Linkin Parks songs have always been about adapting to multiple meanings to captivate the viewer.
This song IMO has 2 interpretations.
As to fit with the album, which is really a story when put together, it's about Nuclear war. Iridescence being the "Burst of Light that blinded every angel", meaning the explosion of an atomic bomb. The whole song being about the moments before and after an atomic blast.
At the same time, the whole "atomic bomb" theory can be ignored. And the song can be viewed as a song about struggling through life, feeling alone.
"And with the cataclysm raining down, inside's crying save me now, you were there impossibly alone". The whole chorus being about struggling really hard, wether being depressed, or in a tough situation falling down upon you. And having no one to turn to for help.
The bridge being able to see beyond this difficult situation and letting the feelings go, so that you can deal with it better and come out happy.
This is a theme Linkin Park songs follow, often having an obvious theme of struggle and releasing said sruggle, and then underneath having multiple meanings. Breaking The Habit being another great example. First might look like it's about ... well breaking a bad habit, but at deeper look this song is really about suicide and coming back from the edge of it, "I'll paint it on the walls cause im the one...." being the point where the person is like, yeah I'm taking my own life. And then the last chorus being "Now I have some clarity to show you what I mean", saying that in the end, the person figured out a way to reach out and prevent said suicide. I especially like that each of the 3 choruses is a bit different in that song.
This is IMO also what made LP such a great band, their songs appeal to different people in different ways, they leave some room for imagination but certainly have a theme.
Their songs are extremely carefuly and beautifully crafted. Almost every word has a deep meaning. I feel this band, even being as popular as it is, is still underrated from an artistic point of view. Sometimes their songs are simple at surface level, but that is most likely something they chose to do after experimenting with tons of sounds. IDK who the genius might be behind this song/lyric writing, many say it's Mike but I believe the entire band contributed and that they all deserve whole credit for the frankly templates they gave so many bands that today are inspired by them.
Linkin Parks songs have always been about adapting to multiple meanings to captivate the viewer. This song IMO has 2 interpretations.
As to fit with the album, which is really a story when put together, it's about Nuclear war. Iridescence being the "Burst of Light that blinded every angel", meaning the explosion of an atomic bomb. The whole song being about the moments before and after an atomic blast.
At the same time, the whole "atomic bomb" theory can be ignored. And the song can be viewed as a song about struggling through life, feeling alone.
"And with the cataclysm raining down, inside's crying save me now, you were there impossibly alone". The whole chorus being about struggling really hard, wether being depressed, or in a tough situation falling down upon you. And having no one to turn to for help. The bridge being able to see beyond this difficult situation and letting the feelings go, so that you can deal with it better and come out happy.
This is a theme Linkin Park songs follow, often having an obvious theme of struggle and releasing said sruggle, and then underneath having multiple meanings. Breaking The Habit being another great example. First might look like it's about ... well breaking a bad habit, but at deeper look this song is really about suicide and coming back from the edge of it, "I'll paint it on the walls cause im the one...." being the point where the person is like, yeah I'm taking my own life. And then the last chorus being "Now I have some clarity to show you what I mean", saying that in the end, the person figured out a way to reach out and prevent said suicide. I especially like that each of the 3 choruses is a bit different in that song.
This is IMO also what made LP such a great band, their songs appeal to different people in different ways, they leave some room for imagination but certainly have a theme. Their songs are extremely carefuly and beautifully crafted. Almost every word has a deep meaning. I feel this band, even being as popular as it is, is still underrated from an artistic point of view. Sometimes their songs are simple at surface level, but that is most likely something they chose to do after experimenting with tons of sounds. IDK who the genius might be behind this song/lyric writing, many say it's Mike but I believe the entire band contributed and that they all deserve whole credit for the frankly templates they gave so many bands that today are inspired by them.
[Edit: Additional Info]