Mike Shinoda Says the ‘Culture’ Within Linkin Park is Better Than Ever
Linkin Park has gone through a lot of changes, but according to Mike Shinoda, the “culture” within the band is better than ever.
Shinoda and new singer Emily Armstrong sat down for a podcast chat weeks before it was announced that she was Linkin Park’s new singer. Regarding the current state of the band, Shinoda says, “The dynamic of everybody in the band, but especially those of us that have the most history together, the dynamic is so good. It’s really good. To me, it’s easily the best culture we’ve had.”
Shinoda was quick to say that his remarks weren’t a slight on previous Linkin Park lineups. However, he just wanted to note how well he, guitarist Brad Delson, turntablist Joe Hahn, and bassist Dave Farrell are working together.
The release of Shinoda and Armstrong’s chat preceded the release of “Over Each Other,” the third track preview from Linkin Park’s new album, From Zero.
From Zero comes out on November 15 and is available for pre-order/pre-sale via Warner Records.
Mike Shinoda on What Led Linkin Park to Reform
It took over seven years for Linkin Park to reform following the shocking 2017 death of singer Chester Bennington. In a new interview, Mike Shinoda explains what led to the band reforming.
Shinoda recently sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and Fallon posed the big reforming question. Shinoda began by saying, “I think the important thing for us is that we never set out to like, ‘Let’s bring the band back’ or like, ‘Let’s find a singer.’ It was never — That was never our intention or our goal. It was more like there was — I remember where there was a moment where our DJ, Joe [Hahn] — he just, like — We went to breakfast, and he was like, ‘ I think we should, like, hang out a little more often. Like, can we, like get together and just be creative? Like, I don’t know what that means.'”
He continued, “But, you know, one thing led to another, and it was almost like this new record — Like, we wrote it, we came up with the music while we were creating the new band. When we started the music, we didn’t have a band, and it just came together while the music came together, I guess.”
This then led Fallon to ask Shinoda what the meaning is behind the new album’s title, From Zero. Shinoda replied, “It’s a double entendre. It’s a double meaning. It’s both, like, you know, starting from scratch or starting with a blank canvas at least.
He added, “And then, also, our original band name, like, when we first started — Actually, it was just me and my friend, Mark, and the band was called Xero with an ‘X’ … Not a terrible first-band name. I think we ended up on the right band name. But we added Brad and ‘Phoenix’ and Rob and Joe. And then later, we met Chester, and at that point, we named ourselves Linkin Park.”
