A Thousand Suns: A Twitter thread as to why this is my favorite #LinkinPark album.

This album couldn't have come at a better time and it was easily my most eagerly awaited cycle. When the promotions started to come out I had never been so excited to hear it.

I literally waited until the release at midnight just to listen to it in full. I didn't do anything else. I just put on my headphones, left a lamp light on and just took it all in. The vocals on this album aren't just powerful, but smooth and spoken with a sense of meaning.

Every track on ATS carries some sort of emotion. The opening two, 'The requiem' and 'The Radiance' pull you in on a unexpected mysterious journey, until J. Robert Oppenheimer speaks of the tragedy of being the creator of the atomic bomb.

Which then leads you to 'Burning In The Skies'. The audio here leads you off from the struggle in Oppenheimer's tone and then like an atomic bomb itself EXPLODES into a powerful guitar solo, much like the accompanying video portrays.

Next comes 'Empty Spaces', 18 seconds of what sounds like the beginning of a war that leads into an incredible song that combines a multitude of styles. Drums, rap, rock, and middle eastern tones set the stage for a strong sense of awareness. 'When They Come For Me'. TTKMF.

Towards the end of the track we here "Oh When They Come for Me, Come for Me, I'll be gone..." The first time we hear the band focus solely on singing together. The track ends with Chester's powerful vocals and leads into 'Robot Boy'.

'Robot Boy' was a bit of a controversial song for me at the time, it didn't jive well for me as it was almost too melodic and it didn't quite fit that Linkin Park sound I expected. Easily the most polarizing song. Live this song was much more impactful.

'Jornada Del Muerto' comes across really well. I'm always drawn to visually seeing the sun rise when it starts. If you're not familiar with what's being said it's "Mochiagete, tokihanashite" which translates to "Lift Me Up, Let Me Go" and is later heard in 'The Catalyst'.

Which brings us to 'Waiting For The End', I LOVE THIS SONG. WFTE gives a sense of flight or at least freedom. "I'm holding on to what I haven't got" speaks VOLUMES to just say whatever's bothering you, just let it go, it's not worth the stress.

Chester's tone is so good, I really wish it was twenty minutes long. I've probably listened to this song more than any other on the album and it's so unbelievably beautiful and once again the 'gang vocals' are back. Everyone sings this one!

Just when things are calm, we jump into 'Blackout'. If you've seen the LPU/LPTV clips you know how hard Chester was going on this track. The guys really put forward a ton of effort on this one and it's really raw. The emotions bring forth your attention quick.

There's a multitude of meanings to this track, the obvious is still war, "I'm stuck in this bed you made" and "Fuck it, are you listening?" can imply politicians just don't care, till Mike comes in and the track makes more sense, bombs 'floating down in fields of paper white'.

I really like 'Blackout' too cause it has these underlying gamer tones. It could be about a relationship. With it you reach this midpoint that breaks down into a sense of hope. When you're at the highest struggle, 'come down, far below'. Friends are here to help.

BTW loved the lyrics in the demo, 'a little bit acid rain, a lack of motivation.

Anyway moving on, 'Wretches and Kings' starts with a speech from Mario Savio and the song tells the story how the middle class has had enough of the 'kings' aka politicians.

It's also extremely good in the sense it gets the crowd moving. Joe comes in at the end with a small scratch segment that is iconic and reminds us of 'Cure for The Itch'

'Wisdom Justice and Love' features Martin Luther King Jr's "Beyond Vietnam" speech. This was his first anti-war speech which draws comparisons between the war and African-American civil rights. It then blends into 'Iridescent'.

'Iridescent' describes life in the aftermath of nuclear war and like 'Blackout' can be interpreted in more ways than one. But it does provide a profound sense of relief as the band sings 'let it go' and then comes back to the chorus 'do you feel cold and lost in desperation?'

Another beautifully done song. The Bhagavad Gita is suggested here. Love will live.

And then comes 'Fallout'. This is a profound moment to the album as it give a sense that we're almost to the end. "Swimming in the smoke, of bridges I have burned..." these are lyrics from BITS.

With a robotic Mike, we are reminded of everything we already listen to up until this point and the meaning of each track. Welcome to...

'The Catalyst'

I mentioned other songs on the album as beautiful, but 'The Catalyst' takes the cake and reigns them all. Coming in at 5 Mins, 40 sec this song could go on forever and I would never ever get tired of it.

Literally the first verse hits you hard with tones of "There are positive days ahead, but we are a flaw species. We are what we are but we can figure out a way to be better." It's so, so incredibly powerful much like the atomic bomb and nuclear wars.

"Lift me up,
Let me go..."

It's so simple but it's so amazing. Those six simple words tie into the rest of the song when it blends together in the last minute or so. One of the greatest, if not the greatest Linkin Park song. Period.

Lastly, we come to 'The Messenger' and Dave described it in a interview "The end is just a breath of movement and a step away from (the rest of the album). It's really stripped back and more personal."

It's quite literally, the perfect ending to an amazing album.