Twiilite

Phenomenal performance by Chester here. He sounds right at home on this heavy metal track. While I do think the instrumental itself is super generic metal, Chester's vocals immediately elevate the song into something special. He remains to be dearly missed. Why do LP fans always feel the need to obsess over how much they dislike a specific album in every single thread anywhere when its not really warranted in the discussion? The Hunting Party was the heaviest Linkin Park had been in a decade, and far heavier than anything on mainstream rock radio in that time span. The band was never trying to compare themselves to 2010 metal bands because, as you kind of slightly acknowledged, the album was a love letter to 80's & 90's thrash metal. Honestly, I would strongly disagree with just about everything in your opinion. You say four songs from The Hunting Party are slower, but two of them are instrumentals, and The Summoning doesn't really fit the bill. Regardless it's a little over ten minutes on a 46 minute album. If anything, Mike interplayed with the album's "clean" vocals while Chester was pretty much always growling, shouting, or screaming... just like oh just about every other heavy song in the band's discography. Not sure what's so different about it? Yes The Hunting Party ebbed and flowed between soft and heavy, but that does not take anything away from the record. That's like saying Metallica's Master of Puppets album isn't heavy because there's moments of respite spaced throughout. It was a conscious decision by the band, not because Brad or Rob can't really play "true metal". There's a reason Slayer's Reign in Blood, one of the most heralded metal albums of all time, is only 28 minutes long - because any longer would exhaust the average listener. Lyrics are completely subjective so I won't go there, but the album wasn't written to relate to listeners. It was a retaliation against the stagnation of modern rock music and the industry as a whole. Not to mention I'm not sure what Mike's intentions on writing a record have anything to do with whether the album is heavy or not. I would agree that Given Up and No More Sorrow are heavier than anything on Hybrid Theory and Meteora and are comparable to THP. Victimized on the other hand is far more loud and abrasive than it is heavy. To call it heavier than Keys to the Kingdom, Guilty All The Same, Rebellion, or A Line in the Sand is a joke at best. This of course is all my two cents.

You're right, for some reason I had read it wrong or missed that part. An example I found was on LPA's "The Band" bio which says Xero was founded by Mike and Brad. The first mention of Mark comes long after the other band members were recruited and mentions him as nothing more than a "high-school acquaintance" which implied to me that he was added at the last minute because they needed a vocalist. There are several other sources on the web I have found that implied the same narrative. Obviously none of these were nearly as well researched as the Linkinpedia article, but it was conflicting nonetheless. My only remaining question is whether the demo tape Mike and Mark sent to the A&R rep was the Xero EP as we know it or a work-in-progress version of it? I assume there isn't an official confirmation either way.

The Linkinpedia page was my primary source. It just never really spelled out when Xero was officially formed and who was involved which was all I was looking for. Almost every other source on the band's origins say it was Mike, Brad, and Rob with Mark being recruited later, hence my confusion. Thanks for the help though!

Hey guys, quick question. I posted this on LPA too but I haven't received a definitive answer. I'm in the process of writing a biography of sorts on the band, and I've read conflicting reports on the founding of Xero. We've all assumed it was Mike, Brad, and Rob who started Xero and then recruited Mark Wakefield right? But I've done some digging around and it seems Mike has recently alluded to it being him, Brad and Mark who then recruited Rob. Does anyone have any concrete information on this?

Well said. We miss you Chester. I remember it like yesterday, checking my Twitter feed out of sheer boredom at work to find Mike's message. It didn't take very long to find out what he meant...

Posted this on LPA too Linkin Park Comeback Tour 01. Castle of Glass (New Extended Intro / Guitar Solo) 02. All for Nothing 03. Talking to Myself 04. Invisible 05. High Voltage (Extended Transition Outro) 06. Skin to Bone 07. Good Goodbye (Chorus Gang Vocals) 08. Leave Out All the Rest (Extended 2017 Version) 09. Numb (Crowd Sing-A-Long) 10. One More Light (Extended Drawbar Intro) 11. Looking for an Answer 12. Roads Untraveled 13. Final Masquerade 14. No Roads Left 15. Iridescent 16. Rebellion 17. Faint (Crowd Sing-A-Long / Extended Outro) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18. In the End (Extended Intro / Crowd Sing-A-Long) 19. Mark the Graves 20. Sorry for Now 21. When They Come for Me/Papercut (Mashup) 22. Bleed It Out (The Messenger Intro / One Step Closer Crowd Sing-A-Long Bridge / Extended Outro) You bet your ass Mike is the lead vocalist.

