Haters & Believers: A Thousand Suns Release

"Hey guys. I’ve been getting some questions about my thoughts about the album release, so I thought that I’d try to answer them here.

To start, a quick review: about a year and a half ago, we made a conscious decision to take our music in a new direction. We predicted the album’s release would be incendiary; the new direction would be welcomed by some, and fervently resisted by others. Looking back, I wanted to address both factions.

Let’s get the simple part out of the way. To the fans who like the new album: thanks for your support. There are some of you that have been with us for a long time, and are thrilled about the new sound. There are others who weren’t sure of the new album at first, but have given it a chance, and are now reaping its rewards. And there are others who have never been fans of Linkin Park, but are interested in the band for the first time with A Thousand Suns. We’re happy to have all of you on board, and we appreciate your support.

A friend of mine told me a story from his childhood: when he was a little kid, his dad, who never had any facial hair, left for a trip and came home with a beard. His son took one look at him and ran away, demanding, “what happened to my real dad?”
So let’s talk about “haters.”

Not surprisingly, the sound of the new album (and the absence of heavy guitars and Chester’s screaming vocals) seemed to upset some folks. As I write this, the most popular iTunes (US) review of A Thousand Suns is by Janxrod, who gives the album one star and asks “What happened to the real Linkin Park?”

A knee-jerk reaction might be to assume that people who dislike ATS simply love heavy metal and hate alternative / electronic music. I don’t need to tell you that the internet is a sad breeding ground for filthy-mouthed negativity. But, in their defense, many of the “one-star reviewers” are not brainless cynics who talk shit because they’re bored. They’re real fans who were expecting to walk into a movie theatre to see “A Clockwork Orange,” and they got “2001: A Space Odyssey.” I don’t like the idea that all these folks are all lumped together as “haters.”

I’m a curious guy, so I did some research about Janxrod. Although 8/10 of his favorite albums include heavier stuff like Disturbed, Shinedown, and Dethklok…he also likes Daft Punk. He’s not opposed to electronic music. So what bothers Janxrod so much about A Thousand Suns?

One reason is that, according to his page, “They write songs about how pissed off they are at their old fans, telling them to go f*** themselves. That’s not mature, that’s just disrespectful.”

Know what? I agree. That’s a bad message. The problem is: it’s not really our message.

The other guys and I have said many things in the past, not all of it thoughtful or respectful (sorry, we’re human too). But under it all, here’s where we’re really at: If you don’t like this album right now, that’s your choice and it’s truly OK with us. But we stand behind the work we put into it, and we think it’ll be a rewarding listen if you decide to give it a chance. Our door is open.

Lastly, I need to address a comment I occasionally see (and have seen every time we put an album out)–that the band has “sold out.” As far as I know, “selling out” means compromising the integrity of your band/music in exchange for money or popularity. Since inception, A Thousand Suns was designed to go against the grain, built with an understanding that it would likely polarize and challenge the fan base at first. This is the opposite of a “sell out” album; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Do the math: if money and popularity was the goal, we would have made Hybrid Theory again.

Furthermore, outside our studio walls, the climate for music is different. According to Nielsen SoundScan, of the 97,751 albums released in 2009, only 12 of them sold more than one million units last year. People everywhere buy it by the song, not by the album. To stand behind what many people call a “concept album”–asking the fan to listen to the whole thing rather than a couple songs–is unquestionably a big a request. Some people want to color that request as a “marketing tactic,” that we are asking people to buy the whole thing instead of a couple songs. If that was the case, we’d be the worst marketers ever. Clearly, a collection of 12 “hit singles” is a better reason to buy a whole album than a concept record. The singles sell an album. A concept album requires a leap of faith. The whole argument is wholly illogical.

So why did we make such a big change? “What happened to the real Linkin Park?” We’re still here. We look and sound different, but the intention behind the music is the same as it has been since day one: in the studio, we are constantly in search of new sounds that excite and inspire us. And hearing that our album debuted at #1 in 15 countries gave us all a massive feeling of gratitude, but if being in this band has taught me anything in the past decade, it’s that you can’t base your happiness on things that are out of your control.

