh
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as as well as personal connections to
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the world of Scientology however there
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were minimal attempts from the band to
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really address this and uh it didn't
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really slow down the role of singles uh
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that dropped in the leadup to this
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record which now that it's out is uh
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surprisingly scaned it's just 10 tracks
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and an intro that uh total up to just
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over 30 minutes of runtime somehow the
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band managed to streamline things even
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more since the release of their last
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record one more light which was also on
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the short side and maybe it's the case
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that on this new one the band doesn't
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want to be doing too much or
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overextending themselves because in part
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it does feel like this record exists
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to sort of sell us on the idea that
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Emily Armstrong is a decent replacement
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for the late and beloved Chester
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Bennington one of the most celebrated
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vocalists in modern rock and metal music
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Point Blank period and losing him
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frankly leaves Lincoln Park with one of
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the most unfillable voids uh for any
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band lineup ever but you can't really
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blame them for trying though because
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Lincoln Park is a group uh who cultural
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Legacy and impact still Burns strong to
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this day and they're a band who I'm sure
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would love to be playing their classic
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tracks in front of thousands and
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thousands of adoring fans who want to
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hear them but they can't do it with that
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key part of their lineup gone uh enter
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Emily Armstrong here she comes to fill
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those shoes however uh merely just
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announcing a new live singer isn't
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necessarily going to generate the sort
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of Engagement that a group might be
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seeking if they are trying to stay
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relevant In This Very saturated music
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Market even if you have the kind of
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Legacy that Lincoln Park does and again
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sonically speaking the primary focus on
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this album seems to be uh to convince
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fans that this is the same band despite
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the massive lineup change happening
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before our eyes Lincoln Park is not just
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trying to prove to us that they're the
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same band but also Emily is is in the
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band and getting along with the band
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there's chemistry there as shown by all
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of the funny little intimate banter
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Snippets that play periodically
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throughout the album between tracks
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where uh you know Mike and Emily are
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going back and forth but you know those
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aren't necessary because I feel like the
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results on this record speak for
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themselves because for the most part I
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think Emily's voice really does
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complement Lincoln Park sound given her
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vocal range and capacity for throat
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shredding screams I can very much
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imagine her pulling off those pivotal
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Chester Bennington moments on many a
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classic Lincoln Park Track and she also
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clearly gives the band the ability to
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continue writing vocal Parts uh as they
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always have because in the track list on
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this LP the band musters multiple songs
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that uh feel like again classic Lincoln
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Park hits uh but kind of subtly thrown
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into a blender so they're not making
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exact copies of songs like numb uh as
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well one step closer though if you
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listen closely you'll catch whiffs of
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those types of tracks even the lead
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single on this thing The Emptiness
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machine when the track kicks off you
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really get all of these heavy driving
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alt Rock riffs soaring melodic leads
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from Emily uh Mike Shinoda is also kind
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of leaning more into his singing voice
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as opposed to the rapping and in
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addition to this you get that classic
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Lincoln Park lyricism where they're kind
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of taking a complex emotional issue but
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really reducing it down almost to a
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fault to where the Dynamics being
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described come across as a bit too
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simple as what's happening on this track
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is uh you have a protagonist who is
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acting inauthentically they're not being
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their true selves uh you could almost
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say that their existence is kind of like
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a lie and the reason they're doing this
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is to be accepted is to uh gain
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something is to uh be entered into the
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emptiness machine to fit in I guess you
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could say it's not a mind blowing track
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it's not a terrible track either it just
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sort of feels like it is uh fulfilling
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the bare minimum aesthetically of what
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we would expect from a Lincoln Park song
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no more no less and it's really a matter
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of whether or not uh you want to go into
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an album just to kind of hear the band
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prove that they can relive past glories
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in a way and look as somebody who was a
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big fan when I was a kid of their early
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early stuff I will say there are moments
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on this album where they pull that off
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very well like on the song heavy is the
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crown where I feel like they check a lot
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of those similar boxes uh that the
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emptiness machine does but it goes even
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harder this time Mike is even giving us
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the wrapping again we have those heavy
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jump the up riffs on a climactic
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bridge toward the finish and even though
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this song isn't really breaking any new
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ground for the band I will say I guess I
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would rather hear them do this uh then
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extend themselves into territory that is
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uncomfortable or exposes I guess just a
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lack of actual versatility the song two-
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faced is another deep cut that I feel
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like fits into that classic Lincoln Park
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formula there even bits of this track
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that Reed is you know one step closer to
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the edge to me sure that riffy climax
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with Emily screaming over those guitars
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might seem a little stereotypical or
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even cliche for Lincoln Park at this
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point but uh you know it's still
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impressive that with a new vocalist with
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a different lineup they're still able to
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pull off this exact vibe with that much
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accuracy in fact I would actually say
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this song should have been the lead
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single uh to the record and also with
