Linkin Park Explain Drummer Rejecting Reunion

Linkin Park co-lead singer Mike Shinoda spoke to Complex in a recent interview about the evolution of Linkin Park, from their early days to today.

“We’re at a very interesting time in our band as individuals because we experienced a great loss, and the opportunity to continue doing what we loved to do got taken away,” Shinoda recalled, speaking about the death of their late frontman Chester Bennington. “In our minds, it was almost like, done. And there’s nothing any of us could do to hide that.”

Shinoda went on to explain that part of the reason he decided to reunite Linkin Park was that he wanted to prove to his kids, and everyone else, that it is possible to pull yourself up from “rock bottom” and to overcome tragedy.

In 2018, Shinoda released his solo album “Post-Traumatic” as a way to help him deal with the grief of losing Bennington. But, despite fans supporting his solo efforts, he admits it still felt like something was missing.

Some time later he reconnected with bandmates Joe Hahn and Dave Farrell, and the three found themselves dreaming about the possibility of working together on new music again. After meeting with singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, they found that the chemistry they all have together brought back the familiar feeling of Linkin Park.

Shinoda, however, knew there would be plenty of challenges ahead if they reunited the band.

“[From Zero] was like… There are all of these different elements at play. There’s people that loved our first two records and didn’t love anything after that. There’s people that were along for the entire ride and preferred the more adventurous stuff. There are people who are potential fans that have never liked the band, but with the new lineup they would,” Shinoda explained.

“There’s also the aspect of Chester and Rob [Bourdon] — who are not in the new lineup — how do we treat that? How do we do it respectfully to them and for them? How do we do that while maintaining our new members, Emily and Colin, and lift them up and give them the best platform to succeed from? It was freaking insane. And that’s just the creative side.”

Shinoda continued, admitting that he had a bit of anxiety about the reunion and began to question if bringing the band back was “the right thing” to do. Ultimately, though, Shinoda was reassured by the music they created together as it had the “DNA of Linkin Park” in it.