"Session" - Song by Song, Let's Talk Linkin Park

Discussion in 'Linkin Park Chat' started by hawk, Jul 2, 2014.

  1. Kevin

    Kevin A Pattern To Be Followed. LPA Administrator

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    When this song came out, it was the only thing I listened to that whole day. It's an amazing song still.

    As for why they stopped playing it live, I could be wrong but didn't Mike say they did that to spare Brad and Rob from injuries? I think he said it in a LPU chat and considering Rob hurt his back while recording the song... wouldn't really surprise me if that was the reason.

    *EDIT*
    Yup, Mike said in the LPU Chat on July 31st 2015 that GATS was dropped due to injuries
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2016
  2. Deliveranze

    Deliveranze Well-Known Member

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    Gotta be honest. This is the start of the weaker section of the album for me. The positives first. I remember when this dropped, I was speechless. It was a style I was not expecting after Living Things and Recharged. A 5 minute track with some pretty solid guitar and drum work for LP. Though the only reason I listen to this song (if I choose to) is because Rakim went hard with that verse. After that I skip it. The lyrics are pretty cookie-cutter and generic then most of their nu metal lyrics to me and I still can't stand the chorus.
     
  3. Captain-EO

    Captain-EO Also Prog Nerd Now, Thanks Gibs LPA Super Member

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    To be honest, who listens to a majority of THP for the lyrics?
     
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  4. minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    When I think of "The Hunting Party", probably one of the first things that comes to mind is the opening to this song. It's cool showing people where the band chose to go after an album which featured "Burn It Down"

    That said, not one of my favourites on the album. Lyrically, I feel it's pretty bland except for Rakim's verse which, in my opinion, is exceptional and definitely one of the very best rap verses to ever appear on a Linkin Park song.
     
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  5. Iopia

    Iopia Well-Known Member

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    When this dropped... Oh man...

    GATS was a game changer. While I was sceptical of a return to heavier, guitar based music, this song proved that the band could drive forward in their quest to constantly evolve, even while delivering a straight forward no frills rock sound. This song broke ground for the band. At 5:55, it was only eclipsed by TLTGYA in terms of length, while the minute and a half long instrumental intro was the longest the band had ever written. The guitar solo was intense, and not only did we actually get a proper riff this time, we got two of them. Sonically, the song was actually dark, a sheer contrast to Living Things, from the brooding piano intro to the almost Avenged Sevenfold-esque main riff, and while undeniably guitar-centric, the band resisted sounding like a second-rate metal band by sprinkling their trademark sound all over the track, from the electronic breakdown during the first chorus to the monstrous rap verse from Rakim.

    I know it sounds funny, but I feel like GATS deserved a better album. I know some of you might disagree, but to me, it still sounds fresh to this day. They just covered so much new ground in one song, and I was so excited to see what other tricks they had up their sleeve, but for me, only a handful of other tracks have me that same feeling. As it is, I still feel that GATS is one of, if not the best heavy song that Linkin Park have ever released, and while I still love the album as a whole, I can't help but wish that the band had strived to make each and every song unique and exciting in its own way, almost like a heavy ATS.
     
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  6. Deliveranze

    Deliveranze Well-Known Member

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    Good point. Personally I like most of the lyrics of THP :shrug:but GATS has the blandest verses (apart from Rakim) to me on the album. This song was pretty damn refreshing though. Much more hyped when I heard this than Burn It Down back in 2012.
     
  7. AThousandLivingTheories

    AThousandLivingTheories Mark The Graves

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    I think GATS is sort of overrated. It's good, but it just sounds like it goes on for way too long. Still a good song.
     
  8. TEGCRocco

    TEGCRocco The LPL Invader

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    Much like the rest of the first half of The Hunting Party, this one has kind of lost it over time for me. It's still good, and it's easily the best in the first of the album, but something about the song now just feels, I don't know, bland? Overdone? Not even the song as a whole. Just elements of it. The first part of the intro feels like something just about any rock/metal band could throw together in 15 minutes. The main riff just screams Avenged Sevenfold, though I do like it, and the solo is just "Faint outro + wah". The lyrics are tired and overdone, with the exception of Rakim's verse, which is far and away the best part of the song, and is my favorite rap on any studio Linkin Park track. He has such an amazing flow and the lyrics stand out in the best possible way. No way in hell Mike could have pulled something like that, so I'm really glad they gave that part to Rakim. Still not huge on Chester's delivery here. I feel like a lot of lines here called for a scream or just something more than a strained yell. Like the ending of the second and third chorus. The gang vocals are a nice touch, but I wish Chester did something more there.

