Is the backlash against Linkin Park justified?

Linkin Park. Photo by James Minchin

There has been a lot of backlash coming from fans of Linkin Park after their latest single “Invisible” was officially made available from the band’s soon-to-be-released studio album ‘One More Light.’

The negative criticism comes from the fact that “Invisible” is probably the least rock-sounding track ever released by Linkin Park. I myself listened to it numerous times and I can’t help but have the same opinion that it is, indeed, almost void of anything that can be remotely classified as rock.

But even though we are longtime fans of Linkin Park, who are we to judge them or even question why they have decided to go that route? After all, in retrospect, the first time that the majority of us got introduced to their music was over 17 years ago when Linkin Park made their major label debut in ‘Hybrid Theory’. Naturally, since that time, it should be expected that things do change.

I have always believed–and I hope that no one will steal this line of mine again–that the music of artists will always reflect the changes they themselves go through whether those be in their personal lives or in their professional lives or both. So, in a sense, as fans, we ride along with them in their musical journey. As our favorite artists like Linkin Park grow older, we get older as well and we should respect their call if they so choose not be as heavy and aggressive sounding as they were in their younger years.

Look at it this way. Can you imagine if Linkin Park played the same kind of music to this day that they did so many years ago when we were still in our pre-teens and teens?

For sure, we would be hearing people make snide remarks such as, “They have not grown as artists” or “They are stuck in a creative slump.” And so on. From any perspective of cynics, there will never be anything right or good seen by them of Linkin Park because cynics will always believe what they want to believe and there is no way of reasoning with them.

It is this simple. If you do not like Linkin Park’s new music, then don’t listen to it. If you like it, listen to it and continue supporting them.

Linkin Park has been around long enough that they have already amassed a lengthy catalog of songs that fans can always choose from and revisit. So I do not think one track that gets a negative reaction from many will “hurt” Linkin Park and the legacy they will surely leave behind in the future.

Linkin Park. Photo by James Minchin

Linkin Park is a time-tested band. They do not need to prove anything anymore to anyone when it comes to their music. Chester Bennington and the rest of Linkin Park are now simply making the kind of music that they themselves enjoy and want to perform.

They have earned that right.