As most people have already said, Rock AM Ring 2004 is a fantastic show, but its overrated due to its availability and video quality. Not only did Project Revolution 2004 feature a better setlist (that godly Figure.09 extended transition into From the Inside), Chester's screams were simply unrivalled on performances like Mountain View, except for Summer Sonic 2006 which we can't fully judge because we don't have the full set. I'd even argue RAR 2007 is superior thanks to that legendary Faint closer alone.

Dark or violent does not equal mature. How the hell is an album written to seem like a suicide note by Chester, and is interpreted as such by the casual fanbase (even though he wrote only a fraction of the album) appropriate for kids? "Used to get high with the dead end kids, abandoned houses where the shadows lived" Oh I'm sure 5 year olds would love Halfway Right. Reminds me of the guy who complained the song One More Light sounds like Taylor Swift because Linkin Park used the word "flickers".

All this complaining about indie bands making a pop jingle, and yet Linkin Park just made a fucking pop jingle and they're soon proud of it. This entire video is so hypocritical. I feel betrayed as a Linkin Park fan. NOT because I don't like Heavy. But because the band members have clearly decided this time around to say "fuck the haters, they weren't fans to begin with" when that simply isn't the case. Any time they've talked about their fanbase previously, they've discussed how some fans like certain albums from them over others and that's okay. Now? They've decided fans who dislike the direction of Heavy aren't fans at all. I don't even want screaming or heavy guitars or a return to any past sounds. I just want the "fucking stellar" songs Chester teased in one of the Heavy pre release videos which after three years of waiting, Heavy is a horrible disappointment.

Hybrid, our lists are night and day different... 1. Blackout 2. Keys To The Kingdom 3. A Line In The Sand 4. Guilty All The Same 5. The Little Things Give You Away 6. The Catalyst 7. Lost In The Echo 8. Rebellion 9. Waiting For The End 10. No More Sorrow The top 3 could probably be rearranged in any order.

I've always found One Step Closer to be one of the weakest elements in Hybrid Theory, but it is an absolute monster live.

I truly think The Hunting Party tour stood a chance... until the band decided to only play 1/3 of the album in a single, never changing set. Projekt Revolution 2004 was pretty much the band in their live prime. Although Project Revolution 2007 was pretty badass as well with several rotating sets and new extended intros/outros to classics (One Step Closer, Faint)

It was someone complaining that the band hasn't made any steps forward since A Thousand Suns, and that they want to see bass lines and more than power chords and long piano chords on an album. I don't remember there being anything about the live set though... EDIT: Oh and he complained about song structures. The post was very eye-roll worthy in general. My favourite part of the AMA was easily when some idiot said "when will you make more heavy music like Meteora?" and Mike posted a link to The Hunting Party.

I still maintain the idea that considering how rough Brad was with the intro to GATS in early 2014, he just "forgot" how to play it again and is too lazy to practice it. And I agree with everyone else, the fact that Keys To The Kingdom isn't in the set a year later is pure laziness.

Seeing how popular the "Best Show From Each Album Cycle" thread is, I figured it would be a fun discussion to see what everyone's favourite LIVE song from each album cycle was. Note that this is strictly based on how well you think a song sounds live onstage rather than in studio. I'll even let you pick the top 3. Hybrid Theory: 1. A Place For My Head 2. And One 3. One Step Closer Meteora: 1. Wish 2. Faint 3. P5hng Me A*wy 2005-2006: 1. QWERTY 2. Faint 3. With You Minutes To Midnight: 1. Faint 2. No More Sorrow 3. Bleed It Out A Thousand Suns: 1. Bleed It Out (w. A Place For My Head v1/bridge) 2. No More Sorrow 3. Blackout Living Things: 1. Lost In The Echo 2. Victimized/QWERTY 3. The Catalyst The Hunting Party: 1. A Line In The Sand 2. Guilty All The Same 3. Until It's Gone

I'm fully aware of that. But it's a step up from the past and I hope they don't regress on the next album.

As long as the new material retains the instrumental complexity found in The Hunting Party, we're golden. I don't want to go back to LOL power chords all day everyday.

