Linkin Park, Of Mice and Men and Rise Against Hunt Down Orlando

By: William Clark

 2linkin-park-orlando-2015-copyright-william-clark-2-1 Three remarkable talents in alternative metal, Linkin Park, Of Mice and Men and Rise Against, have unified for what is perhaps one of the more formidable tours of 2015, and despite having just stepped into the new year, The Hunting Party Tour will likely go down as one of the year’s best.

The trifecta of metal recently launched their run at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, where a sold out audience of fans from across the state appeared to pay witness to one overtly memorable occasion.

Leading the performance were Of Mice And Men, who introduced their unique brand of metalcore to an open minded audience. Much to the delight of lead vocalist Austin Carlile, the majority of those fans who dared to man the front row position of the standing audience could be found screaming back the lyrics to such numbers as “Feels Like Forever” and “Identity Disorder”

Perhaps this can be accredited to the band’s extensive runs on previous Vans Warped tours, however it didn’t take much for these rising rockers to earn the admiration of the crowd.

Rise Against has had the better part of two decades to develop an admiring audience, which turned out in numbers for their more extensive set. Their high energy performance wasn’t lost on this crowd, who upon moderate encouragement from main man Tim McIlrath began leaping in unision to their aggressive punk rock attiude.

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As the remaining members of the band could be found landing impressive acrobatics while retaining their formidable approach, McIlrath maintained the helm of the stage, occasionally strapping on a Gibson SG to attribute some formidable chord progressions. All the while leading axeman Zach Blair unleashed a compilation of pick grinding solos throughout such tracks as “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Good Left Undone”.

Although both artists remain exceptional musical forces in their own right, it was Linkin Park holding ground to reinforce their position as one of the leading artists in the genre for their live performances.

In what was a generous set that neared a total of thirty songs, the members of Linkin Park performed selections from each of their six full-length studio albums, including their most recent, 2014’s The Hunting Party.

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Granted, this tour shares the same name as Linkin Park’s latest offering, you would be pressed to find a more appropiate title for this wrecking ball of a touring lineup.

This band wasn’t shy playing to their strengths early on in the performance, where following an elaborate instrumental (during which, the members of Linkin Park appeared beneath towering cages which raised to the heights of the arena) the entire lineup rushed on stage to the racing chord progressions of “Guilty Of The Same” from their latest effort.

The audience had little difficulty keeping up with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, belting out vocals with similar intensity.

This is a passionate genre with passionate performers, which perhaps is even more the case when it comes to Linkin Park fans.
While their catalog has been highlighted by collaborations with Rakim and Jay-Z, amongst others, it was Mike Shinoda who could be found handling the hip hop lyrical execution that can found throughout a strong percentage of Linkin Park’s catalog.

Aside from his time as the frontman, Shinoda owned the stage highlighting his strengths as a multi-instrumentalist, handling both articulate keyboard arrangements and guitar throughout the night.

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Linkin Park fans truly care about this body of work, so it wasn’t overtly surprising when more than a few audience members could be found shedding tears after an emotional medley of “Leave Out All The Rest”, “Shadow Of The Day” and “Iridescent”, which stand as several of the band’s more reflective numbers.

Shinoda felt so compelled to address these fans following that particular cut. “Tears of joy?” he asked. “Well, good. That’s why we’re here.”

After what was already a rather expansive concert, the headliners succumbed to the demands for an encore, returning for a run of “A Place For My Head”, “New Divide”, “Crawling”, “What I’ve Done” and “Bleed It Out”.

Quenching the intense expectations of this tour, Of Mice And Men, Rise Against, and Linkin Park amazed their audience with an impressive array of musicianship and stagemanship, and left their followers patiently anticipating each band’s next run into Central Florida.

[Editor Note: The Hunting Party Tour 2015 was cancelled on January 20, 2015. – See HERE]

GALLERY

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About William S. Clark IV: 

William S. Clark IV is the Editor-In-Chief with Music Enthusiast Magazine, where aside from his contributions as a senior writer and photographer with Guitar International he provides the latest in all things related to the rock and metal communities.

 

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