Linkin Park’s ‘The Hunting Party’ Debuts In The Top 5 On The Billboard 200

It seems no matter where Linkin Park seems to go musically, their fans will always follow. In an age where people are resorting to streaming services like Spotify for their music, the band’s new album, The Hunting Party, managed to sell over 100,000 copies in its first week. That earned them the 3rd spot from the top of the Billboard 200 Chart.

The album was released June 17 on Warner Brothers Records, and is Linkin Park’s sixth studio album.

The album itself is a bit of departure in sound from Linkin Park’s two previous albums, Living Things and A Thousand Suns, and Blabbermouth.net reports that the new direction was very much on purpose. It stemmed from the fact that Linkin Park’s lead MC, Mike Shinoda, was tired of what he was hearing from today’s rock scene on the radio.

“I just couldn’t take it,” Shinoda said. “I was listening to stuff and I really just was getting frustrated. I was actually listening to my own demos and I wasn’t happy with those either. And yeah, there was a point at which we just kind of did an about face and I said to the guys, like, ‘I’ve just kind of scrapped everything that we’ve been working on, like we can go back to it if we want to, but I made some new things and I think this is the direction for the album.’ And that’s what I played them.”

Shinoda also expanded on his opinion of the current rock scene, according to Radio.com:

“Rock music has gone in this direction that’s like indie pop jingles. It’s like songs that could be on Nick Jr. and the Disney Channel. I can’t see myself writing music like that. I don’t want to follow that trend. Forget it!”

While the new Linkin Park album is definitely a guitar-heavy record with a healthy dose of hip-hop, he acknowledges that it’s not the most hardcore rock record, either.

“I’m not under the impression that we’ve made the heaviest album of all time,” he said, according to Blabbermouth.net. “But I do know that what’s going on out there in rock music, is that rock music, even the most popular bands, is not really influencing the zeitgeist.”

For fans eager to hear those loud guitars in person, have no fear. Linkin Park can be seen on the road this summer with 30 Seconds To Mars and AFI on the Carnivores Tour.

[Image via NRK P3]