Like the first
Linkin Park
remix album --
Reanimation
, which arrived over a decade prior --
Recharged
offers reworked versions of an entire LP, this time 2012's
Living Things
. Ten years is a long time and in 2013, it is perfectly acceptable for a hard rock band to give themselves over entirely to electronic dance music -- or, more accurately, EDM, and, in particular, its most visible variation, dubstep (in 2011,
Korn
did a whole new album of dubstep, in fact). There are a couple of big names here --
Pusha T
shows up on "I'll Be Gone,"
Dirtyphonics
remixes "Lies Greed Misery,"
Money Mark
comes in for "Until It Breaks" -- but a lot of this is kept in-house, with
Mike Shinoda
doing a few remixes and LP producer
Rick Rubin
"rebooting" "A Light That Never Comes." EDM and
isn't necessarily an awkward fit -- especially for
, which often showcased their elastic, atmospheric side -- but it's also true that this is the kind of album that appeals primarily to hardcore fans looking for a new spin on the familiar; in other words, this is unlikely to convert EDM listeners to the pleasures of
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine