Final Masquerade has been one of my favourites since I first heard the album. The simplicity is fine in my eyes; it has a basic structure, and some people prefer more in-depth ones, but I like the Final Masquerade. The harmonies in the choruses are nice. The only problem I have had before with this song was that it wasn't sung soflty enough (it was like a cross between soft and screamo), but I don't mind that now. It's not nearly as bad as The Messenger in that regard.
I can't get over the whiny chorus melody. It sounds like that of a nursery song, in the worst way possible. Along with "Until It's Gone", and possibly "Wastelands", this was among the first Linkin Park songs ever that I actively disliked.
The drum and guitar work were always the most memorable parts of this song to me, Rob especially did a great job. Hell, the instrumental in general and all the effects in it, it's damn good. I enjoy Mike's soft vocals more in the acoustic version, but like the powerful, explosive instrumental of the album version. Not to say Chester sounds bad in the album version, but I do think it's one of his weaker performances. Well, maybe "weaker" isn't the right word, it's the "less filtered" approach they went with the album I guess. Wasn't used to it, especially after Living Things. I don't know if I would rank it among my favorite singles of theirs, but it's a good song.
I like both version of Final Masquerade, but I do feel like the acoustic version is far superior. Chester really over-sings on the original. The music video is one of my favorites from them.
Don't do this. These posts are incredibly fucked to write, so be thankful someone's doing it at all instead of putting pressure on the person.
A LINE IN THE SAND “Today, we stood on the wall, we laughed at the sun, we laughed at the guns, we laughed at it all” Concluding The Hunting Party, A Line In The Sand stands as the twelfth and final track featured on the record. Spanning over six and a half minutes, A Line In The Sand is the longest track in Linkin Park’s discography, and revels in some of the most ambitious sonic, vocal, and instrumental landscapes the band has ever produced. Falling into an ominous tempest signaled by the dying seconds of Final Masquerade, A Line In The Sand foreshadows the apocalyptic instrumentation to come with thunder billowing at the forefront while a brooding synth rises underneath. A solemn piano riff welcomes Shinoda for a haunting vision of an incoming rebellion. The co-vocalist laments in a manner directly comparable, though slower-paced, to the opening verse in Keys To The Kingdom. The swelling ambience beckons Bourdon for a liberating drum barrage before a carnivorous guitar riff storms the soundscape. The instrumental immediately kicks into eleventh gear as another layer of guitar roars in, encompassing an aggressive stronghold on the sound. The rising and falling electric guitar riff fades away in favour of a pulsating, subdued riff that throbs in the sonic background of the verse. Shinoda blissfully serenades with another poetic message, this time accompanied by Bennington in the second half who harmonizes in a higher tone. Bourdon holds his ground with a militaristic drum line that channels A Line In The Sand forward until the pulsating guitar riff in the distance manifests itself into a distorted wall of noise that signals Bourdon into a frenzy. The chorus strikes without the slightest remorse, as Bennington releases a furious angst, beckoning for something lost that is rightfully his. Channeling inspiration from Guilty All The Same’s rebellious sound, and Living Things’ Victimized, the ferocious guitar riff emblemizes Linkin Park’s past aggression. The bridge of A Line In The Sand harkens all the way back to Hybrid Theory, as Shinoda wears the track By Myself on his sleeve for a rap melody that sounds strikingly familiar to the nu-metal titan. The instrumental is drawn back for the moment, the brooding synth returning at full strength alongside a piercing drum line that could shatter like glass under the tension. Shinoda’s frustration becomes evident as the speech progresses, until finally releasing to give way for another colossal chorus. The following breakdown envelops A Line In The Sand into a heavy-metal monolith. Driven by relentless distorted power chords, the entire sequence screams prime Metallica. The guitars swell and roar onward, thanks to some brilliant percussion that lead A Line In The Sand to its inevitable climax. The Hunting Party’s final chorus leaves no rest for the wicked as Bennington’s growling reaches a peak over a sea of swelling electric guitars left by the band blistering forward with a fiery instrumentation. Faint harmonization by Shinoda can be heard, until Bennington shrieks the final words, beckoning the album’s cataclysmic finale. It is here where The Hunting Party truly fires on all cylinders for a colossal conclusion. Suddenly Delson stretches his fingers one last time for a guitar solo that strikes like lightning in a bottle while Bennington ferociously screams in an aggressive charade of “give me back what’s mine”. His screams feel desperate as he pleads for a justice that will never come. Bourdon hammers the drums, delivering a never-ending blistering backbone, as Delson’s solo accelerates into a cascading wall of triplets. Finally, with one last howl, A Line In The Sand falls back into the same foreboding, dreamy state of the introduction, as Shinoda hauntingly repeats the track’s opening words. Lyrically, A Line In The Sand can be most easily interpreted as a song about conflict, rebellion, and anarchy. Some form of higher power's control falters, referenced by "and when they told us to go", and the ensuing conflict is a desperate plea for freedom, as referenced by, well literally every other lyric in the song. Comparisons have been made between the lead guitar riff found on Victimized and the one found on A Line In The Sand. Some fans can also hear glimpses of Guilty All The Same lost in translation. Shinoda has gone on record during a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), stating that while it was never intentional, Victimized was a pseudo-precursor to the sound discovered in The Hunting Party, so there was clearly a form of inspiration. A Line In The Sand was destined to be played live. After countless months of speculation and bewildering hype for the track to be played, A Line In The Sand debuted on May 9th, 2015. In order to play the behemoth live, the band slowed the tempo from 200 BPM to 190 BPM. Shinoda also included a short but atmospheric keyboard intro to the track. The song remained a staple on the setlist for the remainder of the touring cycle.
