Ok, so I remember a thread like this made for LT. I'm going to try to gather all the track descriptions and lyrics revealed into one thread, and I'll keep updating it as news comes during the next month and a half. Why? Because it's raining and I'm bored. If the admins don't think it's necessary... delete the thread, please. If I missed out something, or when new info arrives, please remind me to update OP. 01. KEYS TO THE KINGDOM[EXPLICIT] Rolling Stone: Tracks like avant-metal jigsaw riffs of "Keys to the Kingdom" and the punkish "All for Nothing" indeed sound like Linkin Park at their angriest and most adrenalized. "Keys to the Kingdom" opens with an affected, robotic-sounding voice yelling and then manages to make some disjointed-sounding riffs work. "I wanted you to listen to the song and be disrupted at regular intervals," Shinoda says. "I wanted that to be jarring or distracting, just kind of fuck you up." Loudwire: Right off the bat this track has an old-school punk vibe with a new twist. The hasty drums and explosive riffs a hardcore element to it. Vocalist Chester Bennington unleashes melodies and the balance of Shinoda’s rap verses makes for a powerful combination. Although the band will be playing arenas on their forthcoming Carnivores tour, this song has an underground feel that would welcome them to a small, beat up venue in Brooklyn, N.Y. Altwire: Confirmed as the opening track to The Hunting Party, this track wastes no time in introducing you to the band's goal and mission statement for this record, delivering a brass knuckled punch to the face as Rob Bourdon channels Black Flag to deliver some of his quickest and fiercest drumming on a Linkin Park record to date. Feeling like a punk-rock influenced cousin of their earlier track "Victimized" (from 2012's LIVING THINGS), vocalist Chester Bennington screams out his frustrations over the track's high octane instrumentation as he laments to the listener "I'm my own casualty; I've fucked up everything I say, fighting in futility". Turtleguy556: The opening of the album is Chester screaming the chorus of the song HARD, alone, with nothing behind him. He has a digital distortion on his voice that sounds AMAZING during this opening. It gave me an, "OH CRAP," moment not knowing what to expect. After this, it kicked in with a huge jumpy guitar riff. Mike does rap in the song, and Chester screams every chorus. After hearing this, I can say this was a stand out on the album and if you are a Linkin Park fan in any form, THIS song was made for you. LPFC 1: It started out very combative and powerful! The guitar vigorously playing while Chester was screaming! I was taken by this, hearing it immediately got my attention that this cd is going to be compelling! A great beginning to the cd. LPFC 2: The album opens distorted, almost- almost- takes you back to A Thousand Suns for a few fleeting seconds; but you’re violently taken back to right then and now. It is damn hard and fast, and for those who have used the lack of “Chester’s Scream” over the last albums as your excuse to bitch and moan over your loss of interest- first song in, you’re already left with no reason. ARTISTdirect: "Keys to the Kingdom" begins with a warbling and warped scream from Chester Bennington before galloping into a distinct deadly Brad Delson six-string crescendo. Rob Bourdon bashes out a bruising groove like his life depends on it, while Dave "Phoenix" Farrell deftly throws down on the bass punctuated by Joe Hahn's electronic wizardry. Mike Shinoda drops his signature fire as all of the elements forge together into a teeth kicking opening anthem a propos for any festival worldwide. Metal Hammer: You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and with The Hunting Party it's evident that Linkin Park are out to shake up expectations from the off. Keys To The Kingdom explodes into life with a distorted Chester Bennington vocal, the singer barking “No Control! No Surprise!” like a cyborg Dennis Lyxzen, before a stop-start Brad Delson guitar riff kicks in. Mike Shinoda then weighs in with some tough guy rapping - “Got a different method, but I can still bring the pain...” / “Careful what you shoot for, cos you might hit what you aim for...” - before a trademark LP chorus crashes in. By the time the track closes out with some 'woah-oh-woah' massed vocals you'll be buzzing. AkirraKrylon: Keys To The Kingdom starts off as many have reported with Chester's HIGHLY distorted and glitched out voice echoing what would be the chorus of the song. After the robotic introduction to the album, the song QUICKLY gets to the point and lets you know what LP's mind set is all about with THP. This song really