Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Says 'The Hunting Party' Deviates from Today's Alternative Music

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Says ‘The Hunting Party’ Deviates from Today’s Alternative Music

2014-04-30

Story by Anne Erickson

Linkin Park multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda says band strove to break the mold of today’s rock and pop music with new album

Linkin Park are getting ready to release their latest full-length, “The Hunting Party,” on June 17, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda says the guys made a conscious effort to return to their rock roots, as opposed to giving into the indie/alternative trend of today. Speaking with Download.com, Shinoda explained that while he’s a big fan of those new alternative acts, they just aren’t Linkin Park.

“I started making demos as soon as we finished the last album, and at a certain point, I listened to them and realized they sound very current,” Shinoda explained in the interview. “But I wasn’t as inspired by them as I could be, because they sounded like what’s going on out there in rock and indie and alternative. I love bands like Haim, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches and Purity Ring, and the demos sounded like they were going in that direction. I like listening to those groups making that music, but not necessarily us.”

So, Shinoda says he threw it all in a folder and started over. “We talked to the guys in the band and talked about what music we could be making that other bands can’t,” he said. “I think that this song (“Guilty All the Same”) is the DNA of the record, which gives a good intro of what the record will sound like. It sits in the middle, not the perimeter.”

This summer, Shinoda and the boys will hit the road with 30 Seconds to Mars and AFI on the Carnivores tour.

Shinoda says the name of the tour is a reaction to the music that’s popular today. “A lot of rock and pop music today are very passive and jingly. It sounds like stuff you hear on Nick Jr. and Disney Channel,” he said. “And if I’m 16, do I want to listen to Nick Jr. rock or something that’s going to be pushing it? So that carnivorous attitude just became a theme that we kept coming back to.”

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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.