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

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

  1. IronDust71

    IronDust71 Well-Known Member

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    Now that you mention it, I also think that War provides us the most powerful vocals in The Hunting Party.
     
  2. Captain-EO

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

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    I feel like Blackout has some pretty aggressive verses. :shrug:
     
  3. minuteforce

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

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    shut it :kappa:
     
  4. Captain-EO

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

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    Okay Tony, that's cool. :cry:

    :kappa:
     
  5. Qwerty19

    Qwerty19 Well-Known Member

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    Pretty fun, in your face, full on punk song. It's quite nice to have one.

    And Chester's vocals are fucking on point here
     
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  6. Gibs

    Gibs The Prog Nerd Über Member

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    War is probably the best track on the record, because it actually captured the rawness and energy it seems that the album was trying to aim for. Save for GATS (and maybe Rebellion), that was lost on the rest of the record.

    The Hunting Party should have been a full on Punk record.
     
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  7. Nicholas

    Nicholas Well-Known Member

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    When I first heard this I immediately liked it, rather than it being a slow grower like some of the other songs on here. The album was marketed as #VISCERAL and this is one of the few on the album that actually accomplishes that. It's loud and in your face, short and to the point. Lastly, it's one of the few songs on here that I feel actually benefited from the less "filtered" rawness of Chester's voice that's present on this album.

    I would have liked to have heard another 1 or 2 War/Victimized-esque songs scattered throughout the album.
     
  8. Iopia

    Iopia Well-Known Member

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    I'd argue that KTTK also has energy, and that MTG and ALITS both come damn close, while mixing in softer bits that accentuate the heavy bits, but yeah, I've always felt that THP had just a few too many mid-tempo, "sort of heavy but still quite poppy" tracks that really drag down the album's intensity. I'd argue that FM and Drawbar are too good to pass up, but imagine if the album opened up with KTTK --> GATS --> War --> Rebellion. It'd be on a completely different level in terms of energy and intensity. In fact, even after removing AFN, Wastelands and UIG, the album still comes in at 34:32, less than two and a half minutes shorter than both Meteora and Living Things. Easily fixed by adding one of those songs back in, or better yet, adding another new song or three to match the intensity of the rest of the album.

    That being said, now that we've had the album for two years, I acually really enjoy the three songs that I've cut, and I'd hate to lose them, but it's always felt to me as if only half of the album lived up to the intensity and energy that they promised, so I can't help but imagine what would have happened if they had gone full on balls to the wall in terms of heaviness instead of releasing an album where half of the tracks are barely heavier than Meteora. On balance, I've always much preferred the band's softer side, but if they want to write heavy music, I'd rather them write a song like War, KTTK, or GATS than one like Wastelands or AFN.

    ./rant :lol:
     
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  9. Gibs

    Gibs The Prog Nerd Über Member

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    @Iopia Songs like KTTK and ALITS definitely try to go for the same heavy and energetic vibe, I just don't think they were pulled off that well, ESPECIALLY A Line in the Sand.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2016
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  10. GraveDigger388

    GraveDigger388 Nothing's gonna top my Jacky

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    Gibs, gibs...


    FUCK YOUR OPINION!!!!



    :kappa:
     
  11. Alexrednex

    Alexrednex Well-Known Member

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    I still have no idea why they chose to play A Line In The Sand live over War + KTTK or AFN.
    ALITS is just too slow and awkward to work in a fast paced "Hunting Party" setlist.
     
  12. Modern Guitar God

    Modern Guitar God Nets 2021 LPA Super VIP

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    @Gibs would not expect LP to do a full out punk album. That's a cool idea though. I'm wondering if they have a bunch of other songs like "War", since they supposedly starting making that type of music since LT.
     
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  13. AThousandLivingTheories

    AThousandLivingTheories Mark The Graves

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    I fucking love War!

    It's such a cool song. I love the hardcore punk feel to it, it's amazing.

    By the way, the links on the first page don't work anymore. :( Is there anyway maybe someone could make a new list of links?
     
  14. BTorio

    BTorio Well-Known Member

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    Well, it's not really that fast-paced of a set, considering they left in the ballad medley, and Final Masquerade isn't that fast either. And of course the tracks they can't remove are relatively soft compared to other stuff they could play.

