March 17, 2008
Big Cheese

The first thing that strikes you about Los Angeles is the sheer opulence that surrounds you on the journey from the huge LAX airport to the Hollywood hills. Be it the multi-million dollar mansions lining the streets of Beverley Hills, or the glitz and glamour of the Sunset Strip, the City of Angels more than lives up to its reputation for excess. It's a somewhat overwhelming experience for a newcomer, but given that Linkin Park have been based around these parts since before their inception, they've long been used to life in L.A.

"We do spend a fair amount of time here - because some of us live just outside the city, and we also have our rehearsal studios here too," explains drummer Rob Bourdon, sitting in the lavish Sunset Marquis hotel: "It's a great place to see live music; just about every band comes through LA, so we're fortunate in that respect, and it's a great place for other kinds of art, theatre and movies too."

Excitement is at an all-time high in the Linkin Park camp, not least due to the fact that the band have just put the finishing touches to their forthcoming third album, 'Minutes To Midnight'. Well over a year in the making, it was written and recorded under the watchful eye of renowned producer Rick Rubin, and represents a significant change in the band's sound.

Rob: "We're very proud of this record; we really feel that we stepped outside the box and did something different. We knew when we started writing it that we really wanted to challenge ourselves and musically go places where we've never been before. Don't get me wrong - we love our other records, and we're proud of the work we did on them, but this time around we wanted to take out some of the key elements that we felt were our main strengths, and try to find new elements to help us make music in a different way.

"When we met Rick Rubin for the first time, it seemed like he was the producer who could best help us achieve that - we wrote a lot of songs over the process, I'd guess at somewhere between a hundred and a hundred and fifty different songs, and doing that was very helpful in getting us to move from our previous style of writing to the style that we've achieved on 'Minutes To Midnight'. So yeah, we're very excited, and very happy as a band - and we can't wait for people to hear our new record."

Indeed, 'Minutes To Midnight' has quite a few surprises in store for those who might be expecting another record in the vein of the band's previous releases. Most notably, there's a distinct lack of nu-metal sounds on this record - a label that the band were never comfortable with in the first place, as Rob explains:

"We've never really liked to think of ourselves as being in one particular genre of music - and that why it was so frustrating for us in the beginning, when we released 'Hybrid Theory', because we were going overseas and people were telling us that our music was nu-metal. To be honest, we were kind of joking about it, because we'd never heard of the term 'nu-metal' before! But our goal had always been to take different styles of music and mix them together in a way that didn't sound like anything that anyone else was doing. I understand that people like to broadly categorize bands under terms like 'rock', 'alternative', or whatever...but I think that most of the elements in our sound that previously had us pigeonholed as 'nu-metal' have changed on 'Minutes To Midnight'."

Having met and bonded almost instantly with Rick Rubin, the band soon realised that a change in their recording process would be necessary to help them discover new avenues for their sound.

Rob: "We all love what Rick has done in the past; he's worked on so many records with so many different styles, so we were excited just to have the chance to meet him. He invited us over to his house, we talked with him for about an hour - and he was keen to get to know us, asking us what music we were listening to, what we were inspired by, and what our goals were for this record. So we told him that we didn't want to make a 'trilogy' record; we wanted to change our sound as a band, but still have people know that they're listening to Linkin Park when they hear the record.

"Some of the new songs were written in the very early stages of making the record, and some didn't get finished until nearly fourteen months later - there was no set process of 'Write first, then record, then mix, then master' like there was before. In fact, the first single -'What I've Done' - was actually the last song on the record to be written, recorded and mixed, by which time most of the other songs had long been completely finished."

It's been nearly four years now since the release of the band's previous album 'Meteora'; a record that spawned huge hit singles in the likes of 'Faint', 'Numb' and 'Breaking The Habit', and cemented Linkin Park's status as one of the biggest rock bands of modern times. The record received mixed reviews at the time of release, but vocalist Chester Bennington insists that the band are still proud of what they achieved on it.

"I feel really positive about a record just after we've finished it, but right after it's released, I start thinking 'Oh shit, this part could've been better, I could've sung that part better, the drums should be louder...' But then people start responding to it, and once we've stopped caring what the critics have said and focus on what the fans are saying, that's when I finally feel satisfied with it - and that was the case for both 'Meteora' and 'Hybrid Theory'. Both of those did really well, and the fans loved them...and now, when I listen to 'Hybrid Theory' it feels really special; like we really captured something unique. And 'Meteora' is the same way; I like both of those records even more than I did when we first released them."

