Linkin Park's Reanimation is one of my guilty pleasures, because of the many negative reactions towards it. I, however, like it really much, just as I like my
Gorilla and
Eminem.
At the moment I have
Cannibal Corpse’s “
Murder Worship” on, and I shall switch over to Reanimation to help me writing my review.
Reanimation was LP’s remix of Hybrid Theory, their opus that brought them the success they now have. After the success of HT, Linkin Park milked the songs out more with making a remix album. Not only does this contain the 12 songs of HT, but also some older songs: High Voltage and My December.
All the songs on this CD are remixed, making it more of an electronica feeling. Hell, sometimes it is even very close to industrial metal. Rappers got signed to feature in songs, and even some metal vocalists joined to sing some lines. Linkin Park even used other instruments than the usual synths, drums and guitars. In the opening track and the final track, a violin is beautifully portrayed by LP’s bassist, Phoenix. Although there are some other influences, most of the time the album feels as a mix between electronica and rap.
Wth>You and
By_Myslf are heavily industrial influenced with the numerous synths and distorted guitars. They both feature a rapper in the middle, and a nice harmonizing synthesizer that overlaps the guitar part perfectly.
Plc.4 Mie HÆd does the same, although the first part is very boring and sloppy.
Pts.Of.Athrty,
Rnw@y and
Frgt/10 have not changed much, the same goes for
Ppr:Kut, yet Papercut has a dark sphere around it, making it very suitable.
Not everything is industrial based though.
Enth E Nd is a very poor constructed rap song, with the soothing piano loop replaced with an annoying piano that listens as a pizzicato violin; very short tones, and very annoying. Just like [b]Enth E Nd[b],
H! Vltg3 is a rap song. This time, LP (or any other guy, it doesn’t matter) decided to add a Kanye West feeling, with the soul-ish instruments and the various “oooh’s” from a background choir. The song, just as it’s ancestor is boring and feels like filler.
My_Dsmbr is changed from a emotional, sad piano driven song to a trip-hop song. It’s very good and showcases how the band could change the song that much. The same goes for
P5hng Me A*wy, which however has a great climax.
Kyur4 TH Ich was probably the hardest song to remix, since it’s already a fully electronic song. Hahn however did a great job.
The thing that probably downgraded the album too much are the skits. Granted,
Opener is a great way to open the album, and
NtrMssion is not bad (although it would be better if it would feature a song), the telephone calls and
X-ecutioner Style feel unnecessary. Although the phone calls are very short, thus fast gone, the
X-ecutioner track is as boring as it will ever be. The remixes feel stupid and there is not a single enjoyable moment in it.
And just like most other bands, LP felt the need to end with a big climax.
1Stp Klosr is a much better remix than it’s ancestor, and features an ambient intro for almost 2 minutes. The best thing of this album however is the remix of
Krwlng. The song starts with the same violin that started the CD, and goes over into the chorus. The vocal harmonizing is outstanding, and I never thought the vocalist of Staind would ever work that out. Just as
P5hng Me A*wy,
Krwlng is mainly based on trip-hop beats, with an outstanding climax to come. The best song on the CD, I would say.
Although a completely new studio CD, wouldn’t be bad either for this place, I think that Reanimation is far from being a failure. It’s very enjoyable, and great to see how LP managed to make every old song more unique. Of course, not all the guest appearances are good, but most of them are decent at best. The album starts and ends with the violin, and between that there are electronic songs to be found. I recommended this for people who love things as
Massive Attack but also people who love rap will rather enjoy this. Or maybe those who have guilty pleasures, just like me, will like it.
Top 6
1. Krwlng
2. P5hng Me Aw*y
3. Wth/You
4. By_Mslf
5. MyDsmbr
6. PprKut
Songs that I don’t care for:
- All the skits
- H! VLTG3
- Enth E Nd
