"Waiting For a Light That Never Comes" Shows Linkin Park Light On Its Creative Feet

I've been an admirer of Linkin Park since 2001's "Hybrid Theory". "In The End" burrowed itself into my spine. They had the foreboding doom palette painted all over their collective canvas. As for Chester Bennington the rawness of his voice was both lethal and completely unaffected, no mask to try and hide behind. "Crawling" was devilishly creepy as the title would have you think it could be. For the most part I've been used to Linkin Park as a nu metal outfit that with Chester leading the way grabs its listeners by the throat and dares them to say "We've had enough!!" "Waiting For a Light That Never Comes", with the help of electro house musician Steve Aoki presents a shade of Linkin Park I never really thought I'd say I'd heard before...a side that hasn't lost its trademark intensity but that you might actually be able to dance along to. On the lyric side Mike Shinoda wades into territory that isn't exactly reinventing the wheel but, at the same time, bears repeating for anyone lacking the will to reclaim their day to day mojo. Basically what's being said is that pressure has no feelings so we Earth people had better batten down the hatches no matter what level of pain the flame happens to be under our posteriors. Mike's rap prowess remains a constant 12 plus years on. He's a gifted rapper in that you're not being distracted by the background spectacles emanating from Aoki's electronica rhythms. You're drawn into the cerebrum of a serious man trying to get your attention lest you crater under whatever weight you're carrying. Meanwhile Chester's voice doesn't have the growl of an "In The End", but what he has maintained is a nice mid register sound that blends seamlessly with Aoki's world of outer limits thunder. The chorus lyrics are the epitome of a futile chase that doesn't happen to have the satisfying payoff a lot of us lust after. "The nights go on waiting for a light that never comes". just the kind of sentiment that'll have you reaching for an entire pint of high saturated fat ice cream. Hopelessness doesn't go away with indulgent dairy products but at least there's a chance it will taste better. The song was recorded for the band's online puzzle-action game LP (short for Linkin Park) Recharge). That's savvy marketing. It has the get caught up in the drama hyperactivity that best lends itself to an action game. As a link in Linkin Park's evolutionary ladder "Waiting For a Light That Never Comes" is an enticing change up that doesn't sacrifice the elements of a uniformly pleasurable Linkin Park effort. Mike's rapping and Chester's undiluted singing band together to form a one-two punch that is uniquely theirs. There have been many worthy rock duos over music history but Mike and Chester have their timing down on this song and the payoff is considerable.