The truth is, we’re believers that good, honest art will triumph at the end of the day. Real success isn’t about sales, numbers, and chart position. It’s about a connection with a dedicated fan base and a chance to introduce people to a sound that we can call our own.

See you on tour, where we’ll be playing songs from “Hybrid Theory” through “A Thousand Suns.” Fans of every era are welcome."

Source: Mike Shinoda.com

"Waiting For The End" new Linkin Park single

Linkin Park's second single from A Thousand Suns will be "Waiting For The End", and will be released October 5th on iTunes, and October 29th as a physical single. It will also feature the "Does It Offend You, Yeah?" remix of "The Catalyst".

I think that this song is pretty good, not great. I would personally love to see "Burning In The Skies" as a single some day. It's one of my favorite songs on A Thousand Suns. It will be interesting to see how the music video will look like. I really loved the video for "The Catalyst".

The single cover for "Waiting For The End" is very cool, I love all the art from A Thousand Suns. When I looked through the booklet and saw the art and the photos, I thought that many of the pictures would make a great cover, both for singles and the album.

You can see the single cover of "Waiting For The End" below.

MTV calls A Thousand Suns “Linkin Park’s ‘Kid A’”

Mike posted an article from MTV were they talk about Linkin Park's new album A Thousand Suns. They had great things to say about the album, and I agree to what they are saying because I know it's true.

Read the post below, it comes straight from Mike's blog.

“According to legend, in August of 2000, a group of clearly terrified Capitol Records executives were outfitted with headphones, loaded into a series of unmarked vans and driven down the Pacific Coast Highway, where they listened to Radiohead’s Kid A for the first time. It was an inspired — not to mention particularly apt — premiere for the album, and though the whole thing is rather apocryphal, it certainly made for nice copy at the time.

I only mention that because in August of 2010, a clearly relaxed Warner Bros. publicist sat me down in her office and allowed me one of the first listens to Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns. There were no headphones or unmarked vans or winding, windswept vistas — budgetary cuts, one can only assume — just an iced coffee and a notepad, which was sort of a shame, because if ever there was an album that deserves the Radiohead treatment, it’s this one. Since, as you’ll probably discover in the coming weeks, A Thousand Suns is most definitely Linkin Park’s Kid A…completely different from the band’s previous efforts that it will almost certainly stand as the line of demarcation between everything that came before and everything that will come after…”

A big thank you to James Montgomery for the flattering (and ballsy) piece.  Read the whole article here.

Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" Video: Kiss The Past Goodbye

Linkin Park  are probably one of the 10 biggest rock acts on the planet. I mention this mostly because: A) It's true, and B) It makes everything they've done post-Hybrid Theory (their big breakout album) all the more admirable.

They have never been afraid to push the envelope and try new things. This is easy to do if you are a band that has nothing to lose, but in LP's case, it borders on insanity. Their albums are the kinds of things labels schedule their financial quarters around. They're tent poles (or life preservers) meant to keep things from sagging too low or sinking too deep. The danger of alienating their fanbase is very real, and the results could be catastrophic.

Still, with each successive album, Linkin Park push even further into the void, and, in the process, they leave their nü-metal roots in the dust. At this point, they're barely the same band they were back in 2000, and any similarities they still share with their Hybrid past will almost certainly be erased with their upcoming A Thousand Suns, an album they've gone to great lengths to christen as a bold new direction for the group, public opinion be damned.

We finally got to see the first fruits of that reinvention with the murky, mercurial video for "The Catalyst." Directed once again by band DJ Joseph Hahn, it's an ominous, elemental thing, full of smoke and unseen flames, charred earth and rising tides. It may very well be a chilling, post-apocalyptic preview of mankind's future, or it might just be a really cool, really art-y video, the kind that big, important rock bands tend to make (and at this point, LP are most certainly both of those things). It's really up to you to decide. Though, really, it works either way.

But mostly, "The Catalyst" serves as a preview of what fans can expect on A Thousand Suns, which is basically what bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell told MTV News earlier this month. "There are certainly dark, trying times ahead," the band seems to be saying. "Get ready."

And to that point, it's telling that Linkin Park are barely even in the video — or, more specifically, when they are, they're shrouded in smoke or submerged in water. You can infer from that what you'd like, but I see it as the band letting fans know that they practically died to make this album, that they went through hell and high water to bring it to fruition. It may be subliminal, but it's definitely there. And it's why I admire Linkin Park as much as I do.

