The Hunting Party (album)

The Hunting Party
Standard edition cover
Studio album by Linkin Park
Released	June 17, 2014 (2014-06-17)
Recorded	May 2013 – April 2014
Studio	Larrabee (Van Nuys, California) EastWest (Hollywood) Glenwood Place (Los Angeles)
Genre	Alternative metal nu metal rap metal thrash metal rap rock hard rock
Length	45:12
Label	Warner Bros. Machine Shop
Producer	Brad Delson Mike Shinoda
Linkin Park chronology
A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) (2014) The Hunting Party (2014) Mall: Music from the Motion Picture (2014)
Vinyl edition cover
Singles from The Hunting Party
"Guilty All the Same" Released: March 7, 2014 "Until It's Gone" Released: May 6, 2014 "Wastelands" Released: June 1, 2014 "Rebellion" Released: June 4, 2014 "Final Masquerade" Released: June 10, 2014

The Hunting Party is the sixth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. The album, produced by band members Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson, was released by Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop on June 17, 2014. It is the first album since Meteora (2003) not to be produced with Rick Rubin, who produced the band's previous three studio albums. The album's title is a contextual metaphor: Linkin Park is the party that is hunting to bring back the energy and soul of rock.

Stylistically, The Hunting Party is a departure from the electronic rock and experimental sound of the band's previous two studio albums, A Thousand Suns (2010) and Living Things (2012) and marks a return to the band’s nu metal sound. The album, described by Shinoda as simply "a rock record", serves as a statement by the band against contemporary mainstream and active rock bands, accused by him as "trying to be other bands and playing it safe". Packaged by an artwork by Brandon Parvini based on an original drawing by James Jean, the album took under a year to record and produce, with material being improvisationally written by the band. The album also features guest appearances from Helmet's Page Hamilton, System of a Down's Daron Malakian, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, and Rakim, marking the first time Linkin Park has collaborated with other artists on a studio album.

The album was promoted by the band and Warner Bros, with multiple promotional teasers and interviews produced and published in the lead-up to the album's release and listening parties of the album being held worldwide on multiple dates. The band embarked on the Carnivores Tour, a double-headline tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars, as well as The Hunting Party Tour, in support of the album. Five singles from The Hunting Party have been released; "Guilty All the Same" in March 2014, "Until It's Gone" in May 2014, and "Wastelands", "Rebellion" and "Final Masquerade" in June 2014.

The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its return to the heavier rock sound of their older albums. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, and has placed at number four on Revolver's list of "The 20 Best Albums of 2014". The album was certified Platinum in United States for the sales of one million copies.^[1]