Surprisingly, Linkin Park put out another single for their upcoming May 19th release, One More Light, titled "Battle Symphony". It's release date was leaked a couple days before it came out, so it wasn't an actual surprise when it dropped on March 17th, but still unexpected so soon after "Heavy", the first single (see my review of it here). I think it's an indication that there will likely be at least two more singles released for the album before it officially drops.
The song itself starts off with a much more upbeat tone and vibe than the first single, "Heavy". It also feels a bit more like Linkin Park from the very start, something that Heavy didn't have, which in turn made the latter a bit difficult to swallow at first. The sampled vocal intro is really catchy, and the drop of the beat gets your head nodding along easily.
The verses really showcase this newer side of Chester's vocals that we haven't seen in previous releases. The lyrics and vocals are really at the forefront of this song and "Heavy", and I know that's a main focal point for the album as a whole, so it's definitely something to keep an eye out for with upcoming singles.
The chorus has a real anthemic sound to it, which was expected given the title. It's got some good layering to it, although the most prominent aspects of the instrumental are the synths and the drums. It definitely is similar to "Heavy" in terms of the construction. The lyrics feel a bit better on this track, but still not quite as inspired as they've managed to be in the past.
All in all, it's a continuation of the experimentation that "Heavy" introduced. It's a side of Linkin Park that hasn't really been shown off before, and is something that I know I will still need some time to really learn to appreciate in the same light as their other releases. They've mentioned in interviews that there's going to be a lot of blending of genres on this album, even more so than they've done in the past. I look forward to hearing that, but for now it feels like a lot of "pop" and not a lot of anything else.
I believe it's better than "Heavy", but still not the best that Linkin Park's put out so far.
3.5/5
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