Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda sat down with Complex and talked about bringing the band back.
The musician spoke about the challenges of creating their new album, and balancing different fan expectations. “There are all of these different elements in play. There’s people that loved our first two records and didn’t love anything after that, there’s people that were along for the entire ride and preferred the more adventurous stuff. There are people who are potential fans that have never liked the band but with the new lineup they would. There’s also the aspect of Chester and Rob who are not in the new lineup and, how do we treat that? How do we do it respectfully to them for them, how do we do that while maintaining our new members Emily and Colin and lifting them up and giving them the best platform to succeed from?”
Shinoda admitted that it was ‘freaking insane.’ “That’s just on the creative side, not to mention things like marketing and album and blah blah blah. It’s been this almost impossible puzzle of things to worry about,” he added.
The rocker also revealed that he had anxiety during the whole process of making the new album. “The full time I was turning gray and losing hair. There were definitely big moments when I was like, ‘Are we doing the right thing I don’t know.’ I feel like the music got me through it. I feel like as we were making the songs every time I really sat and I listened to what we were making.”
“It felt reassuring. It felt like,’ Yeah, this has got the DNA of Linkin Park in it even though it’s different.’ I know it’s there, I don’t have to guess. So at the end of the day the big question, the challenge really was how do we present it? I know it’s there but in order for someone else to realize that they’re going to have to give it a chance, so how do we set up the best version of an invitation to come give it a chance?,” he added.
It seems that Shinoda is happy with the way Linkin Park is going in this new direction. In another interview, Shinoda said that the new lineup has a ‘strong’ LP DNA.
Linkin Park revealed its new lineup during a one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles in September 2024, featuring Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain.
Last month, Linkin Park announced plans for an extensive world tour that will take them across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. The tour will kick off in January with three shows in Mexico, followed by performances in Japan and Jakarta, Indonesia. In the spring and summer, the band will tour various cities across the U.S. before wrapping up the tour in November in South America.
