Soft and Music

Fans chomping at the bit for Linkin Park’s third album will have to wait a little bit longer — specifically until May 15, when ‘Minutes to Midnight’ hits shelves. But the band assures fans that the new material will be worth the four-year wait. “We have put more into the new album than anything we have ever done before,” said bassist Dave ” Phoenix ” Farrell in a recent press release. The band spent over 14 months in the studio and wrote more than 100 demos for the album, which vocalist Mike Shinoda sees as “a breakthrough in the development of the band’s sound. We wrote in new ways, and used instruments and equipment we hadn’t experimented with before, from vintage guitars and amps to mellotron to Rick’s original 808 drum machine he used on the Beastie Boys first record. We tried to question every step in our songwriting process.” Producer Rick Rubin agreed. “They really are reinventing themselves, it doesn’t sound like rap-rock,” he There’s very strong songwriting. It’s very melodic…a progressive record.” The album’s first single, ‘What I’ve Done,’ will be released worldwide on April 2. Fans can also anticipate the launch of LPTV, a series of webisodes that can be viewed on www.linkinpark.com, in the coming weeks. The series will focus on “unseen footage of the history of Linkin Park , building up to an inside look at the studio experience of the new album,” says Farrell. Linkin Park will also headline the second day of this summer’s Bamboozle music festival on May 6 in New Jersey before embarking on a headlining European tour in June. Next month, the band expects to announce plans for “a summer tour with an un-missable lineup,” says Shinoda. The band already hit our L.A. studio this past weekend to record their first AOL Session, where they performed three songs from ‘Midnight,’ as well as three classic cuts (watch for that to drop closer to the album’s release).
But how do YOU want to get involved in

Linkin



Park

’s new album
? Want to remix some of their new tracks? Create their next video? The guys could be up for anything, so share your wildest dreams with us and we’ll see if we can make it happen. Until then, get your fix by watching the band’s old videos and tell us what you think the new stuff will sound like.