Linkin Park

The Hunting Party

Chester Bennington – lead vocals

Mike Shinoda – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard, piano

Brad Delson – lead guitar

Dave Farrell – bass

Joe Hahn – turntables, samples, keyboard, programming

Rob Bourdon – drums, percussion

          Linkin Park has been a household name for a very long time. The band was founded in 1996 when three high school friends joined forces after graduation. They recruited three more to round out the outfit. The band, called Xero, began recording and producing tracks in a makeshift bedroom studio. The result was a 4-track demo, but no record deals came from it. After a line-up change and a name change they went to work again. This time the result was a self-titled EP titled Hybrid Theory in 1999. However, another name changed occurred and the help of Jeff Blue, the band was signed to Warner Bros Records in 1999. The next year the band released their major label debut and included several singles. The band made a remix of the album and through in some extra tracks in 2002. The band’s second album Meteora arrived in 2003 and hit number 1 on the charts. The album was littered with singles and by the end of the year sold nearly three million copies. The band’s third album Minutes to Midnight arrived in 2007 while the forth (Living Things) hit in 2010. Linkin Park is back once more with the newest addition to their release, The Hunting Party. The album is 12 tracks strong and gets going with “Keys To The Kingdom.” The track begins with an odd intro that moves into the bulk of the track. It’s a fast moving track with screaming vocals that you can hardly understand. The music is spotty too. There are places where it sounds good, but other it’s a jumbled mess. They end the track rather oddly as well and have it moving right into “All For Nothing.” The second track calms the album down a lot compared to the first number. There is a nice blend of rap style vocals and clean vocals. There is also a nice instrumental section in the offering. The vibe of this track is sweet and it makes it hard to ignore. It’s an awesome number. It again, like the opening track, ends with a strange outro that rolls into the next tune. “Guilty All The Same” rolls along with another intro that draws your attention very easily. It gives up a nice mixture of vocal styles once again and it really sounds like old school LP. It has a great presents to it and it’s easy to get into. I love the vibe of the track. There is a long outro for the track as well, which is starting to become a theme. “The Summoning” is a short little thing that holds no value. “War” is the next real track up. It’s a hard track with demanding vocals. The music is extremely meaty with an onslaught of sounds during the short tune. It will get a crowd stirring up for sure. It’s a short tune that packs a punch. “Wastelands” wraps up the first part of the album. It opens up with a nice set of rap vocals before the clean set comes in for the chorus. They keep going back and forth throughout the track. It just rolls along with ease and the transitions are flawless. “Until It’s Gone” is a solid track with killer music and a great message lyrically. I love the vocals as they display the presents around the music. The arrangement of the tune is superb and the transitions are flawless once again. This tune has a great vibe. It’s an all-star fro the moment you first hear it. “Rebellion” offers up a fast paced guitar that plays the same cords for most of the verses. They do change up during the chorus. The drums are solid while the vocals hit their marks. The transitions are pretty clear and they add a nice little change of pace around minute 3. The track has a nice vibe and can see it getting some playing time. “Mark The Graves” offers up a cool little intro, actually it feels like 2 nearly 3 different ones. The vocals finally arrive late in the song while a guitar plays some notes in the background. The rest of the band finally chimes back in. the drums are steady and they insert a thick bass line that hits you out of nowhere. It’s an odd sounding track, but it keeps you around. “Drawbar” begins extremely slow and turns out to just be a transitional, instrumental track. “Final Masquerade” keeps the record slow. The tune sounds pretty good with a nice set of vocals and lyrics. They do repeat some, but it doesn’t sound that bad. The music just seems to sweep along. However, the drums have a little up tick in some parts. “A Line In The Sand” begins with a mini storm in the background and the intro sounds like a perfect way to come out of a break during a show. The track stays slow for a little while longer after the vocals come in, but business picks up after awhile. The vocals still stay relatively slow while you hear a strong drum presents. It’s a nice little number to end the album on. It gives up everything that Linkin Park has to offer. Overall the album is pretty good. I really liked several tracks. They were a couple that I could have done without and a couple others strike me as one and done tunes. Musically it seems like they tried to hard in a few tunes, but others it all comes together with ease. Transitions are clean and the gang vocals take control in a few. The music seems to step up in spots and take over which is nice. The balance is there and the lyrical writing comes back like normal. It’s a great effort with checking out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Tracks to Watch:

All For Nothing, Guilty All The Same, Until It’s Gone

Track List:

1. Keys To The Kingdom
2. All For Nothing
3. Guilty All The Same
4. The Summoning
5. War
6. Wastelands
7. Until It’s Gone
8. Rebellion
9. Mark The Graves
10. Drawbar
11. Final Masquerade
12. A Line In The Sand

Website (s): www.linkinpark.com