
Album
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park
Released:
Label:
Warner Records
Few bands would say that splitting with sonic guru Rick Rubin (who produced the previous three Linkin Park full-lengths) helped their music. Yet that's exactly what happened with The Hunting Party. Quite honestly, Rubin's pop-oriented production would have been an ill fit for a set of songs steeped in hardcore rage, grinding hip-hop beats and thoroughly dystopian lyrics. Pieced together like a collage, the record still is an arty affair from a band known for arty moves. But there's no denying the manic energy coursing through songs like "Keys to the Kingdom," "War" and "Mark the Graves."