- We are the fortunate ones
Who've never faced opression's gun
We are the fortunate ones
Imitations of rebellion—"Rebellion"
The Hunting Party is the sixth studio album by Linkin Park, released on June 13, 2014, by Warner (Bros.) Records. It is their first album since 2003's Meteora not to be produced by Rick Rubin.
This album marks a departure from the experimental and electronic rock influences of the band's previous two albums, A Thousand Suns and Living Things, and returns to the metal sound of their earlier releases. It was reportedly a statement by the band against mainstream rock acts of the time, who were accused by band member Mike Shinoda of "trying to be other bands and playing it safe". To this end, the album's title was inspired by the band seeing themselves as the party that is hunting to bring back the energy of rock.
This is also the band's first album to feature collaborations with other artists, including guest appearances from Helmet's Page Hamilton, System of a Down's Daron Malakian, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Rakim.
Tracklist:
- "Keys to the Kingdom" (3:38)
- "All for Nothing" (3:33)
- "Guilty All the Same" (5:55)
- "The Summoning" (1:00)
- "War" (2:11)
- "Wastelands" (3:15)
- "Until It's Gone" (3:53)
- "Rebellion" (3:44)
- "Mark the Graves" (5:05)
- "Drawbar" (2:46)
- "Final Masquerade" (3:37)
- "A Line in the Sand" (6:35)
Musicians:
Linkin Park- Chester Bennington - Lead vocals
- Mike Shinoda - Lead and rap vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Brad Delson - Guitar, backing vocals
- Dave "Phoenix" Farrell - Bass, backing vocals
- Joe Hahn - Sampling, programming
- Rob Bourdon - Drums
Additional Musicians
- Page Hamilton - Co-lead vocals and guitar on "All for Nothing"
- Rakim - Rap vocals on "Guilty All the Same"
- Daron Malakian - Guitar on "Rebellion"
- Tom Morello - Guitar on "Drawbar"
In the tropelands of today:
- Alternate Album Cover: The vinyl edition
◊ has an alternate take of the archer image. - Break-Up Song: "Final Masquerade" is about reaching the end of a relationship compromised by both parties holding secrets."We said it was forever but then it slipped away,
Standing at the end of the final masquerade." - Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mentioned in Rakim's rap in "Guilty All the Same""Even corporate hands is filthy
They talk team and take the paper route
All they think about is bank accounts, assets and realty" - Darker and Edgier: This is Linkin Park's heaviest post-Meteora album, if not their heaviest overall.
- Epic Instrumental Opener:
- "Guilty All the Same" takes over a minute and a half for the vocals to start.
- "Mark the Graves" has a barely audible whisper at the end of the first minute and takes a little under half a minute more for the vocals to come in properly.
- Epic Rocking:
- "A Line in the Sand" (6:35) is one of only two straight examples of this on a Linkin Park album (the other being "The Little Things Give You Away").
- "Guilty All the Same" (5:55) is only a few seconds short of qualifying.
- Fading into the Next Song: Most of the songs are linked by samples. "Final Masquerade" fades directly into "A Line in the Sand".
- Genre Roulette: Firmly on the rock side of things, but still present. This album experiments with thrash metal ("Guilty All the Same", "A Line in the Sand"), punk rock ("War"), progressive metal ("Mark the Graves"), an instrumental jam ("Drawbar"), and Minutes to Midnight-esque alternative rock ("Until It's Gone", "Final Masquerade"), in addition to returning to nu metal.
- Longest Song Goes Last: "A Line in the Sand" is the last song and one of only two Epic Rocking songs Linkin Park has done.
- Lyrical Cold Open: Album opener "Keys to the Kingdom" starts with Chester screaming the chorus almost without warning (with just a split second of feedback that's easy to miss).
- New Sound Album: Back to Nu Metal, though with a bigger emphasis on Alternative Metal and Hard Rock than the first two albums.
- Revisiting the Roots: A return to Nu Metal after two primarily electronic albums.
- Rock is Authentic, Pop is Shallow: Rock and rap are authentic, according to Rakim in "Guilty All the Same""Like authentic hip-hop and rock,
'Til pop and radio and record companies killed me" - Take That!: "Rebellion" is one to those who rebel against a state of affairs that isn't too bad in comparison with others.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: "Guilty All the Same" is a straight-up rock number until Rakim shows up with a rap verse.
- 'Cause you don't know what you've got
Oh you don't know what you've got
No, you don't know what you've got
It's your battle to be fought
No, you don't know what you've got
Until it's gone
