MIKE SHINODA On LINKIN PARK's Comeback: We 'Let Things Happen Organically'

In a new interview with KROQ's Kevan Kenney, LINKIN PARK's Mike Shinoda spoke about the emotions and the experience navigating the release of the band's new album, "From Zero". It marks LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before the death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington. "From Zero" features LINKIN PARK's new singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who have joined returning members co-vocalist and main producer Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and DJ/visual director Joe Hahnin the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder is filling in for Delson at all LINKIN PARK concerts for the foreseeable future.

"It's really complicated," Shinoda said about the emotions surrounding LINKIN PARK's return (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "For me, two years ago it was very overwhelming, and I think the best thing that we did was to just basically let things happen in the order and at the timeline that they were gonna happen, let things happen organically and not push too hard. And I feel like what ended up evolving was we just naturally kind of found each other, we found this new lineup, we found Emily and Colin in particular, and the music just kind of came into focus based on what we were having the most fun doing."

When Kenney suggested that "From Zero" "sounds almost like a return to [LINKIN PARK's] roots", Shinoda said: "I love that there's such a strong LINKIN PARK DNA in the record. It does really feel like LINKIN PARK, but I think there's a part of it that's the old sound and part of that's every era of the band, to me, on the record."

Farrell chimed in: "I don't know if I know well what the LINKIN PARK DNA is. It's kind of like when you're too close to something, you just do it and then other people tell you. They almost interpret it and then you kind of say, 'Okay, cool. I'm glad that came across.' But I think in any and all of that creation of an album or working on new music or new stuff or when there's — I don't know — interstitials or whatever you might wanna call it, for me those things are just like us doing us and figuring that out and moving forward. And in this process, one of the things that was so fun and rewarding and cool and energizing was just how when we started gradually integrating Emily and Colin, it felt like LINKIN PARK. It just felt like it fit for me and for us. And those were the coolest moments in the entire process, was just feeling like things were kind of jelling and coming together and we were having a blast doing it the whole time. So at this stage being ready to finally have the album out, having people be excited about it, that feels great."

LINKIN PARK announced its new lineup during a September 2024 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles showcasing Armstrong and Brittain.

Earlier in the month, LINKIN PARK announced a massive world tour across North America, Europe, Asia and South America. The trek will launch in January with three dates in Mexico before heading to Japan and a one-off show in Jakarta, Indonesia. Next spring and summer, LINKIN PARK will hit a number of cities the United States and end in November with a run throughout South America.

During LINKIN PARK's recent concert in São Paulo, Brazil, the band revealed that video of the performance, which was also livestreamed in full on Brazilian broadcast channel Multishow, will be central focus of a live documentary. A release date has yet to be announced.

Photo credit: James Minchin III