hits hard. Mike's SINGING on this was a surprise to me as I hadn't realized he both sings and raps on this track but he does and it gave the structure of the song some variety and made it really interesting. The highlight for me of this song is Chester's delivery of the chorus. It is screaming but it is very rapidly delivered - the lines he screams came out so quick that I didn't even understand the words he was saying until they played it AGAIN at the end (we got to choose one song to play 1 more time once it was over and we chose KTTK) and I focused a lot. Again this was partially due to the sound being SO LOUD that some of the words were hard to make out. 02. ALL FOR NOTHING (ft. Page Hamilton) [EXPLICIT] Rolling Stone: Around the time Shinoda began working on the new direction for the group, beginning with "All for Nothing," he realized that it might not be the most commercial direction for the group to be taking at this point in its career. As a nod to their inspirations, Linkin Park invited some of these artists to play on The Hunting Party. Helmet vocalist-guitarist Page Hamilton sings on "All for Nothing". Loudwire: This one, when performed live, will get the crowd moving for sure. With a hip-hop flow in the first verse this quickly turns into almost a punk anthem. The song is relentless and unapologetic, with a stellar guitar solo by Brad Delson. It’s no surprise that this heavy tune is hardcore especially since it features a guest spot Helmet vocalist and guitarist Page Hamilton. Altwire: A clearly intentional nod to Helmet in its influences and style (so much that Helmet lead vocalist Page Hamilton appears on the track), "All For Nothing" comes off as a challenge to the band's critics and naysayers, while extending a middle fingered invitation for them to step up to the plate. Mike Shinoda fires back at those who attempt to control him, defiantly stating "no I'm not your soldier, I ain't taking any orders, I'm a five star general infantry controller...". Guest vocalist Page Hamilton steps in to sing the song's chorus over Sum-41 style gang vocals from Chester Bennington as he proclaims "I'm gonna get what I deserve". Turtleguy556: This song was far less "punky" that I thought it was going to be. It had a nice groove and the Page's voice fit well on the song. Mike has AMAZING rap parts in this song with an amazing beat behind him! LPFC 1: This song has an edge to it, but a more subtle feeling from the first song. Mike does an awesome rap with a chilled beat to the track. LPFC 2: It’s followed by what I only scribbled on my napkin as “Mike’s hardest” only the second song in before hearing the rest, and for these two songs, I sat in shock, hand over what would have been my gaping mouth. ARTISTdirect: The pummeling continues on "All for Nothing" with a little help from Helmet's Page Hamilton. A towering wall of distortion can barely contain Bennington's feral howl, and everything punches with undeniable potency. Metal Hammer: Helmet's Page Hamilton is on here somewhere: good luck to anyone who can locate his trademark staccato riffing in the mix. All Or Nothing largely adheres to the traditional Linkin Park formula, with a brash Mike Shinoda verse bleeding into a widescreen Chester Bennington chorus: the second verse sees Shinoda asserting: “Let me break this fucker down for ya, I really don't know ya... no I'm not your soldier, I'm not taking any orders, I'm a five star general...” There's also a pretty, tinkling piano outro, setting up 'the heavy shit' that follows... AkirraKrylon: All For Nothing was another IN YOUR FACE song. Mike's rapping on this song was blistering. So so so good. Definitely a song I will be playing more often than others on the album. This song could be described as "nu-metal" but it is really very fresh and modern and not cheesy at all. Really high energy. Highlights of the song are Page Hamilton's vocals. He does such a good job and it fits the song really well. I could hear why they had Mike sing this song originally because it doesn't sound like a song that Chester would sing, if that makes any sense. Chester's vocals complementing Page, however, fit so perfectly and the chorus is easily one of the top things I am looking forward to hearing again. Hearing Mike Chester and Page all going off on this is just awesome. Sick sick sick song can't say enough about how much I love this one. 03. GUILTY ALL THE SAME (ft. Rakim) 04. THE SUMMONING Turtleguy556: This is an interlude that starts with the sounds of a music box that builds into a drum beat. LPFC 2: A bridge (definitely not weak or unnecessary)[...] ARTISTdirect: Airy and atmospheric, a minute-long interlude "The Summoning" [...] Altwire 