As a huge Linkin Park fan, the announcement and release of this album has been an interesting process. It was announced almost completely out of the blue. The first single, A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES made it’s way online in the form of a stream on XBox Live Music’s page due to raise awareness for the new Facebook game called Recharge. Many tracks had been previously released to those who pre-ordered Linkin Park’s latest album LIVING THINGS, however, now armed with more material and an original song, the LIVING THINGS remix album Recharged is upon us. The album leaked yesterday, which has given me the opportunity to have a listen to the album before release day and these are my personal thoughts on the album.

1. A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES (LINKIN PARK X STEVE AOKI) – A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES is Linkin Park’s first venture into the realm of EDM. It is not a remix, however they have worked alongside EDM pioneer Steve Aoki to create a very solid single. Steve Aoki has done a good job of leading Linkin Park down the EDM path with relatively few hitches. It begins with the band’s rapper / producer / multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda rapping over a steadily paced bassline. It breaks down into Chester Bennington’s calm verse leading us through a build up until we hit a drop where Steve Aoki works his magic. The only quandry I have with the song is, during the bridge, there is a faint guitar part. The part feels like it was purposely wedged in there for the purpose of being able to say tell rock fans that they are still using guitar in their music. Despite this, Linkin Park have pulled off a swell piece of original electronic music.

2. CASTLE OF GLASS (M. Shinoda Remix) – M. Shinoda being Linkin Park’s own Mike Shinoda; The mastermind behind a large portion of Linkin Park’s writing process. Mike is revered by the Linkin Park fan community as being one of the few artists to make a successful remix of the band’s content. He has previously remixed Leave Out All The Rest for the Japanese release of the single, as well as remixing Crawling, Pushing Me Away and By Myself for the band’s previous remix album Reanimation. This particular track begins with a very eerie feel. It introduces Mike Shinoda’s vocals echoing alongside dark woozy synth lines, which slowly builds up with a thumping bass drum. It quickly becomes a very catchy dance piece. It sounds like there has been a deadmau5 influence on the song. As Mike’s known history with EDM extends only to his remix of Leave Out All The Rest, the track is a very coherent dance number.

3. LOST IN THE ECHO (Killsonik Remix) – This track had been previously released on the UKF Dubstep YouTube channel, as well as being used as a b-side on Linkin Park’s single CASTLE OF GLASS and being used on the Australian Tour Edition of their latest album LIVING THINGS. This song sits comfortably into the genre of dubstep. It begins with thirteen seconds of a repeating synth line used in the original song, and as expected, it drops 55 seconds later. The distorted guitar in the build up to the drop, however, perfectly compliments the vocals by Chester Bennington which end in a huge scream which you may be familiar with; Owing to their past in metal. The remix is very cleanly created, with little to no production improvements noticeable throughout the song. If you are a fan of Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, then you will enjoy this.

4. VICTIMIZED (M. Shinoda Remix) – This song was heavily unexpected, especially from Mike Shinoda. VICTIMIZED was the shortest, heaviest song from LIVING THINGS. Mike has transformed the song into an equally as heavy, faster paced piece of mayhem. It combines breakbeat style drumming with hardstyle bass and synth. The song opens with muted breakbeat drumming, before switching to a hardstyle pounding bass drum and then re-introducing the breakbeat drum track, finally adding Chester’s aggressive screams to the mix. Mike has made his own rap verse from the original song into a breakbeat phase in the song before breaking back into an all out frenzy with a fast, heavy … everything.

5. I’LL BE GONE (Vice Remix feat. Pusha T) – Pusha T is currently on the come up. King Push, as he is commonly known, was signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music in 2010 and has been slated as the next big thing ever since. He has just released his debut album My Name Is My Name to huge hype and critical acclaim. As proclaimed by Kanye West himself, “Everything is Pusha T”. The remix has transformed the original track into a modern trap / hip-hop beast. Unfortunately, the introduction to the song is relatively weak. It features the original song with a deep bass and classic hip-hop hi-hats. It is an awkward contrast to Bennington’s soft vocals. This moves forward when the beat drops, welcoming Pusha T to the arena. Mike Shinoda has also provided DJ Vice with a brand new rap verse to place next to Pusha T’s own verse. The rest of the song merges together Chester’s vocals with a synth rendition of the original chords with some elements of hip hop snare fills, and trap production.

6. LIES GREED MISERY (Dirtyphonics Remix) – This remix is what I perceive to be a good definition of the word “remix”. Dirtyphonics, who are signed to Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records, have retained many elements of the original, and worked them into their own reprise of the song. It introduces us with a slightly dirty hip-hop sound and builds up alongside Bennington’s roaring screams: “You did it to yourself”. Once the song has reached the drop, there are some obvious drum & bass influences, as well as melodic house sounds. After the second drop, the song reaches is real climax as it halves the bass drum timing. This song is a really catchy, very well pulled off remix.

