This album has more ATS elements than Living Things, and Hunting Party is a lot more similar to ATS than say Minutes or Meteora. Or even Hybrid Theory. To me, it's like half Minutes to Midnight, half ATS.
Pretty much this. Plus it's still it's own animal. Meteora is the only album really that doesn't have a solid identity really
I feel that THP could very much be related to ATS. This is like the 2nd chapter of ATS. If ATS is electronic, this is the rock version of it. It's not quite this. But it is close. This also feels like an actual album, the way the songs flow with each other, very much in the same way as ATS, where it's more about listening to the album as a whole rather than just individual songs.
I think there's a strong possibility that THP could be a "spiritual" successor to ATS. What I mean is that both albums have this prevailing theme that is sprinkled throughout the album. There are even instances where sub-themes recur in later songs (think of The Requiem and its connection with The Catalyst and Rebellion with a possible connection to A Line in the Sand). There may be more connections binding certain songs to a specific theme or idea. While THP may not exactly be a true "Part II" to ATS, it does have certain elements that are evidently inspired from ATS, making it a sequel in spirit. A quick question about concept albums in general: Do they have to have interludes connecting songs to maintain a seamless flow or can there just be short segues/transitions directly connecting songs?
No. THP is not a concept album. IMO, THP is way better as well. It's the first album I can listen to in one go more than just a couple times. I don't care for ATS's interludes, I think they are a bit useless for my purposes because I don't believe in that "you have to listen to the whole album to get the best experience" bullshit. If I wanna listen to WFTE, skip to BITS, and Finish off with The Catalyst, then I'll do so. Regardless, if THP were to be ATS part 2, I'd say they should at least be on par, but THP far exceeds ATS in many ways, tho it does have its flaws as well.
oh, in no way is anyone telling you that you MUST listen to A Thousand Suns from front to back (side to side), but in order to truly appreciate the 'experience' it gives, then yes, it's suggested that you do so but i think that's kinda straight forward. i can vibe to the tracks individually though, but going through the whole album is definitely the best way to listen if you've got the time. but all you people talking about spiritual succession - it all starts at Minute to Midnight friends. that shit is where it started. [Hybrid Theory, Meteora];[(Minute to Midnight)/(A Thousand Sunds)/(The Hunting Party)]