2: Used as a transition track to lead into the next track, 'War', 'The Summoning' begins with a long harmonic note that feels very reminiscent of Tool's instrumental Lost Keys, but builds to a distortion filled clash of noises, spiraling slowly out of control until the next track begins. This track is very short, and mostly serves as a temporary calm before the storm. MetalHammer: A little pause for reflection. This atmospheric mood piece is one minute of FX pedal noise, synth washes and random clanging guitar chords: for reasons that probably make sense only if you're in the band, the run-out features what sounds like a sample of a kids softball game. “Watch the ball! Run, run, run!” AkirraKrylon: Cool little interlude. Not much to say about this one other than it gives you a second to take a breath after the insanity that has ensued so far. 05. WAR Turtleguy556: This was the one song on the album that I really didn't care for. It sounds like an old school punk song in the vain of early Green Day. Imagine a punk song with the chorus of WooooooOOaaaHH, instead with the word WaaaaAAAAAaaaaRRR. It's very fast and personally not really my thing. It was cool to hear Chester sing this type of song though! LPFC 2: [...]lead into one of three songs that stood out in structure and style, dominated- according to my napkins- by Chester, Rob and Brad. The percussion between this and the next song had me confused for some moments whether it was ending or beginning a song[...] ARTISTdirect: [...] sets the stage for the band's most explosive salvo to date, "War". Gnashing punk grit clashes with cybernetic thrash for a two-minute onslaught fortified by impressive soloing from Delson—who truly steps into the spotlight on this album as a modern guitar god. Bennington's screams pierce in the best way possible as well. Altwire 2: In interviews leading up the release of this record, vocalist Mike Shinoda has frequently teased this record as paying homage to the band's earliest influences, while bringing the band's sound and style into new and previously unexplored territories. Even with this knowledge, there is still no way to prepare yourself mentally for the complete musical onslaught that exists on War. This is Linkin Park at their most unforgiving, and the results are simply head-spinning. This is a track you'd expect from an underground Brooklyn noise-rock band and not the band that created In The End. Featuring early Metallica style vocals, laced with screams from Chester Bennington that inform you "there's no peace, only war...victory determines who's wrong or right", War tops off it's ferocity with a truly astonishing and revelatory solo from guitarist Brad Delson. Highly recommend you wear body armor in the pit when this song gets performed live this summer. Metal Hammer: Woah, Linkin Park go Punk Rock! Ushered in with a classic “1-2, 1-2-3-4” count, this is 2 minutes 11 seconds of snarling punk rock attitude which sounds more like Trash Talk than Linkin Park. The pregnant pause before the chorus (“War! Destroyer!”) is particularly smart. You would never guess this was Linkin Park in a million years. Bracing. AkirraKrylon: This song is really different and really well done. While it is a very short track, it felt "complete" to me whereas a song like Victimized kinda sounded abruptly ended and left you wanting/needing more. I feel like they did a good job of making the song sound like its the length it was supposed to be. This is one of the songs I can see myself regularly listening to once we are well into the album being released. 06. WASTELANDS Rolling Stone: "Wastelands [of Today]," produced by Rob Cavallo, boasts a similar message – that there is "nothing left to lose" – over a herky-jerky big rock riff. Loudwire: This tune starts with a hip-hop verse and the song has a lot of groove with heavy drum and bass. The chorus is catchy yet sludgy and has some grit to it. Watch out for the heavy breakdown in the middle of the song. Linkin Park take you on a sonic roller-coaster ride as they play around with the tempo and ambiance of the song. Altwire: Fans of Mike Shinoda's hip-hop oriented side project Fort Minor, will undoubtedly be left in awe over the exquisite rhyme pattern and wordplay Mike Shinoda delivers on top of Wasteland's gritty stomping drum beat and distorted guitar riffs that pervade the song's 3 minute plus running time. A confident display of his rap abilities, Shinoda puts his skills on full display stating "This is war with no weapons, marchin' with no steppin', murder with no killin', ill in every direction" informing other emcees to first "do the math" because there's "no equal, a John with no Yoko, more