    They probably played it because they were highly proud of it and/or the breakdown in the middle is one of the most "go crazy in the pit" moments in THP.
     
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  15. Michele

    Michele Praise Brad Delson, our Lord and Savior. LPA Addict

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    Sadly, the LP crowd is one of the lamest crowds i have ever seen. SMARTPHONE PARTY YEAH YEAH!
     
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  16. Kevin

    Kevin A Pattern To Be Followed. LPA Administrator

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    Thanks for calling attention to that, the link format changed when we switched forums so some links will be weird. I went through and updated them all and added all the new songs.
     
  17. GraveDigger388

    GraveDigger388 Nothing's gonna top my Jacky

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    #dedication
     
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  18. Captain-EO

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

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    All hail Kevin. :worship:
     
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  19. Atticus

    Atticus Bullets lance the bravest lungs

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    UNTIL IT’S GONE
    [​IMG]
    “A fire needs a space to burn, a breath to build a glow”

    Until It’s Gone is the second single and seventh track featured on The Hunting Party. It premiered May 5th, 2014 on BBC Radio with Zane Lowe and the official single followed the next day. Before airing the track for the first time ever, Bennington briefly described the mindset for Until It’s Gone:


    Spiritually reminiscent of the now infectious synth for “Numb”, and using the melodic flare found in “Lost In The Echo” Until It’s Gone debuts with a pulsating synth. That’s where the similarities end as a legion of textured guitars attack at all sides over a pounding drum barrage, overcoming the electronics. The instrumental warfare subsides for an atmospheric almost orchestral buildup into the first chorus, as Bennington’s voice weaves over a melody of strings, grand bell samples, and booming drums. Vocal harmonies intertwine at the end of the buildup in acapella over a rising drum line until the tension reaches a peak. This peak can be attributed to elements found in contemporary EDM.


    The chorus both strikes and concludes as Bennington shouts the infamous line, bringing the guitars roaring back to the surface for another assault. The second verse is less intimate, bolstered by an earthly drum piece from the start. With the previous chiming samples and Bennington’s vocals, the track begins wildly manifesting itself into an anthem. With gloomy, almost gothic instrumental undertones and hints of unwieldy aggression, Until It’s Gone slowly forms into the cinematic stadium rock song it hopes to become.

    The second chorus reaches for the stratosphere as Bennington belts out the soaring melody along the sea of textured guitars. Finally, Until It’s Gone finds its climax with a poignant, flaring guitar solo. Although not overly complex, the solo is bursting with energy that comes to a short pause when Until It’s Gone briefly returns to the atmospheric dream state for a cool down phase. Following this rest is a thrilling finale that encapsulates everything found in a rock anthem as soaring vocals and blazing guitars come together. Taking the aggressive edge of The Hunting Party to maximum, the final repetitions of “until it’s gone” grow angrier and angrier until Bennington barks out a full on scream in the last seconds of the song.

    Until It’s Gone finishes with another strange interlude. This time, synths and trap-like drums are heard against a very digital backdrop. The end is perhaps most jarring as within the halfway point of an aggressive alternative metal album, the voice of a joyful baby is heard.


    Upon release of The Hunting Party, many fans seemed to consider Until It’s Gone as an outlier to the rest of the album, and began to question its inclusion entirely. Although it was certainly aggressive when called for, with biting guitars and even screams towards the end, the track was layered in electronics, from the iconic synth to the bell-like samples. Not to mention Until It’s Gone has a wholly cinematic production quality in comparison to the rest of the raw album.

    Speculation grew rampant when after “What I’ve Done”, “New Divide”, and “Iridescent” were theme songs for the first three Transformers movies respectively, Linkin Park was strangely absent from Transformers 4. After confirmation from director Michael Bay that he was still interested in using Linkin Park going forward in the franchise, the exclusion became jarring when fans instead found Imagine Dragons headlining the movie with “Battle Cry”. Many individuals believe that Until It’s Gone was originally intended for Transformers 4, but the collaboration fell through and so the band left the song in hibernation until The Hunting Party.

    Regardless of whether or not Until It’s Gone was meant for cinematic stardom, the track received significant airplay, reaching #1 on both the US Billboard’s Mainstream Rock charts and the UK Rock and Metal charts. The track was ultimately featured in the videogame, Transformers: Rise of the Spark in 2014.

