Final Masquerade

"Final Masquerade" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song was originally recorded by the band for their sixth studio album, The Hunting Party, where it appears as the eleventh track on the album and serves as the fifth and final single.^[2] The song premiered on MTV on June 8, 2014.^[3] The song was produced by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson, and co-produced by Emile Haynie.

"Final Masquerade"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album The Hunting Party
Released	June 10, 2014
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	Alternative rock hard rock
Length	3:37
Label	Warner Bros. Machine Shop
Songwriter(s)	Linkin Park Emile Haynie[1]
Producer(s)	Brad Delson Mike Shinoda Emile Haynie (co.)
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Rebellion" (2014) "Final Masquerade" (2014) "Darker Than Blood" (2015)
Music video
"Final Masquerade" on YouTube

An acoustic version of the song was released for digital download on February 19, 2015.^[4]

Composition

"Final Masquerade" has been described as an alternative rock and a hard rock song.^[5][6] In an article from Metal Hammer, it was explained as "more like A Thousand Suns than Hybrid Theory, which Linkin Park gives at their most controlled, meditative, a slowly unfurling, mid-paced anthem built around simmering keyboards, unfussy, low-tempo beats and palm-muted guitar. The song features one of Chester Bennington's finest vocal performances on the album."^[7][8]

MTV described the song as "a sharp, edgy, lushly harmonic heavy-hitter that falls perfectly in line with Linkin Park’s lengthy string of hulking, hooky hits."^[3] In an interview with MTV, Shinoda explained:

"I made some ‘alternative pop’ demos that sounded like they would fit in with what radio is currently playing. But then I came across a blog piece entitled ‘Rock Sucks Right Now And It’s Really Depressing,” he said. “It got me thinking. I ended up writing a response to it, and realized that what I had been working on wasn't really what I wanted to be making."^[3]

Music video

The official music video for the song, directed by Mark Pellington, was released on July 29, 2014 for premiere on MTV.^{[9][10][11][12]} A lyric video for the song was released earlier, as it debuted through Linkin Park's official Facebook page and in digital download format on June 10, 2014.

As of November 2024, the music video for "Final Masquerade" has over 130 million views on YouTube.^[13]

Reception

In the track-by-track review by Billboard, the song is given a positive response and explained as, "Synths and palm-muted guitars carry the mid-tempo verses into a head-nodding hard rock chorus. With that, another love affair ends in epic fashion, and there's even a big stadium sing-along."^[6]

Accolades

The song was voted as the second-best rock song on Kerrang!'s Rock 100 list. The song was placed after another Linkin Park song, "In the End".^[14]

Track listing

Digital download

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Final Masquerade"	Linkin Park	Brad Delson Mike Shinoda Emile Haynie (co.)	3:37

CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Final Masquerade"	Linkin Park	Brad Delson Mike Shinoda Emile Haynie (co.)	3:37
2.	"Until It's Gone" (Live)	Linkin Park	Brad Delson Mike Shinoda	3:50

Promotional single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Final Masquerade" (Acoustic)	Linkin Park	3:50

Personnel

Linkin Park

• Chester Bennington – lead vocals
• Rob Bourdon – drums, percussion
• Brad Delson – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Joe Hahn ("Mr. Hahn") - samples, programming
• Mike Shinoda – piano, rhythm guitar, keyboards

Charts

Chart performance for "Final Masquerade"

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[15]	43
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16]	65
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17]	44
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18]	46
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19]	85
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[20]	74
Denmark (Tracklisten)[21]	34
France (SNEP)[22]	45
Germany (GfK)[23]	70
Hungary (Single Top 40)[24]	5
Italy (FIMI)[25]	34
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26]	30
Portugal (AFP)[27]	22
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[28]	35
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[29]	64
UK Singles (OCC)[30]	106
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[31]	2
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[32]	15
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[33]	47
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[34]	18
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[35]	30
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[36]	32
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[37]	35

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Final Masquerade"

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	June 10, 2014	Digital download	Warner Bros. Machine Shop	[38]
India			Warner Bros.	[39]
Italy	August 1, 2014	Contemporary hit radio	Warner Bros.	[40]
Germany	September 20, 2014	CD		[41]
United States	November 11, 2014	Modern rock radio	Warner Bros. Machine Shop	[42]
Worldwide	February 21, 2015	Promotional single		[43]

References

1. Final Masquerade-Shazam Shazam
2. "Stream Linkin Park's 'Final Masquerade' Here!". MTV.co.uk. MTV. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
3. "SONG PREMIERE: Linkin Park's 'Final Masquerade'". MTV. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
4. "Final Masquerade (Acoustic) Download : Linkin Park". Linkin Park. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
5. "Linkin Park - "Final Masquerade" [Music Video]". Directlyrics. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
6. Partridge, Kenneth "Linkin Park's 'The Hunting Party': Track-by-Track Review" Billboard June 18, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2018
7. "Linkin Park: Our track-by-track look at The Hunting Party". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
8. ""The Hunting Party" Full Review by Metal Hammer". Linkin Park Association. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
9. "LINKIN PARK "Final Masquerade" (Mark Pellington, dir.)". VideoStatic. 2014-06-24. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
10. "Twitter / MarkPellington: The Final Masquerade". Twitter.com. 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
11. "Twitter / MarkPellington: Shooting a new video for". Twitter.com. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
12. "Twitter / linkinpark: The video for Final Masquerade". Twitter.com. 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
13. Linkin Park (July 30, 2014). "Final Masquerade [Official Music Video] - Linkin Park". YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
14. "In The End" and "Final Masquerade" have made it to the top of Kerrang!'s Rock 100 list Facebook April 15, 2015.
15. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
16. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
17. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
18. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
19. "Linkin Park Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
20. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 40. týden 2014 in the date selector. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
21. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade". Tracklisten. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
22. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
23. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
24. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
25. "Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 24 del 2014". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved April 18, 2015
26. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
27. "PORTUGAL SINGLES TOP 50". Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. June 15, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
28. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
29. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade". Swiss Singles Chart.
30. "CHART LOG UK: NEW ENTRIES UPDATE". Zobbel.de. June 28, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
31. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. June 22, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
32. "Linkin Park Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
33. "Linkin Park Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
34. "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
35. "Linkin Park Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
36. "Linkin Park Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
37. "Linkin Park Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
38. "Linkin Park: Final Masquerade". Google Play. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
39. Final Masquerade by Linkin Park Saavn June 10, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
40. Recine, Massimo. "Linkin Park – Final Masquerade (Warner)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
41. Warner Bros. Records (August 1, 2014). "Final Masquerade 2-Track Single by Warner Music Germany". YouTube. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
42. "Alternative Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
43. "FINAL MASQUERADE (ACOUSTIC)". Linkin Park. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.