Here is my "review" of THP, as seen in a french magazine/website : (sorry if there are some translation mistakes,I didn't use a translator) LINKIN PARK is a group you may have hard time to definite/identify in the alternative-rock stratosphere. After their debut on the Nu-Metal scene, they started changing their minds and their kind of music, going from progressive/alternative pop-rock to experimental electronic sounds. When promoting their new album THE HUNTING PARTY, Mike Shinoda claimed his will to go to the band's root, mentioning bands like Black Flag, Helmet or Refused as his influences. He wanted something more authentic and visceral. And I have to admit : it's working well ! The production is rawer than ever in a good way,the way some bands like Refused used to have . Some of you may not like it, but the approach is totally differeent. Hybrid Theory this is not, this is Punk-hardcore at its best, this is LP at its best !! Heavy synths and beatboxes have been replaced with organic material, blistering guitars and hasty drums. Then, like I said, some tracks remind me of the band REFUSED, especially 2 of them: the anthemic badass "Keys to the Kingdom" and the very special "Mark the Graves" (which guitars remind me of the song "New Noise"). "War" is like a stomp in the haters faces , very similar to old school punk-rock bands like Black Flag. Something that Rise Against wasn't able to produce since "Sirens and Condoleances". Guests are also here, as legendary "underground" rapper Rakim adds his flow to the unstructured "Guilty all the same", Page Hamilton from Helmet's also here, providing the choruses to a badass verses from Shinoda (damn, that bass line !!!). And Daron Malakian, shredder from System of A Down adds some new "personnality" to LP in an almost SOAD song. The Old LP's still here though, essentially for two ballads: "Until it's Gone" and "Final Masquerade". While the first one is very simple and "quite plain" (I changed my mind after the review), the second one is a beautiful piece of music reminding me old school rock bands from the eightees. Then we may be have the best song of the album, possibly the best they've ever written as "A Line in the Sand". You've got it all in this 6+ minutes long track reminiscent from THRICE ("Major/Minor" meets "The Artist in the ambulance"). A majr way to close an album The only let-downs so far are "Wastelands", which re-uses old LP formulas from Meteora, and "Drawbar". Let's get this straight: I like this track a lot, but it didn't need in any way Tom Morello to do that. Thanks to a more authentic approach and a rawer sound, LP gives us what is undoubtly the most heavy/agressive record to date, and certainly the best along "A Thousand Suns" TOP 3 songs to listen: A Line in the sand Mark the graves Final Masquerade
I've changed my mind a little about THP. After the first listen, it thought it was average/good, giving it a 6/10. Right now I'm starting to like it more, after about 10 listens. The only song that doesn't work IMO is Mark the Graves. I think it's a very frustrating song, I love the instrumental, the moment when the drums are changing during the long intro is jizzy. But I can't stand the vocals and the melody, making the song cheesy to listen. At the opposite, I wasn't too impressed by KTTK but it's growing A LOT. And I love WAR, Chester, even if he's losing his voice, sounds like a crazy dog.
My grades after the first Listening: Keys To The Kingdom Damn good opener for this album. The robotic voice of Chester in the beginning is a bit weird tbh^^ BUT RIGHT INTO MY FACE 8/10 All For Nothing: wow , this defintly could be one of my all time favorite LP Songs , fucking amazing. Vocals and Instruments are really good and its enjoybaly heavie! 9/10 Guilty All The Same: After all the its not change so much 8/10 The Summoning . Dont know what to think WAR. Defintly a really really good song. Like the punkish feeling and all about in this song. This is all i can imagine for an heavy LP SOng 9/10 Wastelands: Catchy as hell , but not as good as the "Eargasms" 7/10 Until Its Gone: Definitly the weakest song on The Hunting Party. Good but , meeh lyrics. 6/10 Rebellion: AMazing. All about this song , and the bridge is just 9/10 Mark The Graves: Well its good but really weird. Better than Until Its Gone but close to the same level. 6,5/10 Drawbar: Flows good into Final Masqurade, but i think Tom Morello is a bit underrated in this song :/ 7/10 Final Masqurade: I cried , this is one of the best ballades by Linkin Park. SO GOOD 8/10 A Line In The Sand: Damn Good album closer. Mike is amazing but tbh i like Chester Parts much better i am weird 8/10 All in all i give The Hunting Party a 8/10. Didnt aspected this from Linkin Park It was such an Punch in my Face , with soft parts. I think there will be little changes after a while, but it defintly kicks Living Things in the ass. Could be for me on an ATS level. Time will tell.
