MIKE SHINODA | Post Traumatic | Album Review

The grieving process is tough especially when you lose a longtime acquaintance that has impacted millions of people in the biggest way possible. This can easily apply to Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda. Being apart of one of the last widely popular rock bands music has ever seen and having a rather large list of works behind him, Shinoda and his other bandmates were hit just as hard as the rest of us when their singer Chester Bennington left the world only a couple of months after releasing their most recent disc. It is still a tragedy that many of us can't believe ever took place and each of us are grieving a certain way, including within the members of Linkin Park themselves. One thing that's certain is how Mike Shinoda has carried himself since his friend passed away, and that is not something many of us will be brave enough to accomplish in such a situation. He has truly kept himself together, but that doesn't mean the confusion, sadness, and animosity has ceased to exist, showcased to the world in Shinoda's first solo venture titled "Post Traumatic". Creative people like Shinoda are prone to writing how they're feeling on the inside after tragedy hits them, and it's succinct that this is the route he has taken across a good majority of this record. I don't necessarily see this as a disc of singles per se even if there were pre-released songs that teased this album like "Crossing A Line" and "Over Again". This is more of a therapeutic affair, and that truth reveals itself throughout "Post Traumatic". 

Although there are certainly moments on this album that are not as strong as others, the first album from Linkin Park's main emcee is undeniably a case where every track on this sixteen-cut affair has a purpose that can easily be respected, and that includes the instrumental interlude entitled "Brooding" that appears in the first half of this album. It's very clear when breaking down these cuts that they obviously have a concept behind them, proven on "Over Again" which was written before and after the tribute show that took place at the Hollywood Bowl and documents Shinoda's feelings about getting back onstage and delivering the concert. Several tracks like "Place To Start", "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore", "About You", and "World's On Fire", among others, are songs that take you through what Shinoda is going through and are executed in an honest way. It's important to mention that this album is not a sob story of any kind about how depressed someone can be about a loved one dying as much as it is feelings that are going through one's head during a grieving process. There are a few songs that don't really seem to directly reference Shinoda's struggles on this disc and there are guest appearances from the likes K. Flay, Chino Moreno of Deftones, and Machine Gun Kelly on tracks such as "Make It Up As I Go" and "Lift Off", and both tracks deliver exceptionally great rhythm as well as good performances and even writing, especially in the song "Lift Off" which fits in interesting bars about Jared Leto and Bambi's mother. 

With all of that stated, "Post Traumatic" has a ton of potential to draw in many fans of Linkin Park and Fort Minor even if the album is not under either of those names. I do have to admit this album has some weaker songs like "Crossing A Line" and "Ghosts" but even with these tracks I still can see plenty of positives. It's a given that if I'm stating that the weaker tracks still fit in context with the disc and make the album as a whole stand on its strong side throughout, you know for a fact that I'm enjoying the album. There's not really any major flaws I can point out about this album other than ones involving preference and personal taste, and for most of the album, you will mostly be given home runs. It's not known exactly if Mike Shinoda will continue his solo career after this outing, or if a miracle causes the other members of Linkin Park to come back to writing and recording new music, or even if Fort Minor will return for a new album. One thing I can confidently say is that Mike Shinoda has successfully given fans insight of what is going on while giving us a great mixture of genres such as hip-hop and even rock in some areas. Overall, I don't see how any fans polarized by Linkin Park in their last four albums will come out of this album feeling the same way. It's a tad different from Shinoda's other works but it still has material on it that fans can relate to big time.

RATING: 7/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.