A Line In The Sand is for me one of the best songs the band has ever written (lyrical & instrumental wise). The way the song started, dark and silence and turn into a agressive in your face song is amazing. Shinoda did a great job here with the speaking/singing, also the rapping isnt as good as the speaking/singing stuff imo. Rob definitely kills it on the track, it is fucking great. And Brad did also a fantastic job, i fucking love the "solo" part. And Chester, his voice is so raw and aggresive, i just love it. I also like the lyrical story of the song. All in all one of the top 3 songs for me of The Hunting Party (next to GATS and Rebellion). Live the song is fucking great, sadly there wasnt much action in the pit at the show i attended. But it was fantastic, it was incredible. Hope they will keep it in the set for the next tour.
Your respect for the hard work I put into each of these track posts for nothing more than the pleasure of complete strangers, most of whom I'm sure just skim the words, is duly noted. Thank you for the appreciation.
The first time I heard this song I thought it was pretty cool. I found Chester's vocals a little off-putting, he sounds like they recorded this a hundred times before getting this take at some parts, and I wasn't really digging that aesthetic when I first heard it. Eventually, I came to really love the track for a while. It was one of my top listened to tracks for a good month or so, as I really began to appreciate the instrumentation (drums mostly), and the rough nature of Chester's vocals. The give me back what's mine screams are some of his best I think, and super fun to sing along to. I also really liked the solo for a while. I say all this in past tense because now the track feels more so-so to me. I think it's still pretty great, and I like how much variety is in it. I think that it could somehow be a little stronger though. I find the first two verses (the part where Mike and Chester harmonize over the intro melody, and Mike's rap) to be a bit dull. I would rather have had a faster section that didn't take away so much from the intensity of the track. I think it's a really comparable song to GATS, and GATS' verses are just so much better than these imo. Overall I love the song, I just think maybe it's a little too long, or that it jumps around as far as energy too much. The rap verse really just feels like it was stitched in, the same Three Band Terror does at the end of UIB. The breakdown is incredible though. I really wish I had the chance to see that part live. I also think this is a great ending track to THP, the order of the album is really strong and this is mostly what makes it seems that way. Next, songs from MALL?
Stop. Took me a while to warm up to A Line in the Sand but I do appreciate it now, especially Rob's drumming. It's a song that leaves me fairly satisfied when it is complete. I love the dynamic of the intro with the synth contrasted with the heavier parts of the song.
I've had a lot going on in my life lately and I didn't get the chance to read through all the posts and comment, but you can be sure I will read the ones I haven't eventually. - As for ALITS, I don't really care for it. It tries so hard to be epic but it ends up just messy.
I like this song, but it's far from epic. It's just a very long song with the typical structure with added singing intro and outro.
I mostly end up stopping THP after "Drawbar". To me, Mark The Graves is more than a fitting ending to that album, and Drawbar is like this cool little epilogue you get after it's done. Two final songs are meh.
In theory(here I go again), I love this song. However, the execution of some of its components are not always on point. I personally love the intro/outro, and the first few verses are pretty good, but the chorus falls flat, and the bridge lacks a bit of impact. The culmination of the solo and the screams are awesome, but the chorus is such a buzzkill. One thing I will give Linkin Park, is that ALITS really feels like a proper closer to the album. A slowly building manifestation of the album as a whole. None of that Powerless, Numb, Pushing Me Away, weak ass shit.
That's crazy talk! Powerless is perfect closer to LT. And it's epic compared to other songs on that album.