Given that both 'Hybrid Theory' and 'Meteora' sold very well, would you say that Linkin Park are more of a fans' band than a critics' band?

Chester:  "Well, we've always gotten mixed reviews, and I never really understood why that was, especially as most bands seem to get either great or terrible reviews depending on whether or not they're liked and respected as a band. But then I met a couple of critics who were, like, seventy years old - they'd been writing about music for over half their lives - and they told us they thought we were pretty cool! So it really depends on who gets to review your record, which can be a total lottery. It could go to someone who's only into soul music, and of course they'd hate a band like us. So I don't hate critics anymore, because I don't really know anything about the people who review our records!

"The fans' responses are always true and real - they'll say things like 'I don't really like that song, but the rest of the record kicks ass'; they'll be honest about what they think, you know? So I appreciate a fan's opinion more than that of someone whose job it is to review records. If someone buys our record because they've heard a song on the radio, they're probably into our style of music anyway, so I feel I can take their opinion more seriously."

Given that co-vocalist Mike Shinoda has always been an integral part of Linkin Park's sound, casual listeners may well be surprised by the relative lack of rapping on 'Minutes To Midnight'. However, he hasn't "written himself out of the record", as Chester explains:

"Mike sings a lot of the harmonies on this record, on about seventy percent of the songs, and I think the reason that you might not have noticed is because people don't really think of Mike as a singer - they think of him as a rapper.  But if you check out our live shows, you'll often see us singing together, and you'll also see me rap from time to time too. It's just the way we've always been; two frontmen, two voices - but these days we're using our voices in different ways. And it wasn't even a conscious effort to do so; we just liked how it sounded in the studio."

There's also a stark lyrical contrast between 'Minutes To Midnight' and the first two Linkin Park albums; the band seemingly moving away from the angst-fuelled rantings of days gone by.

Chester: "Well, we're all older, so we view things a lot differently than we did eight or nine years ago. Back then, if something pissed me off, my reaction was different to how it would be today!"

"Check the bridge of 'One Step Closer'; that's all you need to know!" Rob cuts in, provoking mass laughter.

Chester: "Yeah, I was so frustrated at the time of recording 'One Step Closer' that that was the result - just like 'Everything you're saying to me - it's all bullshit', because that's how immature I was. Whereas now, the heaviest vocal I've done so far is on 'Giving Up' [from the new album], and that's not the same kind of anger. It's effectively me saying that I just can't cope, and that I'm to blame for that - that I'm the reason for things going wrong - and that's a totally different message to 'Shut up when I'm talking to you!' Fear and anger are the same thing, but we're expressing them in different ways."

The biggest surprise in store on 'Minutes To Midnight' is arguably 'Hands Held High'; an overtly hip-hop influenced track reminiscent of Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor side project. Featuring lyrics inspired by the current political situation in the Middle East, and an almost hymn-like organ sound in the background, it's the closest that Linkin Park have ever come to social commentary.

Chester: "It's really more of an observation - of how this war has affected people on all sides. We're not telling anybody what to think, we're not telling anybody what our political agenda is or what sides to take, we're just speaking about what we're seeing. And that's a very difficult thing to do when you're dealing with politics. Some bands out there deal with politics really well, and I love what they're doing, but then there are other bands that are basically just telling you what to think - and that really bothers me. They'll tell you what you're doing wrong, and what they think is wrong with the world, but they're not actually doing anything to change things themselves.

"So on 'Hands Held High', we focused on getting our point across without a political agenda; we just wanted to show the human aspect, from a personal viewpoint. In all the songs we write, we're just putting across our personal feelings and views – we leave it up to the listener to take whatever meaning they want from our lyrics."

Musical trends come and go, and in the time that Linkin Park have been away, emo has become the most popular sound in alternative rock circles. You'd forgive the band for being slightly apprehensive about their return to the scene, but they don't seem particularly bothered.

Chester: "We really didn't think about it, because we were so focused on making the record. We figured that if the music was good, then people would like it, you know? Musically, we never really wanted to fit into one particular thing - we always want to keep people guessing, and I think that's what we'll be known best for throughout our career; for mixing things up in a way that people don't expect.

