Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (Album 2014)

LOUDWIRE'S FIVE SONG REVIEW:

‘Keys to the Kingdom’: 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.

‘Wastelands of Today’: 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.

‘Until It’s Gone’: 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.

‘All for Nothing’: 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 Paige Hamilton.

‘Rebellion’: 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.

ROLLING STONE'S FIVE SONG REVIEW:

• "That mindset permeates the five songs off Linkin Park's sixth record, The Hunting Party, that Shinoda played Rolling Stone at a recent listening session in New York City. 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. It's undeniable Linkin Park at their most pure, since they produced the album, other than one track, themselves."

• ‘Keys to the Kingdom’: 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.

• "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."

-"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."

• "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.

• And the final track he played, "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."

Rolling Stone adds, "The album, which will contain 12 tracks, isn't finished yet, but Shinoda is working on mixing it this week in advance of its June 17th release and the band's summer tour."