So I've just listened to the album for the first time. It's a LOT to take in. Here are my reactions after the first listen (excluding GATS and UIG because I've heard them before): 01. "Keys to the Kingdom" – Pretty damn hard. 02. "All for Nothing" – Nice, I like the chorus. 04. "The Summoning" – Serves its purpose. 05. "War" – Crazy, but not that crazy. 06. "Wastelands" – The chorus transition is a bit weird. Other than that, it was fine. 08. "Rebellion" – Immediate highlight. 09. "Mark the Graves" – Very hard to take in because it's so unorthodox. All I could think was, "What?" 10. "Drawbar" – Noice! 11. "Final Masquerade" – Not the super duper amazing best-ever LP ballad everyone was making it out to be. I wonder how long it'll take for the chorus melody to wear off? 12. "A Line in the Sand" – I liked it. The verses are incredible. The problem with Chester's parts is how weak his voice sounds, just really one-dimensional – not just on this song, but pretty much on the entire record. It doesn't go well with the heavy guitars. I have to listen to the album a couple more times to figure it out, know what to expect, get used to it. Only then will I be able to properly judge it. Right now, I can surely say it's better than Hybrid Theory and Meteora, not so sure about the other albums. It definitely feels like a grower.
Since Monday, I've only listened to the album like, 4 times.. Mainly because I spend from 8:00am straight until 5:30pm in my office and I either go to my german course or arrive home tired as fuck. My listening experience throughout the week was very disjointed and I couldn't pay the album the attention it deserves, despite having a couple of full playthroughs. It wasn't until last night and today morning, that I had that chance to not only listen but to pay close attention as well, and holy shit, this album is beyond amazing to me. Last night Mark The Graves and A Line in the Sand struck me with their epicness, and I just listened to ALITS right now again and woah, it's fucking incredible. I'm not hyperboling, I've loved LP's music since day one and I can perfectly go to the softest to their hardest with absolutely no issue. I am one who can go from stuff like Metallica, Trivium and All that Remains to sweet, candy pop ballads if the MP3's on Random mode, I don't give a shit the style, all I care about is if I enjoy the music and man, I fucking enjoy The Hunting Party A LOT. I still need to listen to it a couple more times to fully digest it. But it's awesome, Rob totally killed it, one of my favorite drumming pieces from him were Wake and of course TLTGYA, and in Mark The Graves he just gave me more of that "Wake"-y stuff which is just divine. The guitars in this album are awesome as well and I can't wait to learn ALITS, or all of them for that matter. A+
Just had my first listen. I only heared GATS, UIG and Wastelands (live) before. My first reaction was: "This album really was 45 minutes long?" And I'm not really able to describe my feelings. It's kinda weird, I have to realize what I just heared and let it all sink in first. Songs which I REALLY enjoyed during the first listen (from the new ones) were Mark The Graves and ALITS. Those were just epic. I think the whole album, like some people already said, needs to grow on me. E.g. KTTK and AFN were kinda cool, but... they didn't really caught me. I liked them, but when GATS came afterwards, I was really smitten by the rhythm and all, unlike with the songs before. And the similarities between GATS and ALITS are very obvious. I don't think they did this unintentionally and surprisingly I liked it. The way LP did this reminded me a bit of Reanimation, where often certain notes from the originals were changed, making the song sound fresh. On the other hand I didn't like that the guitar in Rebellion reminded me of a certain song I don't know the name of. Rebellion was really great, but every time this guitar came in it destroyed the song for me, because the melody felt soooo familiar. All in all I'm definitely eager to listen to the album again soon.
1. A Line In The Sand 2. Rebellion 3. The Summoning/ War 4. Keys To The Kingdom 5. Guilty All The Same 6. Final Masquerade 7. All For Nothing 8. Drawbar 9. Mark The Graves 10. Wastelands 11. Until It's Gone
Man, I've finally found that melody which Rebellion reminds me of (specifically the guitar from 0:32 in Rebellion) start from 0:24: [video=youtube_share;6DcfXVL0mh0?t=24]http://youtu.be/6DcfXVL0mh0?t=24s[/video] The melody is just so similar in the beginning... This just destroys the experience for me every time. Because the song above cannot really be described as worthy of an LP song...