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the lyrics on this track you're getting
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classic Lincoln Park writing where
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you're getting a very cathartic metal
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Anthem about somebody who's just very
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difficult to deal with or you know a
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very uh uh stressful interpersonal
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dynamic in this case it's somebody who's
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a Toof faced duplicitous that sort of
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thing so yeah for the most part as much
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as Emily's inclusion in into the lineup
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uh may have caused some fans to fret uh
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she holds her own on this record and she
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is most definitely not the weakest link
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in the chain when it comes to this album
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the moments on this record that kind of
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falter are the ones uh where the
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territory feels unfamiliar or the
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songwriting is just kind of scant or
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poorly executed take uh overflow as well
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as cut the bridge uh two tracks that
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oddly to my ears come across as very
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theatrical the background vocals are
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actually even giving me Hamilton Vibes
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even the instrumentals on these tracks
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read as being very melodramatic rock
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opera pieces alt rock opera pieces that
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is and while uh when it comes to Lincoln
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Park's music I do expect at least some
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theatrics and angst uh theater kid metal
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is not really what I I tune in for
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deeper into the record the song Stained
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feels less like a Lincoln Park Song and
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more like a Mike shenoda track featuring
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Emily Armstrong in terms of it being
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like some very bright beat heavy
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industrial pop rock with that metal
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element just being kind of missing and
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while over each other does feature a
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decent vocal performance from Emily on
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the chorus and again classic writing as
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far as the lyrics go because you're kind
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of dealing in this uh NeverEnding series
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of arguments that don't really resolve
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this track also feels kind of out of
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place the record because without Mike
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shenoa there vocally and just kind of
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Emily being on the track it it it
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doesn't really feel like a Lincoln Park
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song especially with the instrumental
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coming across as so Bland not really
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having uh some of those electronic bells
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and whistles that uh their production is
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often kind of covered into signal that
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uh you know you are hearing an ALT metal
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and ALT group uh that is kind of leaning
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into other genre Blends but yeah
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ultimately this track just kind of feels
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feel like I'm listening to another band
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entirely despite this shortcoming I will
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say Emily does vocally smash it when the
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band is trying to go as hard as humanly
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possible like on casualty the most
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aggressive song on the record handly it
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has these fast Punky sludgy guitar riffs
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Emily's vocals are just absolutely
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monstrous and the song is so aggressive
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it's even got Mike in the mix uh
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throwing some growls into it even Mike
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is sounding angry on here and uh you
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know actually actually selling it pretty
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well but yeah while there are some
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decent highlights in this track list
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that does not an amazing album make I
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mean if you whittel this project down to
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its best moments I feel like ultimately
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what you would have is like a great EP
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you essentially have a handful of strong
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radio rockers on here that reconnect
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with the band's classic beloved sound
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and then you have a lot of gaps in
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between that are just not anywhere near
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as gratifying and then it finishes off
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with a very
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unceremonious uh just thankless closer
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that has a sort of ironic message uh the
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track is essentially about uh good
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things going away and being replaced by
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not so good things or just stuff that
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isn't as interesting or as great in
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comparison or at least that's like what
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the chorus would have you believe if you
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were to read directly uh into the words
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there uh all of these surrounding lyrics
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are actually so packed with nonsecular
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cliches that it's difficult to actually
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tell what thematic Direction the song is
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going in as Mike and Emily uh trade bars
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about uh spitting out your medicine that
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you don't want to take uh asking for
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forgiveness putting out fires uh pushing
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people away when they get close uh
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having a hard time laughing when you're
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the joke there's also one lyric that
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stood out to me as maybe the worst on
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the entire album uh where Mike spits a
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bar
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about falling down the stairs while
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everyone stares with all of that being
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said though um look again from zero is
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better than I expected it to be honestly
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there are a handful of very good alt
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Rock anthems on here where Lincoln Park
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uh is sounding like their usual s better
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than they have in years frankly as in my
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opinion a lot of the band's late era
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records have been kind of weak uh in
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that sense you know they're really kind
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of like coming back uh a little bit
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they're really returning to for
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with Emily in the mix but that Glory
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only really lasts the length of a pretty
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brief rock song here and there on this
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already also brief record and I guess it
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remains to be seen if whether or not the
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band can sort of like extend this magic
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out to the length of an entire album uh
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later down the road but I actually
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wouldn't be surprised if at the end of
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the day this album was you know mostly
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just like Assemble L as a means of you
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know kind of like getting the band
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together getting a tour together which
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I'm sure once it happens we absolutely
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kickass and uh you know the fans will
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probably eat it up and go crazy and uh
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yeah for the most part I'm feeling a
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strong for to a light five on this thing
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transition have you given this record a
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listen did you love it did you hate it
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what would you rate it you're the best
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you're the best what should I review
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next hit the like if you like Please
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Bell as well over here next to my head
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hit that up or the link to subscribe to
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