‘Let MEEOOWWWT, set me free, I know all the secrets you keep, AYYYEEE, I won’t be, I won’t be your casualty!!’

I wasn’t going to get this live album… but then I heard some of the songs and thought they were incredible, so here we are! Recorded in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2024, this is the soundtrack to the documentary film Unshatter, which I haven’t yet seen. The film, named after a song (which isn’t actually on the soundtrack), chronicles the return of Linkin Park and includes some performances from this concert. Unlike a studio album, I don’t need to listen to it repeatedly until my opinions are formed, because I already know the songs! The soundtrack does not include all the songs from the concert, however I checked out the performances which are on YouTube and the only song I would’ve added is ‘New Divide’.

The From Zero songs are sounding fantastic, especially ‘Casualty’, ‘Heavy is the Crown’ and ‘Over Each Other’. Some of the classics sound great with Emily’s vocals as well, such as ‘Papercut’, ‘Faint’ and ‘Somewhere I Belong.’ I liked that ‘Lost’ was turned into a piano ballad, but it was too short.

I’m not keen on the versions of ‘Numb’ and ‘In the End’, because they’re mostly sung by the crowd. I’m not faulting the crowd; they are super-keen and energetic. I just don’t really like to hear less of the singers and more of the crowd. It’s acceptable to me for the odd line of a song; for example on this album we have the ‘I won’t be ignored’ scream on ‘Faint’, some of the first verse of ‘Waiting for the End’, a little of ‘What I’ve Done’, and the last line of ‘Leave Out All the Rest’. When it comes to the most iconic anthems, they’re the guaranteed singalongs, they mean a lot to people and are important to the band’s legacy, but I prefer to hear the singers giving it their all, with the crowd singing along, rather than encourage the crowd to take over. I’d skip the songs, but the album wouldn’t feel complete without them, and if you have been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a completist.

I really like the album and I hope the band are going to have a well-earned rest from touring and promoting; but an album of new songs would, I am sure, be eagerly anticipated by many fans.