Please please please please please please please please please please

I frequent both sites and I've grown more and more frustrated with LPA. There's been so many great thread ideas that get immediately derailed because the "elite" members of the site literally get away with saying whatever they feel and going completely off-topic, and they consistently talk down to new or less popular users. The whole elitist "my musical opinion is better than yours because my music is experimental and has substance" bullshit that goes on there is also absurd and exhausting. Most of the members there don't even like Linkin Park anymore and are simply there to stir controversy and laugh at other users. Overall it has become more and more of a toxic environment, which is a shame.

Agreed. It may have a similar structure, but it doesn't ooze that 2003 cheese. I'd maybe give Faint, Lying From You, and From The Inside the upper hand, simply because they're just such fucking good songs at what they do.

Genius.com is kind of interesting for lyrical analysis for each song. Sure every analysis is contributed by randoms ala wikipedia, but some of the interpretations feel pretty spot on, and in some cases made me appreciate a song in an entirely different way. Here's Keys To The Kingdom, for example

A Line In The Sand is so special because it doesn't feel the need to rely on powerful vocals alone. Yes Chester's performance is incredible, but the song thrives on the instrumental rather than the vocal delivery. Take the vocals completely out of the song and ALITS would still rock just as fucking hard, which is a testament to Brad and Rob's ability on this album. The same could be said of Guilty All The Same, and most of The Hunting Party in general. It's not that the vocals are poor, but rather the entire band has finally caught up instrumentally which makes Linkin Park feel the most like a rock band it's ever been rather than the "Chester and Mike show ft a crunchy guitar riff/sad piano riff/catchy synth".

Classic LPTV - editing the video so it seems A Line In The Sand closed the show. Instead we get Bleed It Out for the millionth time. Regardless, I'm happy the band became ambitious enough to perform it live.

Has anyone ever considered a "setlist competition" here? Users would have a select amount of time to design a setlist based on a theme (heavy only, unplugged, singles only, one album only, etc) and then we would vote. Could be a fun way to think outside the box.

01. Keys To The Kingdom (Short Outro) 02. War 03. Papercut 04. No More Sorrow (Extended Intro/Riot Bridge) 05. Rebellion 06. QWERTY (Summer Sonic '06 Version) 07. Points Of Authority/When They Come For Me (Evolution Mashup) 08. Blackout 09. The Little Things Give You Away (Extended Intro) 10. What I've Done (AMBO Intro/Extended Guitar Solo) 11. Figure.09 (Blood, Anger, Suffering Outro) 12. From The Inside 13. Final Masquerade 14. Until It Breaks/Waiting For The End (Mashup w. Crashing Shores Outro) 15. In The End 16. Until It's Gone (Synth Outro) 17. The Catalyst 18. Mark The Graves 19. Bleed It Out (All For Nothing V2 Intro/Wastelands V1 + Chorus/Outro) 20. Faint (LPU9 Demo Verses/Extended Outro) -------------------------- 21. Lost In The Echo (Extended Killsonik Intro) 22. Guilty All The Same 23. A Place For My Head 24. One Step Closer (Reanimation Bridge/Extended Outro) 25. A Line In The Sand Keys To The Kingdom began with the stage in darkness. A spotlight descended on Chester as he screamed the intro, followed by another spotlight descending on Rob as the drumming began. A frenzy of lights finally came on for the intro guitar riff, revealing the stage. Keys To The Kingdom finished with a short outro with Chester screaming. QWERTY returned in full for the first time since 2007. The song was played similarly to its debut in 2006. The evolution mashup began with Points Of Authority being played until the bridge. During the "forfeit the game" portion, the song transitioned into the intro for When They Come For Me with the song then starting at "Not the same person telling you to forfeit the game" Until It Breaks was played in full until the end of Mike's third "Apaches" verse. The song then transitioned into Waiting For The End in full. Following the outro, the final section of Until It Breaks was played. Until It's Gone featured a synth solo outro that transitioned into The Catalyst Bleed It Out featured All For Nothing's verse 1 over the intro and Wastelands' verse 1 and chorus over the bridge. Faint featured the demo verses from LPU9 for the first time ever. Lost In The Echo featured the intro from the Killsonik remix. The beat after Chester's scream transitioned into the regular album intro.