User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 362 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 32 out of 362
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  1. Sep 10, 2014
    6
    A far superior record compared to the forgettable, made for radio Rick Rubin Trilogy of albums. Linkin Park's The Hunting Party is the best LP record since Meteora. The band certainly went in the right direction but poor execution and mediocre lyrics prevent this album from being a master piece. Mike Shinoda boasted about how "carnivorous", "heavy", "hard hitting", and "aggressive" thisA far superior record compared to the forgettable, made for radio Rick Rubin Trilogy of albums. Linkin Park's The Hunting Party is the best LP record since Meteora. The band certainly went in the right direction but poor execution and mediocre lyrics prevent this album from being a master piece. Mike Shinoda boasted about how "carnivorous", "heavy", "hard hitting", and "aggressive" this album would be. However The Hunting Party falls short of Mike's hype. It is a carnivorous album for a herbivorous audience. The Hunting Party lacks the heaviness and aggression of the first two albums. Mike's herbivorous pop style of singing ruined some of the best instrumentals Linkin Park has done to date. Mike can't sing. He should stick to what he is good at and just rap. LP already has a singer (Chester) and Mike's singing is unnecessary. This album sounds like the band was too afraid to go all the way with their new hardcore punk based sound and retained many of the pop elements of the Rubin trilogy. There are lots of boyband inspired poppy melodies and two soft radio rock songs (Until it's Gone & Final Masquerade). Chester's clean vocals are very boybandish like the Rubin trilogy. On HT & Meteora, Chester's sang in a slightly less laid back style and avoided sounding like a teen pop star. The instrumentals are great however the weak herbivorous vocals ruined this album. Expand
  2. Jun 18, 2014
    4
    Sorry for being blunt, but I think Linkin Park has just been phoning it in for the last two years. In this case, it seems like they weren't sure of what to do, because the style of the album is all over the place. The rhythm flow and Chester's vocals feel repetitive at this point, and the lyrics are either generic ("you don't know what you got until it's gone"), ironic (in "Guilty All TheSorry for being blunt, but I think Linkin Park has just been phoning it in for the last two years. In this case, it seems like they weren't sure of what to do, because the style of the album is all over the place. The rhythm flow and Chester's vocals feel repetitive at this point, and the lyrics are either generic ("you don't know what you got until it's gone"), ironic (in "Guilty All The Same" they criticize the system that made them millionaires in the first place), or just downright forgettable. The collaborations don't add anything special ("Drawbar" was a huge waste of Tom Morello), and feel more of an indulgence. Sure, it's better than most music these days, but The Hunting Party is disappointing for Linkin Park's standards. Expand
  3. Oct 20, 2014
    5
    Not terrible, but as a long time Linkin Park fan, I find it to be pretty disappointing. I liked A Thousand Suns and Living Things, and I know I'm in a minority on that, but at least they felt honest. This album feels like the guys were so worried about people not liking the last two albums they decided to go create a generic punk album, but that's not really what they ever were. "UntilNot terrible, but as a long time Linkin Park fan, I find it to be pretty disappointing. I liked A Thousand Suns and Living Things, and I know I'm in a minority on that, but at least they felt honest. This album feels like the guys were so worried about people not liking the last two albums they decided to go create a generic punk album, but that's not really what they ever were. "Until It's Gone" is definitely the anthem for this album, but probably not in the way its meant to be seen. Expand
  4. Feb 25, 2016
    6
    I've noticed a new trend where bands adopt some sort of anti-government pseudo intellectualism in a desperate attempt to stay relevant. It seems to be the case "when in doubt, go anti-establishment." This might have actually worked had Linkin Park actually come up with a clear message that sounded less like a teenager complaining about having to pay bills.

    This album is so generic that
    I've noticed a new trend where bands adopt some sort of anti-government pseudo intellectualism in a desperate attempt to stay relevant. It seems to be the case "when in doubt, go anti-establishment." This might have actually worked had Linkin Park actually come up with a clear message that sounded less like a teenager complaining about having to pay bills.

    This album is so generic that it' can be pretty cringeworthy to listen to at times. For example, take the song "Until It's Gone" with the lyrics "You don't know what you've got, no you don't know what you've got until it's gone!" Ugh.