Linkin Park - The Hunting Party Review After a heartbreaking week and a lack of sleep I've finally had a bit of a positive start to my day with my copy of Linkin Park's, The Hunting Party arriving this morning from Amazon Germany. I ordered the CD/DVD copy of the album and will also be receiving the Deluxe Edition from LinkinPark.com in the week. I won't have a final accurate score to this full review as I don't think my mind will be capable of doing that at this moment in time, once I get some more sleep in me, listened to the album several more times through then I should be able to come up with a score I'm satisfied with for this very good record. The album kicks off with Keys to the Kingdom, with Chester's robotic screams and only his screams being audible in the intro of the song. The drums and guitars kick in and you get to experience the powerful and fast pace of this heavy metal track. Things calm with Mike Shinoda singing the verse really well before Chester unleashes some of his most brutal screams ever on a Linkin Park album. Shinoda then comes in again with a short but brilliant rap and then Chester screams the chorus again before a great guitar solo from Brad takes over the song. The track ends like it started, hard-hitting and in your face. A fantastic opener! All For Nothing I need to listen to 2 or 3 times more as some of it I liked and other bits I wasn't particularly fussed on. Mike's rap verses are excellent and some of his most fluid and the "1-2-3-4" countdown leading into the chorus is nicely done. The instruments are great in this but I'm not sure what to make of the chorus. Page Hamilton sings the chorus well but Chester's parts don't seem to fit, I'd have arranged it where maybe both harmonise together or have each sing a line or take a turn singing the chorus. I like the fact they went with a Sum 41 vibe on this but to me, it didn't come off. Guilty All The Same I've already covered after listening to it over a 100 times already and my opinion hasn't changed on it as it's still one of the best tracks on the album. From the awesome intro and the powerful riffs to the superb Rakim verse to the fantastic ending with the guitar solo. An all round great track and still one of my personal favourites. The Summoning is a nice little interlude that breaks up the album and leads into the heavy punk track of War. This has a Dead By Sunrise vibe to it and Chester's aggressive vocals and screams are in full force here. The drums are intense and another great guitar solo features here from Brad Delson. At this point of the album you can tell Brad and Rob have really stepped up their game here, especially Brad. Rob has always been consistently good on every album with the drums but here, Brad really shines and shows he is in fact, shock horror, a good guitarist. War ends with an almighty scream from Chester, one of his best screaming performances since Given Up. Wastelands and Until It's Gone I've already covered again as they along with Guilty All The Same were the 3 songs I listened to before the albums release. Wastelands is a solid track, featuring some fast-flowing raps once again from Mike, some of his best lyrics to date and the riff from Brad is catchy throughout. The chorus also stays in the mind but the bridge could be improved. The electronic element to the bridge sounds good but is drained out by the guitars and it feels like it is missing something. Maybe a scream or two from Chester (which he does on this track live) would have been appropriate. Until It's Gone I've always liked. A lot of negative views on the lyrics although there are some good lines in there but it is very cliche from Linkin Park, which we've all become accustomed to. However, the build up in the first chorus is very nicely done with the harmonies in the background and I almost got a Woodkid kind of feel from it with the instruments and the bells tolling. The track picks up as it goes along and although the lyrics get repetitive the song ends well with Chester screaming the track title, showing a lot of emotion and passion at the end. This also has a lot of meaning to me since I lost my dog this time last week and the lyrics really stick in the mind. A very heartfelt and beautiful song. Next up is Rebellion which features Daron Malakian from System of a Down and Scars on Broadway. His riffs are very evident in this track and when Brad swoops in with the guitars, the song really takes off. Such an epic introduction to the song and Mike's singing vocals are fantastic, much better than his singing vocals on Living Things. Chester comes in to help sing the verse and build up to the energetic chorus. With both Chester and Mike singing the chorus together it really adds to the song and has always been a prominent feature on past Linkin Park albums. The electronic breakdown in the bridge with the heavy guitars and then Chester screaming his lungs out makes this such a fiery song. Definitely one the live crowds will enjoy moshing to and it'll be nice to see Daron make some guest appearances if that ever were to happen. It's System of a Down meets Linkin Park and to be honest, I like the overall sound that has evolved here. Mark The Graves is the 9th track