There were few deaths recently that have rocked the world harder than the unfortunate passing of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. And the fact that he took his own life, made it that much harder for people, and undoubtedly the hardest for the people that were closest to him. Dealing with that immense loss and still trying to celebrate his life and all of the amazing times together is what drove the group’s co-founder, Mike Shinoda, to his first solo offering, Post Traumatic. As expected the album is full of grief and remorse as he publicly tries to cope with the pain and unanswered questions. But it’s not all sorrow, there are more celebratory numbers as I alluded to earlier. Unfortunately though, the actual music present here is nowhere near as compelling as the commendable reasons and sentiment driving its release. His psuedo-rap is just plain awful and grating at best, and the songwriting didn’t leave me walking away with anything meaningful. Only the more rock leaning and melodic songs deliver on anything really of note and there’s just a few of those moments on here. Post Traumatic is a commendable effort by Mike Shinoda and certainly a cathartic one for him but the actual music is nowhere near as compelling.
Come, come again, feel it when it’s flooding in
Woke up knowing I don’t have to be numb again
Starting line scratched out, I don’t have to run again
Give-a-fucks maxxed out, tell ’em I’m not coming in– “Can’t Hear You Now”
Have you heard Post Traumatic? What’d you think about it? Did it leave you with any meaningful takeaways? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions for the album.
