10 Perfect Rock Songs Wasted On Terrible Albums

Most people who heard the first rumblings of Linkin Park on songs like Heavy were rightfully worried about an album like One More Light. After returning to their rock roots on their previous effort The Hunting Party, this album felt like it was a betrayal from Linkin Park’s core identity, making songs more in line with the pop format and basic tracks that had more in common with people like Katy Perry than Alice in Chains. There was a lot of pain going on underneath the surface though, and the title track is one of the best examples of Chester wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

Originally written about someone at their label who passed away, One More Light is a perfect tribute song to anyone that you’ve lost along the way, trying to deal with the fact that you’ll never see this person again and trying to make peace with continuing on without them. It’s a very sensitive topic for sure, but the subtlety of this track is the right approach, with Chester sounding angelic on the chorus and the soft guitars giving a soft bed for the rest of the track to come alive.

Then again, it’s also more than a little bit hard to watch the fallout that happened after this track was released, with Chester passing away a few months later by his own hand. It may not have been written with him in mind, but every time Linkin Park fans hear a song like this, we will always think of Chester’s memory, and that’s more powerful than any chunky guitar riff could hope to be.