10 Underrated Linkin Park Songs
2. Keys to the Kingdom - The Hunting Party
Mike Shinoda's mission statement going into the Hunting Party was to bring more balls back into rock and roll. Ever since A Thousand Suns saw them toying with new instruments, all of the other rival bands that had come up in their wake were a lot softer compared to what they were doing back in the day. Shinoda wanted to shock the people again, and the nu metal fans' prayers were answered as soon as the first track started.
Opening with the distorted sounds of Chester's scream, Keys to the Kingdom sets everything off on the right foot, giving way to a crushing detuned guitar riff and the band sounding a lot more energized than they were back on Living Things. Now that they had the opportunity to rock again, this feels like the basic evolution from what they were doing back on Hybrid Theory: taking the glitchy production of electronica and using it to melt your face with metal attitude.
Of all of Linkin Park's albums, this has to be one of Brad Delson's greatest guitar performances as well, understanding when things need to crunch and going out of his way to bring in some kickass solos when the time calls for it. Although the next album was going to be a left turn into pop, it's worth it to have at least one song like this.