Linkin Park Announce Details Of ‘Minutes To Midnight’

LOS ANGELES (March 6, 2007) — After a four-year wait, rockers Linkin Park returns a new album, Minutes to Midnight.Due out May 15, the LA band?s third artist album was co-produced by Linkin Park?s own MC Mike Shinoda and legend Rick Rubin. Fourteen months in the making, the band penned more than 100 demos before narrowing them down to an album?s worth of songs.“[This album is] a breakthrough in the development of the band’s sound,? Shinoda said in a statement. ?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.” The band did some of that experimenting while holed up recording in Rubin?s famous abode, a mansion in Laurel Canyon that was once the home of Harry Houdini. The sprawling estate, which is said to be haunted, previously provided an atmospheric experience for groups like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Mars Volta.Next month Linkin Park head back to the radio airwaves with Minutes? first single, ?What I?ve Done,? on April 2. Before that, fans of the group can check out webisodes LP have produced for their website LinkinPark.com. The band is also expected to announce a US summer tour within the coming weeks.