By Dave DiMartino Linkin Park didn't call its debut album Hybrid Theory for nothing. For one, it used to be the band's name. Then there's that whole thing about mixing elements of electronic, hip-hop, and hard rock. The music these guys make is indeed a hybrid, and if it was merely a theory, it was pretty spot on considering that the album went on the sell more than 8 million copies. In fact, it was so successful that the band decided that it deserved to be served up to fans a second time with new mixes, hence the 2002 release Reanimation. All of that fine history brings us right up to the band's latest album, Meteora. What does that mean, you ask? Beats us. In search of an answer we sent executive editor Dave DiMartino to Burbank, California to sit down with Linkin Park drummer Rob Bourden, vocalist Mike Shinoda, and guitarist Brad Delson. Unfortunately, DiMartino didn't get the chance to ask about the band's rumored ultimate inspiration: Abraham Linkin. LAUNCH: What's the major distinction between this record and your last one? ROB: Our new record Meteora has a lot more dynamic and it's definitely more mature than our last record. There's definitely a lot of ties that kind of bring the two records together. There's a lot similar sounds--we still blend a lot of electronic, hip-hop, and rock elements together on the new record. But you can see growth of the band 'cause we've been on the road for a couple of years and we've met a lot of musicians. For instance, we've gotten to work with a ton of them on Reanimation, so we've learned a lot as musicians and we brought that to the table when we made Meteora. BRAD: I think there's definitely links from our previous work to Meteora. We didn't try to reinvent the wheel completely. We took what was working from Hybrid Theory and Reanimation and improved upon it, and it also represents where we are at today. That did involve taking a lot of risks, and I think one of the great things about Meteora is you definitely hear things that you've never heard before from us, but it still retains our signature sound. MIKE: One of the big differences people will notice between Hybrid Theory and Meteora is just simply the use of different instruments, different textures and moods. For example, in "Breaking The Habit" we have live strings and piano, in "Faint" we have live strings. You'll notice Japanese flute here and there, we'll use different samples that will basically create a new mood, create a vibe in the song. The songs still have the Linkin Park sound--they have the dynamics, the heaviness, the things that make it sound like us. But we did try to experiment with different sounds and time signatures and tempos, all these different things just to make it feel a little bit different. LAUNCH: What was the effect of having such a huge debut album and the making of this one? ROB: When we went to write the record we didn't look at the commercial success of the first one and say, "OK, that's sold this many copies, now we have to top it or make a record that will sell more records." We don't make a record knowing if it's going to sell a bunch of copies. We just made Hybrid Theory, we just made music that we really enjoy making and that we were good at making and it happened to do really well. So, when we went to do Meteora we put the most pressure on ourselves to just make great music that we really appreciate and enjoy listening to, and so we went into the studio and did that. And we feel that Meteora is a success, 'cause we accomplished our goals and the bar that we set for ourselves to make good music. We were comfortable and totally stoked and happy with it before it had even been released. BRAD: People always ask us if we felt more pressure this time 'cause of the success of the first record. Ironically, I would say there was less pressure, 'cause when you're a baby band and someone gives you money to make a record, if that record doesn't do well, that's pretty much it. You're not going to expect anyone to invest in the studio time again. At this time, based on our success of our last two projects, we know we are blessed with the ability to do this as a career. We're able to do what we love and not have jobs simultaneously. Also, what comes with success is creative freedom, 'cause you've gained the trust of the people that you've worked with. So we were definitely given a lot of room to breathe creatively in the studio and we were more experienced. We are our toughest critics and I'm an extreme perfectionist, so there was definitely a huge amount of pressure. I don't want to take away from that, [but] there was also a sense of confidence that wasn't there the first time. MIKE: I think there were certain points when felt a little bit of pressure, when we let the pressure get to us a little bit. But the pressure is always from ourselves: We wanted to make an album that, like Hybrid Theory, we could play and still be really excited about the songs. We felt that it was a big accomplishment that at the end of our touring cycle that we were playing the songs from Hybrid Theory and still excited about them and felt that they were strong. That was something that we wanted to achieve with the new record--just a sense of timelessness that hopefully you can listen to the songs in the years to come and still be excited about them. LAUNCH: What is the meaning behind the name Meteora? ROB: Well, Brad and Mike saw it in a travel magazine when were traveling in Europe. It's actually a place in Greece. It's a rock formation and on top of this rock formation there's a monastery. It just seemed like this timeless epic kind of place that just kind of set a bar of what we wanted to do with the music on the new record, that's timeless and can go on forever and be listened to and enjoyed forever. And for the other four people in the band that didn't see it, we just thought it sounded cool basically. Full article HERE
Thanks for posting this . Interesting interview, it's pretty much all they said in other interviews but together .
Yea. They must be tired of explaining the same things over and over again...... I know i would be, and honeslty, im tired of reading the same things lol.