    Oh, and the piano section of the intro is top notch. After such a raw, in your face riff, it all stripping away to a piano with intricate drumming and subtle electronics was such a great choice. The slow fade in of the guitar was a nice touch, too.
     
  9. brady

    brady I am the LPA LPA Super Member

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    Damn this song.

    I can still remember exactly what is was like hearing this song for the first time. Hearing every bit of that 1:30 intro and thinking "holy fuck this is so fresh and amazing." And then I was absolutely blown away by Chester's vocals and guitar work and then being immediately enticed by the feature on the song. And finally the ending solo solidified my opinion on the song; Guilty All The Same is fucking amazing.

    And to this day, the song still sounds fresh and awesome like the first time I heard it. This song has yet to grow old for me.
     
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  10. GraveDigger388

    GraveDigger388 Nothing's gonna top my Jacky

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    GATS GATS GATS!!

    The intro, fills me with A LOT of energy. And then the pre-verse riff, who wouldn't mosh at that?
    The bridge is perfect, the drums, the guitars, the rap verse...damn.
    And comes the outro, the solo is kinda...weird. Especially when played live.

    But overall, this song was executed perfectly. Rob, Brad, and Rakim shines on this one. Simply top notch.
     
  11. brady

    brady I am the LPA LPA Super Member

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    Final Masquerade. That's about it.
     
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  12. Iopia

    Iopia Well-Known Member

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    I do agree, I feel like the first riff isn't anything special in and of itself (while I absolutely love the second riff), but the repetition on piano just makes it completely worth it. It's not an effect that LP use very often, which is unfortunate, when they repeat something, be it a chorus, verse, or riff, they usually don't alter it too much, either making it slightly bigger, or leaving it untouched. They don't usually alter the instruments and fundamental sound of the part. That's why I love the acoustic version of FM so much, they use the same effect when the verse is repeated but with Chester on vocals instead of Mike.

    It's a subtle effect, but it really helps to make the song less repetitive and far more interesting sonically. Anyway, I'll never say no to more piano on an LP album. :lol:

    I'm quite fond of Rebellion's lyrics also, they're self aware and actually kind of interesting. I love the imagery in the verses of MTG as well, a shame that the chorus doesn't really love up to that standard (lyrically).
     
  13. BTorio

    BTorio Well-Known Member

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    I remember when this first dropped on Shazam. I was shocked they actually went to a heavy sound, but also I wasn't too into the melodies/sound of the track. I slowly began to appreciate how "raw" it sounded and slowly began to appreciate how cool Rakim's verse was. Back then, it was great to have new LP, but it felt like a meh song to me. Now, it's one of my tops for sure.

    The intro never ceases to be compelling to me, the verse melodies are some of my favorite verses ever, the harmonies are great, and the chorus is perfect for the song. And damn, the drums are just on a whole other level. The tone is so perfect and gritty, I can listen to the song multiple times and pay attention only to the drums. I think this has become my most-listened to song on Lastfm. I agree, this song almost deserved a better album. Besides maybe MTG (which I don't really like that much), ALITS, and Rebellion, it's just so unique and far from the more cookie-cutter structures and styles of every other song on the album.

    This song killed it live btw. What a way to open a concert.
     
  14. IronDust71

    IronDust71 Well-Known Member

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    Unlike much of you here, Guilty All the Same was one of the first (if not THE first) songs I... discovered from the band.
    I have a close friend of mine who is into Linkin Park since a few years now, and he's the type of guy who says that "Linkin Park was only good during the Hybrid Theory/Meteora era". (Of course, I'm always arguing with him about this.)
    In order to have more things to talk about with him, I started to interest myself into the band and I learned at that time that Linkin Park was in studio recording The Hunting Party. Me and my friend paid close attention to it and then one day, BLAM !
    Guilty All the Same is released on YouTube as the first single of THP, my friend sure got really excited about the heavy sound and the return of the band to their roots. I bought the single on Google Play (I cannot download things illegaly) and listened to it all day long.
    At that time, when rock music was still very vague to me, GATS was the only real heavy song I ever listened to. I remember my father's face when I told him I listened to GATS; when he typed it on YouTube. He seemed to be thanking God for helping me discovering a beautiful music genre.

    Sadly, my interest about this song vanished as the months passed by, in favor of Mark the Graves, Rebellion and A Line in the Sand primarily. But this song still remains important to me as it helped me to learn the name of my favourite band of all time.
     