power, less people..." complimented by a chorus that features lyrics themed around an end of the world apocalyptic scenario, this track hits hard, and lets everybody know that Mr. Shinoda can run with the best of them. Turtleguy556: THIS SONG IS EPIC. Also built for all LP fans. This has a HUGE guitar riff that sounds like something from Meteora and Mike raps on top of it. The chorus is very sing-able and this could easily be a radio song. This has my favorite melody of the whole album. I don't mean radio song in a negative way. It just hooks you and you will be singing before it finishes. LPFC 1: For now, his song has to be my favorite song on this cd! Now this song was SICK & very HYPED!! It was filled with robust sounds of the guitar and Mike’s rapping was incredible! To give a little comparison, it reminded me somewhat of “A Place In My Head” or “Faint”. LPFC 2: [...] but it becomes pretty certain it’s leading, leading into another I strongly enjoyed from Mike’s element. Notes: One minute long preview of the song aired on the UFC 173 event on May 24th, 2014, the snippet can be found here. The full song was played later that same evening at the first show of The Hunting Party touring cycle at KFMA day in Tucson, Arizona. The performance can be seen here. Leaked May 31, 2014 after the performance at Rock in Rio Lisboa at which Mike threw CD copies of the song into the crowd before performing it live. 07. UNTIL IT'S GONE Rolling Stone: "Until It's Gone" kicks off with the sort of warbling synth effect that was the group's calling card on their 2000 breakthrough debut, Hybrid Theory, but builds into a brooding, textured gloom rocker that reminds listeners, via singer Chester Bennington, that "[you] don't know what you've got until it's gone." Loudwire: It’s a more mid-tempo track with softer lyrics provided by Chester Bennington, who really shows his vocal versatility. The dreamy and atmospheric sounds are enough to whisk you away but Bennington brings you back down to earth as he belts out their take on a familiar chorus: “’Cause you don’t know what you’ve got / No you don’t know what you’ve got / You don’t know what you’ve got / Until it’s gone.” This catchy song is one that’s bound to get stuck in your head for a long time. Altwire: Beginning with a synth line reminiscent of 2003's "Numb" from their sophomore release Meteora, Until It's Gone takes a sharp turn into an unexpected brooding goth rock anthem, proving to be one of the most atmospheric and diverse songs on the 6 song sampler. It took me by surprise on the first listen, and is actually one of my favorite songs the band has done in recent memory. With it's gorgeous choir like backing vocals, and intense orchestral backdrop this song stays with you, and impacts you long after well...'It's Gone'. Atmospherically similar to the band's 2010 release A Thousand Suns, Chester looks back woefully in regret at a failed relationship, singing "I thought I kept you safe and sound, I thought I made you strong, but something made me realize, that I was wrong." It wouldn't be out of place to expect this as the band's next single given its highly memorable sound and powerful melodies. Notes: Track lenght revealed to be 3:41, artwork can be seen here. Released on May 5th, 2014 during Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio One. 08. REBELLION (ft. Daron Malakian) Rolling Stone: "Rebellion," uses a speedy riff and a jackhammer-fast drum line that splits the difference between hardcore and disco that, together, charges toward a chorus with the message "Rebellion – we lost before we start." ... System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian appears on "Rebellion". Loudwire: With a name like ‘Rebellion,’ as a listener you would expect pure chaos and mayhem and that’s exactly what Linkin Park give you. The vibe is almost thrashy with its speedy riffs and galloping drums. While listening to it one might think that it could even fit on System of a Down’s first album — that’s probably because none other than Daron Malakian of System of a Down is featured on this song. Altwire: Sonically resembling a Toxicity-era System of a Down track, Daron Malakian's signature guitar sound is on full display here as he delivers a blisteringly fast sixteenth note guitar riff behind Mike Shinoda's sung lead vocals, breaking only momentarily for the chorus where Chester Bennington takes over the microphone to sing "we are the fortunate ones, imitations of rebellion". Painting a picture of society's downfall, Rebellion comes to a close with a super heavy fist pumping bridge of "Rebellion! Rebellion! One by one we fall apart!" While System fans have been waiting for a new album that may seemingly never come, they may just find what they were missing on this ultra-heavy rock track that combines System of Down's alternative-metal style with the early 90's punk sound that influences and permeates through many of the tracks on The Hunting Party. Guaranteed to be a crowd favorite if it ever is performed live, this track will no doubt land on many rock fans "favorite tracks" list when The Hunting Party drops this June. Turtleguy556: Starts out fast and heavy and sounds just like SOAD. Also very sing-able chorus, and Mike's rap sections are KILLER. Lots of gang vocals near the end yelling REBELLION. Sounded very interesting coming from LP. Again, it was VERY loud and I couldn't pick out Daron's guitar work. This one has a slight leaning toward punk as well in the chorus but nothing like WAR. LPFC 2: This is still said even with the song following after to pull a hushed “Oh shit!” from me, my scrawls on the napkin showing just “ROB” and “MIKE MIKE MIKE,” Chester brought in to finish it off. It was fuckin’ perfect. ARTISTdirect: Another standout, "Rebellion", sees Linkin Park team up with System of a Down shredder and singer Daron Malakian. He provides a distinct Middle Eastern groove as everybody teams up on a united vocal that's powerful enough to incite revolution. This is a special moment as it codifies the lasting power of the turn-of-the-century rock scene which spawned both groups. Notes: Released on June 3rd, 2014, after Chesters interview with Zane Lowe. The track leaked minutes before that. 09. MARK THE GRAVES Turtleguy556: This a very interesting song! It has dynamics and has lows and highs. The guitar riff and song reminded me of Metallica. The riff was jarring on purpose. Almost like they sectioned some in the middle of it to be faster so it's not a groove riff. The chorus is full voice Chester really going for it at a high pitch. LOTS going on in this song that I couldn't pick out, and it had many layers. It has great harmonies on the verses from what I can tell. Mike sings! It's a journey of a song that goes many different places. The song fades into the next track Drawbar. LPFC 2: Coming in after was one Brad called a favorite in the studio, my favorite element of this one being the harmonies; as much as I love both Chester and Mike’s separate voices, I will always fall hard time and time again when they lace them together, no matter how subtle. The rhythm is excellent and Chester’s voice truly shows its powerful range. Altwire 2: Introduced with a melancholy note reminiscent to The Summoning, Mark the Graves builds into the longest intro for any song on The Hunting Party with a mix of ascending guitars and jam-like riffs that reach a powerful climax before being drowned out into a series of ambient strumming guitars. Chester fades to the forefront with vocals that are some of the most notable on the album singing "No trace of what remains, no stones to mark the graves, only memories we thought we could deny". Mike Shinoda comes in for dual layered vocals as a prevailing chorus of hanging words make you want to scream along and feel the same hope Chester defiantly embodies throughout the entire song. A juxtaposition of sonic sounds and heavy guitars conclude the track as everything collapses around Chester's progressively more intense and powerful screaming of the chorus. Definitely a stand out track which fans of No Roads Left and The Little Things Give You Away may appreciate. Metal Hammer: The albums most experimental track, wrapping a chunky Helmet-esque riff, ambient noise and swooshing keyboards into a rather fractured, disorientating whole, which never settles into a formula. Interesting. AkirraKrylon: This was another highlight of the album for me. Along with KTTK, AFN, and WAR, this song is another that will be on my regularly played multiple times list of songs. This track has some really good lyrics (in my opinion) and showcase's Mike's vocal versatility. It builds and builds and builds so well and eventually just explodes and every member of the band is on display - really awesome track. Brad's guitar work here was fantastic. 10. DRAWBAR (ft. Tom Morello) Turtleguy556: Well I am sorry to say it guys, but this is an interlude and they fully did NOT take advantage of Tom's playing. It's largely piano driven and the guitar is faded behind it. It honestly sounded like a classic rock 60's guitar sound behind the piano. I thought this was the end of Mark The Graves but this was it... I will say the piano was beautiful and it was a good break between the action. I'd call this track really floaty almost ATS worthy. LPFC 2: Then we are taken into a drastic change, the beginning an instrument only Linkin Park could bring into such an album so flawlessly. Rob fades in, suddenly striking. A note for this is “breathless.” ARTISTdirect: One more legend, Mr. