Music / One More Light

Why is everything so heavy?

I hear my battle symphony
All the world in front of me
If my armor breaks
I'll fuse it back together
Battle symphony
Please just don't give up on me
And my eyes are wide awake

— "Battle Symphony"

One More Light is the seventh studio album by Linkin Park, released on May 19, 2017 by Warner (Bros.) Records. It is their last album with lead singer Chester Bennington, who committed suicide two months after the album's release.

Production for this album began in 2015 immediately after the tour for the band's previous album, The Hunting Party. In the process, they solicited contributions from outside writers and producers, and recorded the vocals first and the instruments afterward, both divergences from the processes of their previous albums. The result is an album that pulls a complete 180 from its predecessors and dives headfirst into contemporary pop, with no metal and few rock elements present.

Although the band was no stranger to negative responses towards their entire post-Hybrid Theory discography, the album's lead single "Heavy" caused an especially strong reaction from audiences due to its pop sound bearing no resemblance at all to the band's early material. Three additional promotional singles — "Battle Symphony", "Good Goodbye", and "Invisible" — confirmed One More Light to be a pop album in the time leading to its release. The album opened to negative reception from fans and many critics, which Bennington vocally did not appreciate. However, it still debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's fifth album to do so.

On July 20, 2017 (coincidentally the day the video for "Talking to Myself" was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel), Bennington was found dead in his home at the age of 41, one week before the band was due to begin the second half of their tour for the album. His death was ruled as a suicide, which quickly caused a re-evaluation of both the album and his response to its initial negative reception. The remainder of the tour was cancelled, and a tribute concert was held for him in October of that year. Although the band has expressed some interest in making new music without Bennington, they have been on indefinite hiatus since his death.

In February 23, 2024, an outtake from the album sessions, name "Friendly Fire" was released.

Tracklist:

1. "Nobody Can Save Me" (3:45)
2. "Good Goodbye" (featuring Pusha T and Stormzy) (3:31)
3. "Talking to Myself" (3:51)
4. "Battle Symphony" (3:36)
5. "Invisible" (3:34)
6. "Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (2:49)
7. "Sorry for Now" (3:23)
8. "Halfway Right" (3:37)
9. "One More Light" (4:15)
10. "Sharp Edges" (2:58)

Principal members:

• Chester Bennington - Lead and backing vocals
• Mike Shinoda - Keyboards, backing and lead vocals, rap vocals on "Good Goodbye"
• Brad Delson - Guitar
• Dave "Phoenix" Farrell - Bass
• Joe Hahn - Sampling, programming
• Rob Bourdon - Drums

Who cares if one more trope goes out? Well, I do:

• An Aesop: The title track pretty much states the reflection of losing someone you care about and how you still care for them in a world of a million, also reflecting on those who probably don't know said person but still caring for them as "one more light in a sky of a million stars".
• Boastful Rap: In "Good Goodbye", in Mike's only rap verse on the album:
  Live from the rhythm, it's
  Something wild, venomous
  Enemies trying to read me
  You're all looking highly illiterate
  Blindly forgetting if I'm in the mix
  You won't find an equivalent
  I've been here killing it
  Longer than you've been alive, you idiot
• Bravado Song: "Battle Symphony"
  If my armor breaks, I'll fuse it back together
• BSoD Song: "Heavy" stands out:
  I don't like my mind right now
  Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary
  Wish that I could slow things down
  I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic
  And I drive myself crazy
  Thinking everything's about me
  Yeah I drive myself crazy
  'Cause I can't escape the gravity
• Demoted to Extra: Brad and Phoenix. Though Brad is a co-producer with Mike, the guitars are buried in the mix on most songs, as this album focuses more on electronics.
• Empty Chair Memorial: Mentioned in the title track.
  In the kitchen, one more chair than you need
• Grief Song: The title track deals with deaths of loved ones in general.
• It's All About Me: Chester is aware of having this mentality in "Heavy".
• Later-Installment Weirdness: The final Linkin Park album (with Chester, at least) is a contemporary pop album that bears little resemblance to anything the band has done before. This and its immediate predecessor also have no turntable work.
• Lighter and Softer: Musically, at least. It is far poppier and lighter than their earlier work, but their lyrical themes remain just as heavy.
• Lyrical Dissonance: A lot of it, starting right at the beginning, on "Nobody Can Save Me":
  I'm dancing with my demons
  I'm hanging off the edge
  Storm clouds gather beneath me
  Waves break above my head
  Head-first hallucination
• New Sound Album: A full-blown pop album!
• Precision F-Strike: Kiiara's verse on "Heavy", a song that deals with mental health issues, has the album's only use of "fuck":
  It's not like I make the choice
  To let my mind stay so fucking messy
• Swapped Roles: Mike sings and Chester raps on "Sorry for Now". It's usually the other way around.
• Textless Album Cover: The text is on a round sticker on the shrink-wrapped physical edition.
• Title Track: This is the only Linkin Park album to have a title track.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: "Halfway Right" has Chester recalling a time he woke up driving his car.
• You Are Not Alone:
  • "Invisible":
    If you felt invisible, I won't let you feel that now
  • The title track:
    Who cares if one more light goes out?
    Well, I do.

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You better have some place to go, 'cause you can't trope back around here. Good goodbye.

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