[1] The tour was officially announced the following day, on March 4, 2014 at a press conference held at Milk Studios in Los Angeles, California with Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, and Jared Leto from Thirty Seconds to Mars.

[2] Mike Shinoda described the tour production as "more-video based", incorporating The Hunting Party artwork created by visual artist James Jean.

"[3] A minute-long trailer for the tour premiered in March 2014, featuring a British narrator and assorted live scenes, paired with some of the bands' songs, including "Numb" by Linkin Park and "The Kill" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Ashley Zimmerman from the New Times Broward-Palm Beach called the opening night of the tour "memorable", describing the set by Thirty Seconds to Mars as "a bit like a party", during which lead vocalist Jared Leto provided "raw and beautiful vocals".

[12] Jay Cridlin of the Tampa Bay Times commented that the two bands made Steinbrenner Field's return to concert a "smashing spectacle" creating a "powerful, festival-like feeling".

He felt that Thirty Seconds to Mars delivered a "fully committed performance", praising the band's energy on stage, and noticed the "futuristic" production of the show by Linkin Park.

[13] Alison Angel, writing for Creative Loafing Charlotte, opined that the tour offered fans a chance to catch "three big rock bands" on a single event and felt that each performance was a "sight to behold".

She further said, "between AFI tearing up the stage before the headliners even appeared, to the theatrics in Thirty Seconds to Mars' act and the grand performance of hard-rocking Linkin Park, fans walked out with a sense that this moment was truly once in a lifetime.

"[14] Danny Crandall of The Sun Chronicle commented that Linkin Park "blitzed through an intense, head-bobbing" set, while Thirty Seconds to Mars played a "rousing performance" high on audience interaction.

[15] Loudwire's Mary Ouellette, who attended the same show, felt that Thirty Seconds to Mars emphatically invited the crowd into their self-proclaimed cult, conducting a "straight up rock 'n' roll sermon", while Linkin Park took a different direction fueled by the "latest in technology and good old-fashioned angst".

"[16] Andrej Ivanov from The Scene Magazine who attended the show in Montreal, gave a positive review and hailed Linkin Park's "outstanding setlist" and Thirty Seconds to Mars' musicianship.

[17] Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune, while praising Thirty Seconds to Mars' performance, gave a negative response to the set by Linkin Park, noticing that older tracks were abbreviated to make room for a drum solo and less impactful songs.

[18] In his review for The Arizona Republic, Ed Masley commended the set by Linkin Park featuring a "well-chosen mixture of career-defining hits and album tracks" and hailed the inspirational and charismatic performance by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

[19] Mary Bonney from LA Music Blog, reviewing the concert at the Hollywood Bowl, felt that the tour delivered an "epic rock experience that turned up the heat".