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine lends some mind-bending fretwork to "Drawbar", an entrancing instrumental emblematic of their diversity. Altwire 2: While admittedly not quite the style of music you'd expect to hear Tom Morello guitar work on, Drawbar serves as a dark and atmospheric piano/guitar driven postlude to Mark The Graves that allows the listener to take a breath and reflect before the next track begins. Ends with single piano notes reminiscent of Elton John or even Pink Floyd. Metal Hammer: If the previously reported presence of Rage Against The Machine guitar wizard Tom Morello on this track has got you all in a tizzy you can calm down right now. This tasteful minor key instrumental could be Muse at their most low-key, with a sweet piano intro, marching drums and some unobtrusive, chiming processed guitar, presumably supplied by the RATM man. AkirraKrylon: This song was a little underwhelming for me. I thought with Tom on here they would have gone all out, given how much the rest of the record just went balls to the wall nuts. Its not a bad song but given the Tom Morello feature you would just expect more. 11. FINAL MASQUERADE Turtleguy556: This is a great hook driven song. Also easy to catch on, and you be singing by the end. This is the other song that sounds like it could be radio friendly, again, not in a bad way. It reminded me of a classic rock hook made into modern rock. Not as slow as Until It's Gone, but not as aggressive as the others. I would rank it medium on the Visceral scale. LPFC 2: Now, with such aggressive attacks of sounds, voices and lyrics, I didn’t expect this album to make me cry. My beloved Soldiers know me well, and they refuse to let go of the fact I cried for A Thousand Suns, and I cried for “Castle of Glass.” Stunning album, stunning song; but for personal reasons, the lyrics struck hard in the second to last song, Rob striking hard, Chester and Mike’s voices- it’s an amazingly crafted piece of art, and easily- a cherished favorite. ARTISTdirect: "Final Masquerade" should serve as the soundtrack to a film's climax it's so cinematic and chilling. Once again, the boys expand their songwriting seamlessly, drawing true emotion from this moment. Altwire 2: Easily single material, Final Masquerade may be the only legitimate "soft" song on the record, but it serves as one of the album's biggest highlights. Linkin Park have always had a penchant for writing excellent and uplifting rock ballads, and this track is of no exception. A great display of Chester's vocal range, you really get the feeling that Chester is believing what he's singing here as he croons "The light on the horizon was brighter yesterday, the shadows floating over, the skies began to fade, you said it was forever, but then it slipped away, standing at the end of the final masquerade". Akin to a 1980's rock ballad, Chester's verses are complimented by wonderful airy keyboard synths that make this track feel like a beautiful mix of both the past and present of rock music. I've always felt the band could handle an 80's style rock ballad very well, and this song proves it. The track builds slowly to a great instrumental part, giving way to a vocal breakdown of the song's chorus, elevating the track to a stadium anthem as Chester sings the song's chorus one last time over "whoa oh ohs" sung beautifully by his Linkin Park band-mates. Metal Hammer: More A Thousand Suns than Hybrid Theory, this is LP at their most controlled and meditative, a slowly unfurling, mid-paced anthem built around simmering keyboards, unfussy, low-tempo beats and palm-muted guitar. It features one of Chester Bennington's finest vocal performances on the album: “The light on the horizon was brighter yesterday, shadows floating over, the skies began to fade...” AkirraKrylon: I have mixed feelings on this song. It is very ballady and very beautiful. It begins with a very catchy drum beat and Chester's vocals alone, and eventually builds into a very big sounding song. I could see why people compared this to ATS in style and feel. Imagine Waiting For The End's cooler older brother that loves to turn the guitar volume up to 11. I feel like I am going to have a love/meh relationship with this song. Fits will with the album overall I will say, however. 