    In a strange turn of events, Linkin Park members have outright come out and claimed what they believe the lyrics of Until It’s Gone are meant to represent. Rather than leaving it up to interpretation within the fan base, Shinoda has stated the following over Twitter:


    Of course, that doesn’t stop anyone from choosing to interpret the song how they’d like to. The regret could come from the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, or even a political misfire. As always, the important thing is to find one’s own meaning within the song, and Until It’s Gone has more than enough firepower and emotion to find something valuable.

    The biggest complaint coming from Until It’s Gone is the unfortunately simple vocabulary. The following lyrics are constantly repeated into oblivion:

    Considering the incredible breathing, evolving, cinematic instrumental behind the words, fanbase arguments arise consistently explaining how the track is wasted potential thanks to the highly repetitive lyrics.

    Fortunately, Until It’s Gone has a sensational music video. Released on June 11th, 2014, the video finally brought the band back to the forefront for a gritty, grimy alternative rock performance.


    Linkin Park performs the song over a vividly dystopian theme. Each member’s body is nearly silhouetted in darkness, striking a great contrast against the ashen white backdrop. Footage is spliced in between of unnamed figures being slowly covered in black ink, as if corrupt with some disease marking the end of civilization. The footage of the band playing is fast, frenetic, and some of the most action-packed ever seen in a Linkin Park music video as every band member gets into the vibe. The return to a full-fledged performance video was successful as the music video currently holds nearly 14.5 million views on YouTube.


    Taking inspiration from Until It’s Gone’s pop and EDM sensibilities, Simple Automaton’s remix on Viscera of the track is electronically-beat driven. The first section of the remix heavily incorporates the orchestral, gothic vibes before exploding into a club anthem. A slow piano section boosted by Bennington’s altered vocals brings the track to a climax. Needless to say, when the beat drops, it drops hard.

    Until It’s Gone was an absolute beast live, in part thanks to its incredibly atmospheric and epic extended intro. Following the footsteps of the "Mashup Intro" before "Guilty All The Same", Until It’s Gone spent most of its time in 2014 opening the encore with another mashup intro. This time, using "New Divide"’s electronic booms, "No More Sorrow"’s bone-chilling eBow guitar riff, and "The Catalyst"’s legendary “Lift me up/Let me go” refrain. The result was nothing short of fantastic before Until It’s Gone’s opening synth sent the intro into overdrive.

    In another unfortunate live move by the band, Until It’s Gone was quickly edited into a shortened version for the North American Carnivores Tour. Effectively removing the first chorus and combining the verses into a singular hybrid verse, the result was a full minute stripped from the cinematic, brooding anthem. The epic mashup intro was also abandoned in favour of the first verse from “With You”. The band was clearly trying to still make the single special, but the damage had been done.

    In 2015, Until It’s Gone was absent from the setlist. Another baffling move considering it was the second and more commercially mainstream single to the also removed “Guilty All The Same”. Regardless, Until It’s Gone was a brilliant addition to the set while it lasted; showcasing often-outstanding vocals from Bennington, and a relentlessly energy-fueled band behind him.
     
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  20. BTorio

    BTorio Well-Known Member

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    Ah, this song. I remember when this track first dropped, I was really into it. The first verse threw me back into New Divide, aka a very nostalgic track for me. I was thrilled to hear something new in the style that was reminiscent of a special time for me.

    These days, this is easily a very low-ranked LP song for me. It's disappointing that it doesn't really sound like it was a challenging song for them to make, and the lyrics are repetitive as hell. It's certainly cool that they have the not-obvious meaning of the lyrics, but it's not that cool lol. The mixing is also terrible to me. This is the pinnacle of "Wall of guitarz" to my ears, and there's virtually no low-end presence to at least make it sound more full and big. During the final chorus it sounds like a million things are happening at once and I can barely tell what's going on.

    That being said, there's redeeming qualities. The melodies are nice enough (and could be awesome with a different soundscape), and at least there's that somewhat interesting guitar line buried in the wall of guitarz. The trap ending is pretty cool, I was really hoping that would turn out to be a lead-in to Rebellion, and that Rebellion would sound like that when the album came out. I'm thrilled of course with how Rebellion turned out, but I still wouldn't mind to an attempt at a full-on LP track with that trap soundscape. Mike's rapping could be pretty dope on top of that sound.
     
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