So if you loved Linkin Park for their rapping or their angry outbursts or even their Gundam obsession, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed with "The Catalyst," not to mention A Thousand Suns. But that's really the point, isn't it? Great bands push themselves, great bands are unafraid to fail. And, dare I say it, with both their new video and their new album, Linkin Park may very well have become a great band.

What did you think of "The Catalyst" video? Share your reviews in the comments!

Linkin Park: "The Catalyst" review

I got an e-mail today with a code and a link where I could download Linkin Park's new single "The Catalyst". This is because I pre-ordered A Thousand Suns, I will also get the album the same way when it's released September 14.

Many weeks of waiting are finally over, "The Catalyst" is here! After all the remixes that have been floating around on the Internet, I'm thrilled to have finally heard the original song. And I must say that I really love this song, it's amazing! Even if it's a little different, you can clearly hear it's a Linkin Park song, because they make different and unique song, that's what they are all about. I liked "The Catalyst" immediately, I hope the other song from A Thousand Suns are as good as this one.

I think the song has a great intro, I love the synth playing in the beginning. Mike does a very good job singing and of course Chester, their voices sound really great together. I like how "The Catalyst" builds up and then explodes. I think the best part in the song is when the piano starts playing, and Mike starts to sing "Lift me up, let me go", and then Chester starts to sing, it's very powerful. It gave me goosebumps all over my body, and it actually brought me to tears. I felt that because it really moved me, and because I finally got to hear the song after all those months of waiting. I have finally heard "The Catalyst", I can't wait to hear the rest of the songs on A Thousand Suns!

I would love to give "The Catalyst" a five out of five. However, I haven't heard the other songs from A Thousand Suns, that's why I'm giving it four out of five, that's a very good grade. I mean right now I would give anything new from Linkin Park the best rating!

Overall: "The Catalyst" is an amazing Linkin Park song that is different from what you've heard from them before, it's unique and very good, you can totally hear it's a Linkin Park song. This song represents all the things that make Linkin Park an awesome and unique band. "The Catalyst" is a great song to promote A Thousand Suns with, it's so great that it brought me to tears!

Review: "The Catalyst" XXXX [4/5].

Medal of Honor / Linkin Park - "The Catalyst" trailer

The new gameplay/live action trailer for the video game Medal of Honor directed by Linkin Park's Mr. Hahn was released today. I haven't seen the trailer, I've only seen the preview, I want to wait until tomorrow, August 2nd, when "The Catalyst" is released. I want to hear the original version of the song first, I've heard too much of it in the remixes on YouTube and other places. It's time to build my opinion of the entire song, from beginning to end.

And I must say that Medal of Honor looks awesome, I think I'm going to buy it to PlayStation 3 when it releases October 15, 2010. I think it's cool that Linkin Park is involved in more video game projects, maybe they will make a video game to PlayStation 3, and the other video game consoles?

Even though I haven't seen the trailer, I know that Joe has done a great job, like he always does with Linkin Park's music videos. Watch the trailer of Medal of Honor directed by Joe Hahn, below! "The Catalyst" is coming!

“A Thousand Suns” Track Listing

Mike has posted the track listing for A Thousand Suns. I think it has some very cool and unique song titles. The album starts with two "The" and ends with two "The" track names. The names whom I find most interesting are: "Jornada Del Muerto" which is a place in New Mexico, and the name is Spanish for "single day's journey of the dead man" hence "route of the dead man". I also find the name "Robot Boy" very interesting, I wonder how that song will sound?

Check out the track listing for A Thousand Suns below.

Linkin Park: A Thousand Suns

1. The Requiem
2. The Radiance
3. Burning In The Skies
4. Empty Spaces
5. When They Come For Me
6. Robot Boy
7. Jornada Del Muerto
8. Waiting For The End
9. Blackout
10. Wretches And Kings
11. Wisdom, Justice, And Love
12. Iridescent
13. Fallout
14. The Catalyst
15. The Messenger

Linkin Park - The Catalyst (24Xero Remix)

This is my version of "The Catalyst", and I think I did a great job on this remix. I really wanted to finish my remix before July 25th, and I did, even though I couldn't enter the "Featuring You" contest because I live in Sweden. And I hadn't finished my remix, so I could enter the fan edition contest. I don't want to release something that I'm not satisfied with or done in a hurry.