12. A LINE IN THE SAND Turtleguy556: This is LP giving it everything they have got musically, vocally, and sonically. It starts out like an ATS song with surging bass and keys over Mike singing softly and builds into a shredding rock epic. It was faster than I expected when it kicked in. It rocks HARD, and leaves you with the feeling of "I WANT MORE OF THIS SONG!!!" Couldn't make out intricate things, but there was ALOT going on in this song. Rest assured it is not a slow closer AT ALL. After the heavy beating of this song it flows into the same soft Mike singing to close. The band referred to this song as the odyssey. LPFC 1: This is the song that you hear the band just playing like it’s the last song being played at their concert! You can feel that the band is giving it their all! Mike is singing, Rob is killing it on the drums, and Brad and Phoenix ripping it on their guitars. Amazing! LPFC 2: Closing the album was quite possibly Mike’s most stunning work, both lyrically and vocally. A powerful end in many ways you wouldn’t expect. We felt a sense as we listened, that this was it, and indeed it was the end. ARTISTdirect: However, "A Line in the Sand" is their most epic cut to date teetering between subtle balladry and volatile vocal explosions to a backdrop of instrumental intricacy. Altwire 2: Thunderstorms and the familiar sound of a single note gradually surfacing from static open the album's most diverse track. A Line in the Sand's tone is that of a closing song, an ominous symphony of darkness with only Mike Shinoda's echoing vocals being the light. With no warning, that light turns to fire as the song explodes into a metal style riff, a glimpse into what we saw through the entirety of The Hunting Party. Military style drums provide the framework for a notable second verse which sees co-vocalist Chester Bennington harmonize with Mike before taking over a dominant chorus of contentious vocals and heavy guitars. A bridge with Mike sparingly rhyming lyrics is evocative of the breakdown in Hybrid Theory's By Myself as he proclaims "I had never been a coward, I had never seen blood, you had sold me an ocean, and I was lost in the flood", quieting the wall of noise momentarily before an ascending onslaught of punishing riffs overlay Brad's guitar solos and Chester's screams. The song ends how it starts as Mike reflectively looks at the damage done over lingering guitar notes. A Line in the Sand acts as the graveyard to everything on the album, an eclectic combustion of hard, soft and everything in between. Metal Hammer: The Hunting Party draws to a close with this 6 minute 35 second sci-fi themed epic, which builds from a static-flecked, chilling, 'last man on earth' transmission into something more powerful and menacing, featuring an echoing, double-tracked Shinoda vocal and some classic Bennington rage - “You'll get what's yours,” he seethes. “Give me back what's mine!” - before seguing into an almost Maiden-esque guitar part and finally dissolving into a reprise of the opening. AkirraKrylon: Those who described this as an epic song were right - it is LONG and EPIC (giggity?). Mike's vocals on this song really stuck out to me - really beautiful stuff. The instrumentation on this song is fantastic - the band is just firing on all cylinders and it sounds great. I remember going at one point - "man this song STILL ISN'T OVER?" in a kind of good way but kind of bad way. I compared it in the shoutbox to the last lord of the rings movie - it is awesome and amazing but the end was kind of like "ok is this really not over yet?" xD Original articles: Rolling Stone: Inside Linkin Park's Heavy New Album: 'We Need to Weed Out the Emo' Loudwire: Early Preview: Linkin Park’s ‘The Hunting Party’ Altwire: First Impresions of Linkin Park’s “The Hunting Party” Turtleguy556: The Hunting Party listening party review Janet Christman (LPFC 1): LISTENING PARTY FOR LINKIN PARK – THE HUNTING PARTY AT THE ATTIC IN HOLLYWOOD, CA LPFC 2: FAN REVIEW: LINKIN PARK - THE HUNTING PARTY // LISTENING SESSION AT THE ATTIC ARTISTdirect: First Reaction: Linkin Park – "The Hunting Party" Altwire 2: The Hunting Party / Part 1: Full Track By Track Impressions Metal Hammer: LINKIN PARK: OUR TRACK-BY-TRACK LOOK AT THE HUNTING PARTY AkirraKrylon: NYC Listening Party Impressions All descriptions are the ones we've gotten before the song arrived, and were copied and not altered, except for fixing a few typos.
I had to fix it a thousand times before it looked like something. I like it. I'll fix the explicit signs though.
Someone should go fishing through the comments in the thread for Derek's reveiw and collect all the questions he answered to add to this.
I was thinking about this, but that does seem a bit unofficial. We could ask Derek, if he agrees then Ill do it.
Just a reminder this thread exists, as Ree wanted to start a new one. I'll update this tonight if I find time.