7. ROADS UNTRAVELED (Rad Omen Remix feat. Bun B) – This song was previously released via Linkin Park’s remix subscription, alongside the following three tracks. Anyway, Bun B is another hip-hop star on this record. Unfortunately, Rad Omen’s production for this remix is not quite as stunning as Bun B’s verse. Like each of the other hip-hop efforts on Recharged , Rad Omen has attempted to create a platform for Bun B’s verse to appear on, however, it feels extremely out of place in this dance track. The whole song chugs along to the constant bass drum and bouncing synth pad sound effect, which reaches a halt when it comes time for Bun B’s verse to be included. It is all quite an awkward affair. There is not a lot more to be said about this.

8. POWERLESS (Enferno Remix) – This track is deceiving. In the beginning, we hear a muted bass drum, a re-occuring drum fill (reminiscent of Lazy Jay’s Float My Boat) but that all quickly ends and takes us into a dance floor anthem. The body of the song is a powerful dance / house tune. It is relatively generic, but so catchy nonetheless. Expect to hear this one in clubs. Not the most cleanly produced song on the album, but still a good remix.

9. BURN IT DOWN (Tom Swoon Remix) – In a very similar vein to the predecessor track, this is an electro house club hit. It is a very expected remix. The original sounded as though it had been made for the radio, and in the same way, this sounds like it has been made for clubs and DJ mixes. It is a fun song, however very expected.

10. UNTIL IT BREAKS (Datsik Remix) – In the past, I have been very fond of Datsik’s original music. This did give me high expectations for this remix, expectations that were not met. It isn’t as smooth as his original production, for example his hit Swagga. Swagga still sounds very raw and rough, but it everything is very smoothly blended. In this remix, it sounds like Datsik is doing a live sample pad performance. Even the hi-hat sounds don’t sound well mixed. All in all, these track is one of the weaker remixes on the album.

11. SKIN TO BONE (Nick Catchdubs Remix feat. Cody B. Ware & Ryu) – This, like ROADS UNTRAVELED and I’LL BE GONE has been given the hip-hop treatment. Ryu has had a long history with Mike Shinoda. In 2005, Mike begun his hip-hop side project called Fort Minor. He gained two hits singles with the project, Remember The Name and Where’d You Go. Ryu was featured on many of the tracks on the debut (and final) Fort Minor album and also went on tour with Mike and the rest of his crew, Styles Of Beyond. Fort Minor has since been put on the sidelines to make way for Linkin Park and Mike’s art shows and other projects. The production on this one could have been handled better and is not pulled off as well as I’LL BE GONE. The introduction features Cody B. Ware’s verse which, in itself, is actually pretty good. Once he is finished, though, the song hits an awkwardly slow EDM feel, which carries on throughout the rest of the song. We then move on to Ryu’s, badly mixed, verse, which lets you know that Mike and himself may just return for another round Fort Minor album. Despite the bad mixing, Ryu’s verse does still shine through. Mike has donated a second rap verse for the album, which features here before halting.

12. I’LL BE GONE (Schoolboy Remix) – This one would fit in nicely next to the POWERLESS and BURN IT DOWN remixes. It is a relatively generic remix. It combines elements of electro house with dubstep There is nothing too exciting to say about this one, apart from that it is a good remix.

13. UNTIL IT BREAKS (Money Mark Headphone Remix) – This remix ends up all over the place in the best way possible. I can see that many people will find this remix very awkward to listen to as it abruptly switches between genres. It begins with a slow, deep, calm synth wave. It then hits a hip-hop drumbeat before being shoved in the direction of an alternative rock song. They don’t leave the listener here for very long before seeing electronic and then a country reminiscent harmonica and then an industrial inspired … something. The last half of the song rests in a safe, alternative pop area. The scattered genre of the song is exciting and unpredictable. I personally enjoy it a lot, but I can see that it would be an uncomfortable listen for many.

14. A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES (Rick Rubin Reboot) – For those of you who don’t know, Rick Rubin is biggest producer in the game. He has produced albums for Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, JAY Z, and has more recently been co-producing Linkin Park’s records with Mike Shinoda. This remix comes as a huge surprise to many, and the sound will surprise you even more. Right from the beginning, the song shows a very percussion-istic Rick Rubin. It is almost reminiscent of a more calm tribal beat. It is joined by the original chords on piano, and funky bassline (not electronic, mind you). Minus a very liquid keyboard sample, the song remains the same in sound throughout the song, however progressing and regressing in layers of percussion. It was a personally pleasant surprise.

15. BURN IT DOWN (Paul Van Dyk Remix) (Bonus Track) – A well produced electro remix, minus the inclusion of Mike’s rap. It is not something that I think I will be revisiting in the future, but I can understand its merit for those who do enjoy it.

On a whole, Recharged is not as coherent as fans may have hoped. The bar had been set very high previously with Linkin Park’s original remix album Reanimation where all of the songs shared a similar feel whilst all being very unique. The songs all melded into each other making for a very smooth album, which doesn’t quite translate on Recharged. Each track is often quite far removed from the previous making for an incoherent album. Recharged does, however, provide fans with a great collection of remixes to enjoy.