I made this remix in Magix Music Maker 16 Premium. I wanted to have the static electronic sound that you can hear in the intros of the new Linkin Park videos. I use some of the stems LP released, and I took some from my sound pool collection and made different changes to them with effects and stuff. When I was done with the instrumental, I then used Sony Vegas Pro 9 to sync the vocals with my remix. I know that Vegas is used for video editing. However, It's very great for sound too and Vegas has the same structure as Acid which is more of a sound based software. I have Acid Pro 7 also, but I haven't used that program that much and Vegas does basically the same thing.

When I had finished syncing the vocal stems to my remix, I wanted to create a video for it. I took some clips from the latest Linkin Park videos and used the static interruption parts. I looped the video clips and blended the new photos of the band into the video.

I think the result turned out really cool both the remix and video. Watch it below!

A Thousand Suns (Deluxe Fan Edition Box Set)

First of all, I must say that I'm extremely excited right now, I don't know what to do with myself! All these feelings that I feel in this moment is very powerful. I feel like this every time something fun and new is happening with Linkin Park, especially now when their new album, A Thousand Suns, is just around the corner. And even closer is the release of their new single "The Catalyst", only nine days left! Plus we will get to see a new Linkin Park music video. Everything I'm feeling right now is the proof of how much Linkin Park means to me.

Today, July 24th, I pre-ordered the "Deluxe Fan Edition Box Set" of A Thousand Suns from linkinpark.com. When you pre-order from their site, you will get the single and the album digitally the moment it's ready for download via your e-mail. The box set looks amazing! I bought the "Superfan Edition" of Minutes to Midnight 2007, and I just had to get this albums' version of the "Superfan Edition".

I said to myself that I will only buy two versions of Linkin Park's new album this time, I bought four editions of Minutes to Midnight. I have the CD Edition, which Linkin Park signed with their autographs when I met them at the Meet & Greet before the concert in Stockholm, Sweden on May 25th, 2007. I have the Special Edition with CD & DVD, Superfan Edition and the Tour Edition which I bought because I wanted to have "No Roads Left". Maybe a few albums too much, but I am a hardcore Linkin Park fan! This time I will at least try to buy only two editions of A Thousand Suns.

It feels so much better now when I have written down every exciting, happy and positive feeling I have inside of me. You can watch all the details of the pre-orders below, Mike posted it on his blog.

Alrightee folks. The pre-order for A THOUSAND SUNS is here. I wanted to take a minute to give you some more details about the stuff and answer some questions.

1.) With any purchase, you get the digital version of the album FOR FREE. Yes, even if you buy the skate deck or the tee shirt, you get the album free. You also get early access to concert tickets to our shows (which means you’ll get better seats).

2.) The DVD included in the first two items is called MEETING OF A THOUSAND SUNS. It’s the best documentary of a Linkin Park album ever made. I’m not just saying that. It’s the best everrrrr.

3.) The Deluxe Box Set includes the CD, DVD, the album on two vinyl records, a print of the album art (for your wall, if you so desire), and a HARDCOVER BOOK. The book is NOT just the album booklet, blown up bigger. It’s a special book, designed for and only included with the box set. And by the way…the Regular CD, Mid-level CD/DVD, and the Box Set will all have different art booklets.

4.) Q: “When do I get everything?”
A: The second it becomes available from us to you (aka the earliest time possible in the known universe, as determined by the Sun, Earth, gravity, the speed of light, and Warner Bros. Records). In the meantime, we’ll be sending you guys a couple other things, just for fun: video clips, early snippets, who knows? But the bottom line is, you get more when you order from us directly. All you do is enter your email address when you check out, and we’ll email you a link to the stuff (such as: The Catalyst, A Thousand Suns) the moment it is ready for download.

5.) Q: I’m afraid to give my email address. Is it safe?
A: Ask the members of LPU. We don’t spam, and we treat our members with respect–we don’t sell or give away your info. In fact, my own email address is on the list, so I know the list doesn’t get compromised!