"People's tastes change, and the people who listen to our music have changed too - the kids that were only five years old when 'Hybrid Theory' came out are now teenagers! So 'Hybrid Theory' probably doesn't mean shit to them, but they might like the new record. It's like, when my older brother was in high school, he was listening to Foreigner and Rush - but when I got there, I was listening to Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. It's just the way music progresses."

So how would you feel if 'Minutes To Midnight' was a relative failure in terms of sales? Could you still stand by it from an artistic point of view?

Chester: "I think so, yeah...I mean, we've kinda prepared ourselves for that, because we're taking such a big step away from how people expect us to sound. But we've put so much energy and time into this record; we all love every single song on it, and I really think it is our band's masterpiece. So if it doesn't do well, if it flops, then I think we'd be upset about it - mainly because we'd have to totally re-evaluate what we're doing, and that could be devastating because we're all so excited about what we're doing now."

Rob: "We're doing the same thing that we've always done, which is to make music that we enjoy and love, so I think that because we've stayed honest and true to ourselves, our fans will appreciate this record. The whole music industry's changing, anyway; record sales aren't what they used to be, so we try not to focus too much on that. As long as our fans enjoy our music and we get the chance to play shows for them, we'll be happy with that."

There's no doubt that this arrangement would suit their fans perfectly, but Linkin Park have arguably had more than their fair share of detractors over the years; seemingly having become the kind of band that some people just love to hate. Shortly after the release of 'Hybrid Theory', rumours were spread that the band had been manufactured, and that they used backing tapes for supposed 'live' performances. The band admit that these rumours were upsetting at the time, but they didn't take them to heart.

Rob: "Well, when people were saying that we were manufactured, we kind of took that as a compliment, because we felt like we'd done such a great job of putting the record together and then going out and performing. It was as if people couldn't believe that a bunch of guys in their early twenties could accomplish all that by themselves, so they figured that it couldn't be real - that we must be manufactured."

Chester: "But if you don't think we're real, then you should watch us play live, because that's where you really get the essence of this band - even if we hit a few wrong notes here and there! I remember reading comments from other bands, saying things like 'We feel sorry for bands like Linkin Park, because they'll never know what it's like to perform live, because they play along to recorded backing tracks and shit'. Well, one: go fuck yourself, because you don't know us - and two: why don't you focus on talking about your own band in your interviews?

"So I figured out a challenge for these bands: why don't we learn their songs, they learn our songs, and we go play a show - and let the fans decide? [laughs] Because I fucking guarantee that they wouldn't be able to pull off what we do, and the fans would realise that too. So yeah, it was kinda frustrating to hear that kind of stuff, but these days we just look at it as a compliment that people thought we were playing along to a bunch of tapes."

The UK will get its first taste of the 'Minutes To Midnight' material when Linkin Park return to these shores - for the first time in three years - to headline the Saturday night of the Donington-based Download festival in early June. The band are eagerly looking forward to it, not least because of the popularity and positive receptions they've always enjoyed in the UK.

Chester: "When we headlined Download back in 2004, I remember flashing back in my mind to our first ever UK show [at London King's College in late 2000] - just this little free show, with a tiny stage - and realising just how far we'd come, from playing such a small show to headlining a festival over all these great bands. Plus, European festivals are way better than US festivals, and although there are some US festivals that are getting a good reputation, we've learned so much more from
European and UK festivals when it comes to playing a good set and putting on a good show.

"It was a real honour when we realised that we'd managed to win over so many people. It's a really humbling experience too, because you know that you're only up there because of everyone who's come to see you - and as long as you keep that in mind, I think that you'll enjoy it more, and your fans will enjoy it more, and they'll keep coming back."

Plans are also in the works for the band to visit places where they've never played before; an experience that Chester seems to relish.

"Yeah, we're actually gonna be able to do that on this first run; we're going to Russia for the first time, to play St. Petersburg and Moscow. I think it's gonna be amazing, because apparently we have a really big following over there, and not many bands go to play there - so I imagine it'll be a similar experience to when we went to Malaysia and Thailand. It's a lot easier for bands to tour in those places than it was, say, fifteen years ago, and the kids out there are really hungry for live music, so it should be great.

"I'd really urge other bands to go to more remote places like them, because we've only ever had positive experiences, and it has opened our minds to all sorts of different cultures."

Wherever you may hail from; if you're a Linkin Park fan, then you'll no doubt be pleased - and more than a little surprised - when you get your ears around 'Minutes To Midnight'. The clock is ticking.