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  15. Nicholas

    Nicholas Well-Known Member

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    I remember not liking GATS at first because it was so drastically different from the two albums before it that I wasn't expecting it. I didn't like the less filtered "rawness" of Chester's voice in this song, but liked Rakim's verse. To date, of all their collaborations I think this one felt the most natural, Rakim fit perfectly into this song and the album's theme. The single release strips away the best part of the song.

    Given the context of the song and the album, I get that it's intentionally less filtered and supposed to be in your face (#VISCERAL), but there's times where I just find Chester's voice a little too harsh and this is one of them. It's a combination of the lyrics and Chester's harsh voice that turns me off what's otherwise a pretty impressive song. GATS was jarring coming off the last album that had songs like CoG.

    As for the instrumental, my first thoughts were "woah, this is Linkin Park?", this is no BiD. I think I remember poorly trolling and said it sounded like hard rock clown music :lol:. It's vigorous and gets you pumped, Rob's and Brad's work here is impressive and a notable step up, but playing it live seems like such a pain that it's no surprise they dropped it. This is one of my least played LP songs, simply because it's a bit exhausting and I enjoy it more while playing the album in full.
     
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  16. Alexrednex

    Alexrednex Well-Known Member

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    One of their best songs to date.
    The lyrics may be a little simple but they are effective.
    I love how raw it feels compared to everything on LT.
    This songs still makes me excited despite the fact that I have heard it a hundred times.
    It sounds amazing live too and I wish they would add it to they setlist again.
     
  17. Atticus

    Atticus Bullets lance the bravest lungs

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    THE SUMMONING


    After the relentless rampage of Guilty All The Same, The Summoning takes a second to give The Hunting Party some much-needed breathing space. Almost “Tinfoil” in nature, The Summoning’s opening is smothered in a synthetic, cosmic layer of sound with a very distant music box playing. Fifteen seconds in, the breath is over as a rugged guitar chugs a single power chord. Several drum fill samples are then encountered in the background alongside a strange animalistic roar. Another five strums of the guitar come to life and then a discernable vocal sample joins in, sounding somewhat like Bennington’s voice. The layers fester together creating a restless tension, provoking memories of A Thousand Suns’ “The Radiance”.

    Just when The Summoning seems to reach its climax, another interlude cuts off the ritual. Several voices are heard, one yelling to “Watch the ball”. The distinctive sound of a baseball bat clashing with a ball echoes and then the voices shout “Nice! Run, run, run!” Although not confirmed, it is believed the end of the interlude is a recording of Bennington watching his child play baseball, and reacting in excitement as they strike the ball.


    LPA’s own minuteforce produced a remix for The Summoning in 2014’s community project, Viscera. The reimagining keeps the same tension-ridden buildup but removes most other traces of the track. Void of any chugging power chords, the remix relies on pure ambience to amazing effect. The track ends with an ominous sample from John Carpenter’s 1976 action thriller “Assault on Precinct 13”.


    Onstage, The Summoning was never played live in its entirety. However, for Linkin Park’s The Hunting Party touring cycle, nearly every show in 2014 was opened with what was referred to as a “Mashup Intro”. Incorporating a plethora of samples from the band’s discography, this introduction served as an epic start to any show. The summoning was not brought in until the second intro, “Mashup Intro #2” where it served as the backbone alongside samples from Session, 1stp Klosr, The Reqiuem, The Catalyst, and finally Guilty All The Same’s vicious opening riff that transitioned immediately into the six-minute behemoth. In 2015, following the canceled North American tour, Guilty All The Same was promptly removed from the set, making the Mashup Intro irrelevant to the setlist. The Summoning has not been heard live in any form since.
     
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  18. IronDust71

    IronDust71 Well-Known Member

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    When I first heard The Summoning, I almost shat myself because of the build-up. But then when I heard the baseball clip, don't ask me why, but I thought it was Brad yelling to run.
    It's a cool interlude though and it gives a little time to breathe in The Hunting Party, where everything comes together so fast.
    Also, with the next track being about War, is it possible that the "run" thing symbolizes someone running away from a hand grenade ?
    Great summary, Atticus ! :lol:
     
  19. Alexrednex

    Alexrednex Well-Known Member

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    Honestly this is one of the most pointless album interludes LP has ever made.
    I feel like it contributes with nothing to the following track "War" and while it does provide a small "pause" from the mayhem, I personally don't think it is necessary.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2016
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  20. TheZlajaZlo

    TheZlajaZlo Closing LPA Super Member

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    Pretty much this. nothing to add regarding this song.
     

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