    The worst part is you know they are taking themselves 100% seriously as they record this.

    It's as if they lost all of their creative spark and threw something together that would get them repeated plays on radio stations.

    The one positive thing I can say is that it sounds like Mike Shinoda has stepped up his rap game considerably.

    They can do better than this. That's what makes this such a massive disappointment.
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  5. Jul 18, 2017
    6
    it was okay.....................................................................................................................................................
  6. Apr 23, 2015
    6
    The Hunting Party has Linkin Park searching for its inner punk. With a production approach that invokes the sound of underground punk/rock of the 90s, LP have certainly raised my interest level immensely to try out this newest album. "Keys to the Kingdom" and "All For Nothing" put a good foot forward for the album, which made me want to listen to it all. Unfortunately, cuts like "GuiltyThe Hunting Party has Linkin Park searching for its inner punk. With a production approach that invokes the sound of underground punk/rock of the 90s, LP have certainly raised my interest level immensely to try out this newest album. "Keys to the Kingdom" and "All For Nothing" put a good foot forward for the album, which made me want to listen to it all. Unfortunately, cuts like "Guilty All The Same", "War" and "Rebellion" fall more flat and seem too chaotic and under-thought to have meaning on the album. A lot of the hooks and clever use of electronic tools are in the backseat most of the time, a shame given how talented this band has become in their use of those tools over so many albums. It isn't until the back end of the album that I found the LP that I know and love. "Final Masquerade" and "A Line In The Sand" are more proper examples of how LP should have approached this album. All the blitzkrieg and rawness may have appeal to some, but the entire album doesn't flow with either approach, making it tough for fans of old LP or this punk-revival LP to embrace the entire album. Their previous collaboration with Steve Aoki and the fleeting touches of Mike Shinoda's hip-hop misled me as to what this album would be, and thus I'm a bit saddened and left wanting what could have been. With EDM being such a big sub-genre with material to pull from it would have been nice to see LP draw more from that than what ends up on THP. Expand
  7. Jan 25, 2016
    5
    A little disappointed I felt the album could have been much better like Living Things but it wasn't that it was a ok album but I wouldn't choose to listen to it over Living Things or Hybrid Theory.
  8. Dec 3, 2014
    6
    Although it's great to see Linkin Park return to the heavier rock but I honestly enjoyed Living Things more, none of the songs really stick out other than Until it's Gone. But Final Masquerade shows us why Linkin Park was one of the greatest bands of the 2000s. For those reasons I'm giving this album a positive review.
  9. Jan 3, 2017
    5
    Some songs, like Until it's gone, Final Masquerade, Wasteland, Mark the graves, Keys to the Kingdom, or Drawbar are good or ok, but the other songs are pretty bad, some of them doesn't sound like everything great that they made in their early years, despite the band saying that they would return to the heavier sound of their debut.. At worst, two or three songs have almost the same chorus,Some songs, like Until it's gone, Final Masquerade, Wasteland, Mark the graves, Keys to the Kingdom, or Drawbar are good or ok, but the other songs are pretty bad, some of them doesn't sound like everything great that they made in their early years, despite the band saying that they would return to the heavier sound of their debut.. At worst, two or three songs have almost the same chorus, or aren't structured enough. Well, I think it's better than Living Things or Recharged, but doesn't measure at all to the quality of their first two albums. Expand
  10. May 22, 2020
    5
    Good album. Decent enough but not on the level LP fans expect. Electronic isn't their strength
  11. Apr 25, 2021
    6
    Неплохой альбом, но правда треки не особо запомнились и выделить особо нечего
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 15
  2. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 18, 2014
    60
    Straining a little too hard for intellectual depth and emotional intensity, The Hunting Party is ultimately let down by its lack of focus and poor quality control. [Summer 2014, p.93]
  2. Q Magazine
    Jul 2, 2014
    80
    Excitingly, War's chaotic punk and the frantic Guilty All The Same are as raw as they've ever been, but The Hunting Party is the sound of Linkin Park coming in from the cold. [Aug 2014, p.109]
  3. Jul 2, 2014
    50
    All in all, The Hunting Party is a solid record on its own, but it feels too repetitive, uninspired, and generic to equal its immediate predecessors.