…I hope that clears up the basic questions about the pre-order on www.linkinpark.com. If you haven’t already, feel free to spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere you go online. Thanks for your support…we can’t wait for you to hear A THOUSAND SUNS.

I leave you with this: the greatest skate deck of all time.

Twitter Pixel Art at Linkin Park.com

Linkin Park.com got a new intro page a few days ago. A message came up and asked if I wanted to connect my Twitter account. After I had done that a text came up that said: "Conversation sets me free". So I wrote that I was looking forward to the new album and send the tweet, and a brief sound plays that could be "The Catalyst" along with the message: "Thank you for helping me. I will arrive soon", with each individual tweet revealing a single pixel of a collective image.

I think the idea that each message sent to twitter became a pixel was a great idea! I was very excited and I was wondering what would happen when all the pixels were in place. My first thought was that the picture would reveal the album art, and that we would hear a preview of "The Catalyst". And today, about two days later, the picture was revealed, and it shows the album art of A Thousand Suns.

I later saw that I had got a direct message from Mike at twitter. In the message, he thanked me for the help and told me to check back to see what happens along with two links. The first link led me to a video where a short clip of "The Catalyst" was played! The second link was just a low res picture of the new LP logo. I liked the short clip of "The Catalyst", it was Mike singing along with Chester in the background, it was different from what I've heard from the stems.

Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks. "The Catalyst" is almost here!

"The Catalyst" single art

Mike has posted the single art for their new single "The Catalyst", arrives at August 2nd. I really like the new art work style. The pictures that I've seen so far often have an "old TV look" to them, and they are also torn and effected by signal interruption. It will be exciting to see how the album art will be like.

There is a hidden picture in the single art, I enhanced the brightness and the shadows and what looks like a man taking a photo is revealed. I think it's Mike taking a picture into a mirror.

You can see the single art of "The Catalyst" below, before and after.

New Linkin Park album, “A Thousand Suns”, out 14/9 [Update!]

It's finally official, Linkin Park's new album is called "A Thousand Suns", and it will be released on September 14th, 2010. The new single is called "The Catalyst", it will be released on August 2nd. This is exciting news for us Linkin Park fans! We were given the two names a few weeks ago in the LP puzzles, and many had already guessed that it was the name of the single and the new album. I think the album name is awesome, I really hoped that it would be the final name of the album.

This is not all the news we got. Linkin Park will have a contest where we fans will get the opportunity to remix the new single, "The Catalyst", and one lucky winner will have their remix on the "A Thousand Suns" album. I will of course enter the contest, because I love to remix Linkin Park music, it's one of my biggest interests. The contest will begin on July 9th. I don't know if they will include the vocal stems, or just the music. I'm really excited right now, and I think many other Linkin Park fans are too.

You can read the entire post from Mike, below. And as always stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming weeks!

NEW ALBUM, “A THOUSAND SUNS,” OUT SEPTEMBER 14

No puzzles or hidden messages with this one. We’re excited to finally announce that our new album, A THOUSAND SUNS, will be released on September 14th.

The lead single for the album is called “The Catalyst.” It will be released on August 2nd.

Beginning tomorrow, July 9th, we’re teaming up with MySpace for “Linkin Park, Featuring You,” a contest which gives you the one-of-a-kind opportunity to be on our new album. We’ll be giving you some audio from “The Catalyst,” and you get to take it from there; you can remix the parts, write something over them, or mute stuff and write something totally new. We may choose a remix of the song, and put it on the album…or, we may choose an amazing keyboardist, string quartet, guitarist, percussion group, or other musician, and invite them into the studio to play on one of our songs. No matter what instrument you play, you can win. We’re open to anything good. All we ask is that you include any audible portion of any one of our stems in your submission.

Once you submit, the community (that’s you) will vote, and the most popular stuff will rise to the top. Then, my bandmates and I will comb through the submissions, choose one winner, and they will be included on our album, A THOUSAND SUNS. Check out http://www.myspace.com/linkinpark for contest details.

I think I’ve said enough for now. Thanks for your continued support. We’ve got more announcements coming, so keep checking LinkinPark.com for updates.

-m