and one that has got a lot of mixed thoughts from Linkin Park and even casual fans. Some love it, some hate it and others aren't sure what to make of it. Me personally, I love it! The lyrics despite being minimal are engaging and once again I love the creativity within this song. The crunching guitars, the calmness in the verses and with Chester's beautifully sung vocals in the verses leading us into the malicious chorus where Chester's intense screams start to come to the forefront and throughout the duration of another cool guitar solo from Brad, it really adds to the track. The drums pick up once again and I enjoy the way the track goes all slow and soft and then picks up the pace and gets dirty, fast and tempestuous in different sections of the song. Excellent track. Drawbar is the final instrumental on the album that features Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine. His guitars aren't really conspicuous on this interlude but it's obvious he helped write this song and play the instruments during this stunning and radiant track. The way it builds, it almost had a The Last of Us vibe to me (as if it could easily feature in the game/cutscenes during the dramatic parts). A great way to end the track with the piano playing the song out and leading into the rock-ballad Final Masquerade where Chester's clean vocals really shine on this song. The high notes he hits and the way he sings the chorus especially at the very end is one of the highlights on the album. One of Chester's best vocal performances both on the album and in recent records. A good mid-tempo pop-rock penultimate track to finally make way for the epic 6 and a half minutes of A Line In The Sand. This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best if not the best closing track to a Linkin Park album... period! This coming from someone who absolutely adores Powerless (final track of Living Things) still to this day. The thunderstorm sounds opens the track with Mike Shinoda singing the first verse (his best singing vocals on the whole album) that builds to the outburst of heavy guitars where once again Chester joins Mike in singing on the second verse and then goes into Chester sing-screaming the chorus and just when you think Chester's screams couldn't get anymore vehement and excessive - oh boy, do they here! There's then a nice little break mid-way through the track with Mike coming in again with his echoed raps and then Chester comes in again with the chorus and just when you think the track ends it comes in with the pounding drums and heavy guitars for one last round of offence to knock you on your ass! The guitar solo is rapid and the song gets bigger and louder and Chester comes in one final time where he relinquishes a barrage, an assault of sick screams and growls to close out the track, where Mike Shinoda repeats the first verse as the storm begins to dissipate and subside to bring a closure to the fascinating and thunderous album. Overall, a great album, definitely a huge improvement on Living Things and superior to Minutes to Midnight and Meteora. I'd put it at the same level of A Thousand Suns (I absolutely love this album) but for now, it's not the perfect album like Hybrid Theory (which is still 10/10 for me) is and always will be. I'd give it a strong 8-8.5/10 on first listen but like I said I'm just digesting what I've heard and need a few more listens, a few more days to get my head around what I've listened to in order to put together a more accurate total score and maybe a more in-depth track-by-track review. Are there negatives on The Hunting Party? Of course there are. Some of the lyrics are bland and not as consistent as Hybrid Theory, Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns. It would have been nice also to have more variety on some of the tracks and some songs could be improved a little more (Wastelands and All For Nothing spring to mind) and are not as engaging or appealing as other songs. Plus, it probably would have been better in some aspects if Chester contributed a lot more clean vocals to this album however, that's for other people's tastes. Me personally, I love that he's finally shown a more aggressive side on this album that was severely lacking on the past 3 albums. The positives far outweigh the negatives though - the raps albeit, only features on 5 tracks (4 by Shinoda, 1 by Rakim) are much better than Living Things and A Thousand Suns with Mike really stepping up his game on here. His delivery is so good and on the topic of Mike Shinoda, his singing vocals are really improved and he sounds incredible on some tracks (Keys to the Kingdom, Rebellion and A Line in the Sand). It would have been good if he contributed more clean vocals though on some of the songs but still, from what we got from Mike, it was solid. Furthermore, the guitars from Brad have improved ten-fold, he has a more distinct style on this one yet shows his creativity and mixes it up on the guitar solos and on the riffs, which he hasn't really done since Minutes to Midnight. Rob Bourdon is also one of the shining stars on this album; his fierce and rapid drumming on this album is key to some of the tracks and he makes the album what it is - loud, heavy and in-your-face. One of the best drummers out there today and I anticipate and look forward to his next contribution on the 7th Linkin Park record. Chester Bennington has got a lot of mixed reviews from listeners - some love him on some tracks, others think he sounds weak with his clean vocals. I think he's great though, I love the interchange of beautifully sung lyrics one minute and then gritty and guttural screams the next minute. I also like the fact he sounds more raw in his vocals and not over-produced like he has been on the past albums. It's unique and different and a lot of fans have been calling out for him to be more aggressive and for the screams to make a return, well they do here! If you need to be persuaded that Chester still has those screams of the Chester from 2000-2003 then go ahead and listen to Keys to the Kingdom, War, Rebellion, Mark The Graves, and A Line In The Sand. Also, the songs that Chester does deliver clean vocals and shows his emotional and passionate range is evident on Final Masquerade, Mark The Graves and Until It's Gone. For me, Chester does great on The Hunting Party. Phoenix is consistent and you can always rely on him to deliver albeit, in a safe manner at times. He does have some good moments on this album, which I was pleased to hear. A shame Mr. Hahn's scratches are null and void on this album but the synths and electronic elements are still there but it would have been nice to hear him more. I guess the band may have felt it would take away from the raw emotion of the album. Finally, the lyrics I think are some of the best from the band specifically on Keys to the Kingdom, All For Nothing, Rebellion, Mark The Graves, Final Masquerade and A Line in the Sand. The band have showed a lot of maturity as the years have gone on in their written work and it shows once again on The Hunting Party. In conclusion, The Hunting Party is an excellent album, combining hard rock, heavy and alternative metal, punk, some thrash and a bit of pop to create the powerful and raging album. If you liked the first 3 albums, I would recommend giving this a listen however, if you like the more toned down and softer sound of A Thousand Suns and some of Living Things, I would give this a miss. Nevertheless, Linkin Park should be commended and praised for another album that has changed in sound and style - their creativity and experimentation really shows here. Great album. Linkin Park - The Hunting Party Final Score (for now) - 8-8.5/10
My review: 1) Keys to the Kingdom, by far and away the best song on the whole album for me. I have no bad things to say about or improvements to suggest. 2) All for Nothing is a hit and miss track for me, it has a catchy tune, and Page Hamilton sings quite well, thought it doesn't really have much beyond the initial shock factor of him appearing. One of the weaker tracks. 3) I have talked about Guilty All The Same forever and don't feel the need to re-hash it once again. 4) This one suprised me, as I did not really pre-listen to any track as it were, apart from the first two singles and Wastelands. So it was a bit of a let down to hear an instrumental track so early on the album, knowing there was going to another one shortly. Not my favorites I have to say. 5) War is a great little song, I heard some bad things about it before release, and can't see why. Yeah it isn't the best track on the record, but it's still nice and heavy, is just the right lengh for what it is, and is quite good lyrically. 6) Wastelands is a soild track. Nice confident raps from Mike, decent vocals from Chester, and great instruments. A hot one. 7) Until it's Gone is another track I've talked about before, and have told people my views before. Repetitve lyrics. 8) Rebellion is a song I was really looking forward too. I had my force myself not to listen to this one beforehand, and I'm glad I didn't! While it took my by suprise at first that I wasn't heavy straight away, it was still great and definitley picked up and got even better when Chester let loose and roared! Great song!!! 9) Mark the Graves, while it's a good song, it don't get what the big deal is. I was expecting something heavier, but to me the song felt rushed, and missing something. Vocals are cool I suppose, but I wish it was a bit more like KTTK. 10) Drawbar The one instrumental track is was expecting and I really like it. Tom Morello is put to good use. Not bad at all. 11) Ah Final Masquerade, it's a great song, that needed to bit a tad longer. Chester's vocal's are amazing, but it's like Until it's Gone, in the sense that the lyrics do get a little repetitve towards the end if I'm honest. It's still one of the best vocal preformances by Chester, but still i wanted more time to devoted to it. 12) A Line In The Sand WOW! AMAZING! Fantastic vocal by both Mike and Chester. Quite heavy I feel in places, and it really put me in mind of Victimized. Also par of the guitar riff sounds like GATS, and if I'm honest it's to this album what TLTGYA was to Minutes to Midnight, that's attention to detail. An awesome track and certainly a stand out for the album. I'm so happy that they made it a long one too, it really helped it. Please let this be a single.
