Recharged (Linkin Park album)

Background and promotion

Recharged was officially announced on the band's Facebook page on September 12, 2013, the same day that their new game, LP Recharge, was released. The band revealed that the album is a remix album, featuring reinterpretations of ten of the songs from Living Things, as well as including their new song with Steve Aoki, "A Light That Never Comes" (and a remix of it). Five of the remixes were previously released as part of a pre-order promotion for Living Things, called Living Things Remixed (following the release of Living Things, pre-order customers received a remix of a song from the album each month for eight months). The band also announced that there will be a limited-edition version of the album, available exclusively from their website. It features an interactive 3D sculpture based on the Living Things album artwork, a 48-page art booklet, both Living Things and Recharged albums, and a magnetic stylus that can interact with the liquid solution in the 3D sculpture to create unique patterns and designs are included. Pre-orders began on September 16.

In regards to the song "A Light That Never Comes" and the album, Mike Shinoda said:

"I think this song and release show where we're at right now. Making the song with Steve, premiering it through the Recharge Facebook game, and debuting it via Microsoft's Xbox Music—I think it's all indicative of our band's commitment to experimentation and pushing boundaries."

On September 13, Shinoda made another post on the band's Facebook page, revealing the track list and talking about the album:

"After Reanimation, I told many people I would never put together another album of remixes...but as I began to hear all the amazing reinterpretations of LIVING THINGS, I had to change my mind. The result, RECHARGED, is definitely worth it. I can't wait for you guys to hear this amazing project, with contributions by Pusha T, Datsik, KillSonik, Bun B, Money Mark, and others. Our new song with Steve Aoki, A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES is on the album as well, plus a special remix of the new song by the inimitable Rick Rubin."

In that same post, Shinoda revealed that pre-orders from the band's website will receive an exclusive digital download of Paul van Dyk's remix of "Burn It Down", which was also previously released as part of Living Things Remixed.

As of October 24, 2013, the album can be heard in its entirety on MTV.com, five days before it was officially released.

On January 21, 2014, a new EP was released entitled, "A Light That Never Comes (Remixes)" online.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Recharged received an average score of 49 based on 4 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. NME called Recharged "further proof" that dubstep and EDM is nu metal's successor, and described the songs as "nosebleed drum’n’bass, 8-bit blips and oversized dancehall bass". They go on to add "Rick Rubin’s final Primal Scream-gone-hip-hop remix of "A Light That Never Comes" saves Recharged from disaster, but you might need resuscitating after this lot"

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it 3 out of 5 stars, declaring that "This is the kind of album that appeals primarily for hardcore fans looking for a new spin on the familiar; in other words, this is unlikely to convert EDM listeners to the pleasures of Linkin Park."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 33,000 copies in the United States. In its second week, the album sold 11,000 more copies. In its third week, the album sold 5,000 more copies bringing its total album sales to 49,000. By mid-2014, the album is said to have reached 111,000 sales in US. The album did more business in 2014 as compared to 2013. It became the eighth best selling Dance/Electronic Album and twenty-fifth best selling Hard Rock Album.

Personnel

Original Living Things credits adapted from Living Things liner notes.