Right after this question first appeared here I voted “they should continue as a 5-piece but after a long thinking I came to conclusion that they should find a new singer. I’ve never seen Mike as a singer and I don’t think he can pull of harder songs which are a part of every LP album (ok, except the last one and even then his voice sounded strange although he’s become a better singer) not to mention every LP concert. It’ll be strange to see a new singer and hard to adapt to him but they need it. After this hard emotional blow this is a day I see a bit of light at the end of a tunnel and am curious to see what the future holds.
The only thing I can be sure about is that whatever they decide to do will be the most unexpected thing that can ever come to mind and that's what makes LP what they are and have always been and that goes for both the lead singer and the direction they'll go with their sound.
Mike doesn't have near the vocal prowess that Chester had but he isn't bad for a rock or adult contemporary style vocalist. Chester was able to cross over in many genres, which is something that Mike doesn't have necessarily. If they can make good songs with the most they can get out of Mike's voice, I'm sure it'll be great still. And Mike has shown that he can improve a lot over time. Just compare In Between to Sorry For Now. That is a pretty dramatic difference.
Oh they'll think "it's Linkin Park" without a problem, it'll just be a Linkin Park they enjoy significantly less. I'll say it again, a huge reason a lot of the bands music did as well as it did was Chester Bennington. A Shinoda only version likely won't tank (Fort Minor sold well), but to think they can just move on and most of the listeners are going to enjoy it just as much with just him is wishful thinking. The hardcores, the one who know Mike is the mastermind behind every album and had 90% of the ideas, writes all the lyrics, they're not going to care. That's not the vast majority of the people who bought Linkin Park albums were. It's not stretch to assume he will probably not be accepted as "the frontman of the band" by those people. Not the way Chester was.
True. I've ssen a video about a Chester memorial in Hungary. They were playing In The End and Numb, and that was about it I guess. I couldn't help but think they didn't know the first thing about the band. I wonder if the casual fan even knows Mike's name. Doubtful.
I would love to see Mike scream, im all for that. It would actually be pretty dope if he sang, rapped, and screamed on a track. I agree with you i think the next album will be pop and nu metal mixed together. But i think it will be for Chester, it could be very dark and heavy mixed with light and beautiful, which i can see.
Linkin Park haven't tried "rock opera" yet. They could write about a person's story (Chester) and revolve the songs towards that character and provide weight as the album progress. That would be a perfect concept album. ATS might be conceptual but that album was vague as a concept record.
I'd like to see them try out some symphonic rock/ symphonic metal, but with that concept you've mentioned. That would be something different as most symphonic metal albums revolve around fantasy, agony and sometimes science and philosophy. It would imply a more constistent use of the keyboards as well as hiring some female guest vocalists to give it that operatic feeling. If they were to go that way, they'd also need to record with an orchestra in the studio. That would be amazing for Linkin Park, but very unlikely considering how hard it would be to make something like that.
Lets be real. Mike isn't gonna scream. If LP are going to go in a heavier direction again, which I doubt, then it will either be without including screamed vocals, feature guests or they will hire a new singer. I'm not expecting future albums to be metal though, and certainly not nu metal.
Going forward I think we should hold the band to different standards/expectations. What I mean is that they don't necessarily need a new singer if the music they make doesn't require it. They could go in an entirely new direction that's not sonically heavy at least in a hard rock sense. They spent nearly two decades trying to showcase that they can't be put into a box. I don't know if Mike's singing ability can hold an entire album on its own, but I'm not against them trying it out. They can make a dream pop album next for all I know, they can go many places.
I hope they can collaborate with Echosmith, CHVRCHES, Dutch Uncles, and Imagine Dragons. Or they can ask Aaron Pauley of OM&M to lend some vocals on some heavy tracks.
If they decide to use screaming, cool... if not, no big deal because it hasn't been a crucial part of LP's music for the past couple years. Not as much as HT and Meteora. When they wrote music for screaming, it was because they had Chester in mind to do it. With his unfortunate passing, it's understandable if they no longer see a need to continue that part of their sound. Mike's part was almost always to counter Chester's aggression.
It would be funny to see Mike collaborate with CHVRCHES after the minor squabble they had a few years ago. Which is a shame because I think both bands could create something potentially great together, I'd love to hear Mike and Lauren Mayberry on a track. I bet even by himself he could make some awesome synthpop.
I love Mike and all but he seems to be a Hypocrite atimes. I think they will still make heavy songs, because they are very good at it and he knows hardcore LP fans love the heavy stuff, just like they are very good at making soft ballads. With Chester not with us anymore, if they make heavy songs it will be very interesting to hear mike on the track. But Like i said i think Mike will bring alot of fort minor vibe into LP now.
Yeah, i think they settled that minor issue already, I guess. As you mentioned above, a Dream Pop record would be great. Synth-y sound would fit especially for Mike's vocal range.
I listened to some CHVRCHES songs and they didn't impress me, but I still have to listen to the rest of it to have a better idea, but vocally I think Chrissy Costanza from Against The Current would be a better choice for LP to do some Synthpop or even Lynn Gunn from PVRIS.
I still hold onto the opinion that i’d like the band to continue. If that’s under the name Linkin Park or they go under Fort Minor or another name altogether and keep it in the Linkin Park universe. If thats a 5 piece or with a new singer thats up to them to decide what they feel is best. Although i do believe that a 5 piece wouldn’t be that far off what we saw anyway. We have had other mike only vocal songs before so it wouldn’t be too much of a shock to the system and i do think the new style of writing they showed on OML fits Mike a lot more especially with Invisible. But its up to them and how they feel. I do think they could mix in old LP and this next (currently) hypothetical chapter at concerts and make it work. It won’t be the same but im sure they can find the right formula to make something new and exciting and those for the music as well.