Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Says 'Living Things' is Personal

Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington Says ‘Living Things’ is Personal

2012-06-30

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Story by Anne Erickson

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington says band’s new album is more personal than previous efforts

Linkin Park unleash their latest full-length this week, “Living Things,” and fans agree that the set is a return to the guttural strength of 2000’s “Hybrid Theory” and pop devices of 2002’s “Meteora.” Frontman Chester Bennington says, musically, the goal on “Living Things” was for Linkin Park to challenge themselves.

“Our goal is to challenge ourselves creatively,” Bennington told News.com.au. “We want to make music that doesn’t play it safe. That’s easier said than done when you’ve been doing it for 12 years and it’s your fifth record. It can get easy to become complacent in your career and deal with things you know you’re good at.”

The result, Bennington said, is that “Living Things” is a much more personal album than the band’s previous effort, their 2010 concept work named “A Thousand Suns.”

“‘Living Things’ deals with more issues on a human level, a personal level,” he explained, adding that he and co-writer Mike Shinoda come from two different perspectives, but were both able to write about their specific experiences on the set.

“I remember saying to Mike: ‘When I was a kid, my parents got divorced and that made me really sad. I want to write a song about it,’” he explained. “And Mike goes: ‘Well, my parents never got divorced. I have no idea what that feels like.’ But, somehow, it works. We end up with songs with multiple layers and points of view.”

Linkin Park will head out on the 2012 Honda Civic Tour in August alongside Incubus. Bennginton says when he gets up on stage every night, he’s channeling the emotion from everyone in the audience.

“A lot of people can sing, and there are a lot of talented people out there for what they do. But I’m not sure there are many people who can do what I do, the way that I do it,” he said. “When I get up on stage scream and yell and deliver … I feel everybody wants to do that. At that moment, I’m speaking for all of us.” (Photo credit: Audio Ink Radio.)

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.