my short impression so far: KTTK: holy shi t. on my first listen i was left standing with my mouth open and feeling totally shocked. i love Everything about this song, Chester sounds really cool, mikes singing with those dark synths is awesome, and those HEAVY guitars are so nice. AFN: this song had to grow on me. it took like 6-7 listens for me to really like it. at first i just didnt really know what to Think. but it didnt sound bad. mikes rapping again was something i liked already the first time i Heard it thou. now i really enjoy it. GATS: i have loved this song since the release of it way back and still do. that intro is for me one of the best i have Heard from them. its really Heavy and never stops, this is what i wanted lp to do with this album. war: this song also had to grow on me. i was a bit shocked like KTTK when first hearing it. im still not sure about it. Chesters agressive scremy singing is so wierd but at the same time cool. i dont know why but it hasnt cought me yet, hoping it can grow on me. but that guitar solo is awesome wastelands: already on my first listen i really liked it. its so groovy and Heavy. mikes parts is really nice. that Heavy guitar is so in my face. Chesters part is ok. liking the vibe of this song. its simple but really catchy and enjoyble. UIG: its a good song. Chesters singing is very good. the lyrics. not the best. but i love the atmosphere and the messege in the song. rebellion: WOW. this was so much better that i could have imagined. this really sounds like soad. one of my favorite songs of all time now seriously. Everything in this song is perfect, the guitar is so Heavy and it shredds my ears into pieces. love it. i was left standing speechless after this. MTG: this song had to grow on me too. i felt a bit confused at first but its growing. it really have a foo fighter feel to it. the guitars are nice and Heavy. maybe its just med but im having a hard time hearing what Chester is singing in there. its a nice song and im liking it more with every listen. drawbar: reminds me of mass effect 3 OST. but this is really Beautiful . i love it. FM: okey i really didnt Think this would happen but, on my first listen, in the bridge breakdown, i cried a Little. this is one of the best ballads for me. it really touched my heart with those soft guitars in the breakdown. very good song. also Chester sing very well. ALITS: wow yes this is the best album closer ever from them. mikes singing is so good and really his parts are the highlight of the song for me. Chester is good too, but mikes parts really hits me. im not really hearing GATS in there anywhere. but vicimized, yes that is clear. this song is fuking Epic . this is the album i wanted them to make after living thing. but this was so much better that i could imagine. THP and ATS are my favorites, cant really choose one of them. my favorite songs from the hunting party are: KTTK, FM, ALITS, REBELLION, GATS, DRAWBAR.
I still stick by what I said in my review in regards to All For Nothing however, I've listened to it 2 or 3 more times since and it's starting to grow on me. Mike's rap is just so good, the guitar work is great and Page does a good job on the chorus. I just feel Chester's part could be changed or improved but still, it's a grower.
Overall it's a good album, with Rob being the real star of the show, and Brad also stepping his game up significantly. These are my initial brief thoughts. KTTK is fantastic, real stand out track although for me it would maybe have been better without the into as it is. Chester sounds awesome on it but unfortunately never reaches the same heights on the rest of the record, apart from maybe on FM in a different way, with his voice clearly starting to weaken. Like the victimized style structure with Mike singing then rapping the second verse, with a heavy as fuck chorus. Interlude at the end adds nothng imo. AFN is another that I really like, it's catchy and Mike does a great job, plus the chorus is refreshingly different. GATS brilliant, epic and very different to anything the bands done before. Rakim's verse is one of the best on any LP album. Love the solo at the end. TS is an interlude, pretty meh and tbh none of the interludes do a lot for me, can't see the point in them. War is also pretty enjoyable, not usually my thing but it came off well, although it didn't surprise me or make me think this is some crazy shit, like I half expected it too. Wastelands has a nice groove to it and Mike flows well but for me the chorus lacks a decent hook and so therefore lacks sufficient punch, plus it sounds too much like GATS chorus. UIG really like the atmosphere on this, what lets it down are the lyrics. Rebellion big fan of SOAD, so this combination of LP and Daron is complete perfection. Menacing, great lyrics and probably the joint best choris on the album, along with KTTK. MTG will take a few listens I feel, I really like the Foo's so I like the feel of song sonically, but initially it seems a bit messy at times. Drawbar atmospheric instrumental, will need a few more listens to get a real feel for it. FM nice song, a real contrast to most of the rest and very catchy melodically. ALITS I don't really get the hype surrounding this, it's decent but not epic and had the potential to be far better imo. The middle of the song is too much like GATS and gets repetetive and slightly boring, although I do enjoy Brad's part on this it would probably have benefited if GATS hadn't existed, as it would then feel fresher and more different. So for me the current top 3 songs, in no particular order are KTTK, GATS and Rebellion. I don't dislike anything particularly but found one or two tracks less interesting then I expected, especially when it came to melody/catchy hooks, something LP usually excel in.
It's an okay album. If you would ask me in what order to rate their albums, I would rate this last. This album feels like MTM, in which you are not sure what to expect being because it is a new sound. Hopefully, like most of Linkin Park's albums, this album will grow on me. For example; remember how long it took you for MTM to grow on you? In all honesty, I feel that because I am on a Linkin Park site, I am getting typical overhyped responses by LP fans, but much like everyone, I feel my opinion is the true opinion.