Linkin Park
The Hunting Party


3.5
great

Review

by iswimfast USER (32 Reviews)
June 10th, 2014 | 43 replies


Release Date: 2014 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Simply guitars and anger alone do not a classic record make.

Fifteen year old me is in his fucking element right now. There’s no mistaking Linkin Park made their name among angst ridden teenagers and it’s now on their 6th full length that they decide to throw those same teenagers another bone by playing with guitars again. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear an old favorite sounding like an old favorite again, but let’s not lose our heads here. Without a doubt Shinoda tears up the mic on the verses of “All for Nothing” (sounds like he is anyway, pedestrian rhyme schemes permeate this thing even by his standards) and Chester brings the generalized anger against his generalized foes harder on “Keys to the Kingdom” and “A Line in the Sand” than he has since imploring our silence on “One Step Closer”. But at the end of the day, Linkin Park just ends up proving once again that they write one hell of an above average mainstream song.

Linkin Park has never improved upon the songwriting skill they had on Hybrid Theory and they probably won’t. Here’s the kicker though, they haven’t gotten any worse either. So we see it again, the band falling into the same songwriting pitfalls (structurally identical to everything they’ve ever put out) that have plagued them ever since Meteora. Seriously, take out the Rakim verse on “Guilty All the Same” and tell me it’s not a slightly more guitar complex “No More Sorrow”. If you remove half the riffs out of “Until It’s Gone” and replace with them with synths it could fit on Living Things without a second thought. Sure, you can make the case for the bands improvement at the actual “playing” of their instruments (Rob Bourden’s drumming steals a large portion of the accolades I’d give out) but does complexity and difficultly of the task really make it that much more artistically relevant? It’s easy to get all caught up in Linkin Park playing heavy shit again, but that by itself can't mean we're getting something any less derivative than what we’ve received the past 10 years. As I said, fifteen year old me is ecstatic with the direction Linkin Park took here and they sure do it well given the number of years that have gone by, but you’ve got to keep it in perspective. Simply guitars and anger alone do not a classic record make.



Recent reviews by this author
One Step Closer All You EmbraceA Sunny Day in Glasgow Sea When Absent
Pianos Become the Teeth Keep YouSwervedriver I Wasn't Born to Lose You
Make Do and Mend Don't Be LongLupe Fiasco Tetsuo and Youth
user ratings (1665)
3.2
good
other reviews of this album
1 of


Comments:Add a Comment 
iswimfast
June 11th 2014


1530 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

goodbye sputnik it has been nice knowing you.

TooManyFriends
June 11th 2014


3507 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

I bet Verm was the neg

Verm
June 11th 2014


1001 Comments


Nope, sorry to dissapoint you toomanyfriends but review is ok. Maybe if the rating was a 1,5 or 1 I
will be the neg with no doubt

iswimfast
June 11th 2014


1530 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

well it's gone already whatever.



swim4contrib2014

sapient
June 11th 2014


2420 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

I don't think anybody REALLY thinks this is a classic record, so the summary is a bit exaggerated. It's simply their strongest since Hybrid Theory

Verm
June 11th 2014


1001 Comments


Is at the same level of meteora

sapient
June 11th 2014


2420 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

If I didn't think that Meteora was a lesser re-write of HT, I would agree Verm

iswimfast
June 11th 2014


1530 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

you see, you're looking at the word "classic" how sputnik classifies it.



escape the website for a second. every band hopes that their next album is a classic.

StallionMang
June 11th 2014


9003 Comments


That average holy fuck
It's like La Gargola all over again, except that album was at least a bit more deserving of those high marks

NordicMindset
June 11th 2014


25137 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Both albums were heavier than their prior releases too.



Coincidence?

Verm
June 11th 2014


1001 Comments


Love how people gets mad for a high rating of LP, is kinda funny, I'm sure that most of the detractors
were forced with an AK47 or M6 to hear the whole LP discogrpahy, lol.

NordicMindset
June 11th 2014


25137 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Verm, you do realize not everyone likes this album, and that's okay, right?

BassDemon333
June 11th 2014


3435 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

The fucking summary....really?

iswimfast
June 11th 2014


1530 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

people always get upset at cheesy shit why cant we JUST HAVE FUN

Verm
June 11th 2014


1001 Comments


Verm, you do realize not everyone likes this album, and that's okay, right?


Yeah I know, but is fuckin funny too see how some people is suffering due to the fact that linkin park
has a high score, I'm sure those lads are crying and dealing with a severe crysis,lol.

Verm
June 11th 2014


1001 Comments


Whatever Fripp, keep jamming bangerz, lol.

iswimfast
June 11th 2014


1530 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

verm can you go to another thread or something you're bringing down the mood.

BMDrummer
June 11th 2014


15164 Comments


Does this suck?












Prob

BMDrummer
June 11th 2014


15164 Comments


What do you mean?

BMDrummer
June 11th 2014


15164 Comments


Oh that, well whatever.



You have to be logged in to post a comment. Login | Create a Profile





STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy