07.07.2002 : Number One
We've been working on the next album for about nine or ten months now. more recently, people have started asking us often about the pressures of making another album to follow up "hybrid theory". After a successful album, the only thing we can do is work hard and try to make it something we're happy with, because trying to compete with other peoples' expectations can get messy. So we'll just make something that makes us want to listen. After that, i hope all you guys out there want to listen too. In the meantime, while we're here writing, we'll wait to see what you think of "reanimation". it's coming out soon, on the 30th, and some tracks are starting to leak out. Overall, its a very challenging album, one that is very complex in structure. You will hear that we had a lot of fun with our collaborators, rewriting our old stuff and writing a lot of new parts. In style, you find that it's a very sample driven album, and also something just for the fans to get to know more about us and the people our band has been influenced by. hope you enjoy it. Back to writing. I've got to get back into the studio now. in the studio, we will continue working on the songs until the best stuff rises to the top. We started with about 40, and we're down to around 20 now. As songs get better, they push their way to the top of our list until only about 12 or so remain. When that happens, we'll start recording.
POSTED BY MIKE

07.10.2002 : getting started
right now, we are working on an album of songs with fake names...whenever we start a song, we put it in my computer and give it a working title, such as "smelly feet" or "ugly head". these working titles are what we call the songs until they get finished lyrics and a real name. a bit of trivia: some songs never lose their working title. "papercut" was a working title, as was "points of authority". but usually songs get renamed. "in the end" was originally called "untitled", which we liked until d'angelo came out with a song of that name. but sometimes, some of us never get past the working title. originally, forgotten was called "rhinestone," and no matter how much i ask him not to, brad still calls that song by its old name. haha
POSTED BY MIKE

07.17.2002 : narrowing down
as we work on things, we start to narrow down to a smaller of songs. inevitably, when some songs are less interesting, but have a great guitar part or sample, we try to take that part and put it into another song that seems to be coming together better. so we combine similar songs to create a better song. originally, the chorus to crawling was a bridge from another song. chester and i needed a chorus to put in that song, and he just sang it there with no guitars. after we recorded the vocal track, i wrote the guitar under it. and we took it into the studio and everyone added their magic.
POSTED BY MIKE

07.23.2002 : Word Up!
So I'm sitting in our "pre-production" studio, and I thought I'd give you a glimpse into our strange-and-often-fun-creative-process. Actually, I was planning on procrastinating writing this until Mike "suggested" I do it before I leave. You see, I'm a master at putting things off until I absolutely have to do them. This could be anything from paying taxes to doing laundry. What does this have to with the studio? I'm not sure. I can tell you, however, that things are going really well. We're currently working during the day with our producer on pre-production. This means that we've written a number of songs (roughly 21) and now we're fixing them up and narrowing them down so that we can go into the studio and begin recording. I think one of our biggest challenges is putting aside some of the songs we've written. Since each song has something cool about it, it's hard to let any of them go. Maybe we'll just release a double album...just kidding.
POSTED BY BG.BD/BR@D

08.23.2002 : in the studio
we made it to the studio. finally. its very exciting. this part of the process takes a couple of months. we'll take all the ideas and parts we've been working on and put them together and try to capture them. we start with drums, so i'm overseeing things with don, as rob plays through the music. rob generally works very fast. he practices very hard so that he can come in and nail his parts in a couple of takes. after this, we'll move on to bass [in a couple of days]. on a side note, we're trying to do some more things to be able to show you guys a little bit of what's going on. hopefully we can do more than just these studio reports...
POSTED BY MIKE

08.27.2002 : finished tracking drums
I just finished recording drums for the new album! I'm sitting here in the studio lounge feeling great about the last five days. Everything went really smooth. We spent the first half of day one listening through all different kinds of drums to find the right ones for the album. Once that was done we went ahead and tracked away. We averaged about 4 songs a day. To get the drums to blend with the vibe/sound in each song, we would make some minor changes to the kit, such as change a crash,or tune a drum a little different . We had a drum tuning specialist in the studo the whole time that was able to get the exact sounds we were looking for. For me the toughest time to get though is all of the practice leading up to recording. Once I had most of the ideas down for drum patterns and fills, its just hours of practice. I spent about 10 hours a day for a month to prepare for these 5 days in the studio. For the most part I'm finished in the studio unless a song changes in the making, which is very possible. It looks like Brad is going to start guitar when we return from the VMA's.
POSTED BY ROB

10.10.2002 : recording vocals
we're done with drums and bass...guitars are about 90% finished, scratching is about 50% there. and chester and i are working on the vocals every day. we've had some days where the words just seem to flow out of us, and other days where we can't write more than a few lines. it can be a really slow process, but i know we need to take our time to make things sound right. by the way, thanks for the encouragement and good words on the message boards here and on LPU.com. people always start posts to us with "you're never going to read this, but..." we do read them, so thanks for writing. anyway, back to work. chester and i are working on our 11th song today (out of 15). there will be 12 tracks on the album. and i want them all to be great.
POSTED BY MIKE

10.14.2002 : recording vocals part 2
It is now mid-October, and I am excited to see the progress that has been made on the new album. Rob, Brad and I are predominantly done with our respective recordings, and it is now in the hands of Chester, Mike, and Chairman Hahn. For the record, and for all of you who were placing bets on the message board, I did complete my portion of the recording using the least amount of time... approximately four days. But Brad and Rob did post respectable finish times themselves. All joking aside, I can't wait until the album is done and can be heard by all of you. In addition, it will only be a few months until these "studio reports" become "tour journals" again. So be ready for us to be in your town again sometime soon. Thanks again to all of you diehard fans out there... your support is more meaningful than you may ever know.
POSTED BY PHOENIX

10.23.2002
hi guys. you're not going to believe this, but i talked my friend into posting here in the studio reports section. here you go... Howdy folks! It's Chazzy Chaz. We're almost done recording vocals, and it's super swell. Mike and I have been putting in alot of hours in the studio and it's paying off. Working with Don's been alot of fun, I'm glad we decided to do this record with him as well. Yesterday I met Scott Stapp and he was a nice guy. I've actually run into alot of my friends from other bands down here, which has been a nice little treat. Tomorrow is the two year anniversary of Hybrid Theory. It's amazing how much has changed in the last two years. We owe it all of our fans, and we'll show you all how greatful we are by making this next record great! So I'm going back to work... BYE!
POSTED BY MIKE AND SPECIAL GUEST

10.29.2002 : photo shoot / common questions
we just did some photos for the next album...i bet you'll be seeing some of them in a couple of places soon...we shot in a haunted hotel in koreatown. it was scary.

i'm starting to get questions about the new album. here are a couple of answers to common questions:

1. the next album is scheduled for release in march 2003
2. we are working with (producer) don gilmore and (mixer) andy wallace again. it's going great. we are writing tons and tons of material, in an attempt to only put the very best on the album.
3. we are in the studio about 10-12 hours a day, six days a week. not everyone is here at once. people come and go. for the past month, since we've been concentrating on vocals, chester and i have been here every day.
4. we are not planning to have any guests on the album at this point.
5. the new album sounds more like hybrid theory than reanimation. i think the samples are cooler, and the guitars are nice and heavy. and some of the stuff rob is playing is very exciting too.
6. we started with a lot of songs and are on our way to narrowing down to twelve. all of the tracks that we don't finish are basically trashed. they stay in their unfinished state until they get deleted and replaced by better music on my computer.
7. NONE of the band members post or chat elsewhere, on other sites. we are not I.M.ing, or emailing people. the only correct LP info is here and on LPunderground.com.

for answers to more questions, see phoenix's post in the "linkin park" scetion of the message boards. back to work--bye
POSTED BY MIKE

12.08.2002 : mixing
the recording process is just about finished, so we're gearing up for the next part of the album-making process: mixing. we're getting together with andy wallace again, who mixed hybrid theory. anyway, we also cut the number of songs down to thirteen, and we'll be cutting one more, i think. and everything sounds just right -- so far so good.
03.LP.03
POSTED BY MIKE

12.15.2002 : half-way point
we've been here in new york for over a week, and we'll be here for another week mixing. here's a little more info about what's going on: we had to finish up some recording during the first week of mixing, which is unusual.

the story is... chester got sick during the last week in LA (recording), and we had to bring him to new york, to a studio we've never recorded at. it was a little unsettling, but luckily it all worked out. i wrote some stuff while he was sick, and when he got better, it was all ready to go. he liked what it sounded like, and hooked us up with great performances. a few days later, he was finished, and flew back to LA. which leaves brad and i here with andy wallace mixing.

some people who visit this site have no idea what mixing is. i'll try and describe it: when we record, we create anywhere from 25 to upwards of 50 tracks of music. one track may be from a microphone on rob's kick drum, one is on the snare, 4 and more are on guitars, a couple for bass, dozens for samples and vocals, for example. all of these tracks need to balanced and separated, adding certain effects (like reverb and delay) to make the song sound right. that's what mixing is. and that's what andy wallace helps us with. he has mixed a lot of great albums, from nirvana's "nevermind" to mudvayne's "LD50" and taproot's "welcome". we are very happy to be working with him again.

everything's great, and we'll keep you up to date with all the newest info here in the studio reports section.
POSTED BY M1K3

12.20.2002 : besides the music
every post here has been about writing and recording. let's take a detour for a second.

putting out an album involves a lot more than just recording the music. from packaging art to advertisements to tour set-up to the video, we are immersed in non-musical preparation for about two to four months before a release. in other words, we have a lot of fun stuff coming up that you'll be interested to know about.

Bill Berg-Hillinger, who put together our DVD, has been filming us for the past few months. he's got footage of us writing, mixing, and hanging out. from this footage, we're putting together a series of shorts called LPTV. you'll hear about it in the news section on this website when it's ready to come out. in each segment, you'll get to see us making the songs, from writing to recording them. the footage is amazing. on a couple of takes, he just happened to be filming during the second that we came up with a guitar or vocal idea. anyway, for anyone who wants to see inside our creative process at work, it's a great thing to look for. keep an eye on the news page for more details on LPTV.

in the meantime, i'll be working on the album art and ads, joe will be working on the video, and all of us will be practicing the songs in preparation for our upcoming tours. we'll be working hard to get things ready for you.

oh yeah--we decided on an album title.
POSTED BY MIKE.03.LP.03

01.15.2003 : Brad Talks About Meteora - Interview by Jessica
BRAD- WHAT DOES METEORA MEAN TO LINKIN PARK AND HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT NAME? WHAT IS THE PRONOUNCIATION OF THE NAME?

(Mee-tee-ora is the pronunciation)

Actually we were touring in Europe and inside the bus the bus driver had set down a travel magazine that was actually featuring this place called Meteora, and just looking at the pictures of this larger than life place- we were inspired to try to write sonically what those pictures conveyed visually. That was before we had even written the body of the album, so it actually inspired us to create on tape what we were seeing visually. Meteora is a chain of monasteries in Greece that sit on top of incredible rock formations- it’s a really unbelievable place. The title does not have to do with the music in a literal sense- but can be used as a metaphor – the grandeur of it, and the timelessness of it, are all conveyed quite well on our album. Actually some of the guys hadn’t even seen the pictures of this place yet- they had just heard the name, but they were all drawn to it just by the energy of the name.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE SOUND OF METEORA ALBUM AS COMPARED TO PAST ALBUMS YOU HAVE RECORDED?

I think there is definitely a threat that links Hybrid Theory with Reanimation with Meteora. Lyrically I think Chester and Mike are dealing with same kinds of emotions as they were in the past- but the difference is they are confronting them with the new perspectives in their lives. There are a lot of the same themes as Hybrid Theory, but the perspective is different and the album shows our growth. Musically it has a lot of the heaviness and darkness as our recordings in the past- but I believe it’s more dynamic then Hybrid Theory. We explored different tempos and time signatures to create a really unique body of work but at the same time a cohesive record. We took 80-90 concepts for songs and streamlined them down to 12, which not only were the strongest songs, but all made the most sense together musically. When we write an album we want it all to make sense and not just write a single and songs to fill in. I think when someone puts on their headphones and listens to this album it taked you on a journey beginning to end. We wanted to may a cinematic record. One thing that is unique lyrically on Meteora it’s has a unique sense of optimism in the first single which isn’t necessarily present on the other sings. Most of the rest of the songs are quite dark.

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO TOURING AGAIN AFTER THIS LONG BREAK?

We are really excited to tour and play a lot of places we haven’t been before and even hit some new places– we will definitely be touring extensively. Another great thing is we’ll have a lot more material in which to choose from when playing our live show. Last time we tried to fill out an hour with 37 min of material but in actuality it will be fun to play songs from Hybrid Theory, Meteora, possibly Reanimation. Besides, I think it will just elevate our live show to have a greater selection and more variety. Plus I’ve been working out really long guitar solos I’m really excited to play on this next tour- 10-15 minutes long of just guitar solos. We might just have a second stage just for my guitar solos.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE, IF ANY, TO THE RELEASE DATE YOU CHOSE?

It was the soonest possible date that we could get it out.

CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THE VIDEO FOR THE FIRST SINGLE?

Joe is directing the new video by himself and we are really very proud of what he’s done in the past. He’s definitely going to be special effects and CGI intensive. Joe’s background is in creating larger than life visual environments. The song is really about escape and trying to find a place where you belong- but in this case Chester basically falls into a dream, which is the place where he is most comfortable, and Joe is trying to bring to life Chesters subconscious, which is where the majority of the video takes place.

WILL THE ALBUM HAVE ANY DVD OR ENHANCED CD EXTRAS?

We are trying to do as much special stuff with the CD packaging and content as possible.

WILL YOU BE DOING CHATS ON LINKIN PARK.COM AND LPU.COM TO GIVE US MORE INFO ON THE UPCOMING ALBUM?

Absolutely. LP.com and LPU.com are the 2 only 100% reliable sources of information. And also- the internet has always provided us for the best means for communicating directly with our fans.

WHAT IS THE NAME OF YOUR SINGLE AND WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE?

Somewhere I Belong- it’s the 3rd track and first single off the record. Definitely I think it represents musically what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s a dope song. I think that from the very beginning of the song you know its something special. It definitely showcases the ability for Mike and Chester to merge into one unstoppable force.

WELL GUYS, THANKS FOR READING THIS LITTLE INTERVIEW I DID WITH BRAD. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WONDERING, YES, BRAD WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE GUITAR SOLOS...LOL

POSTED BY JESSICA

01.18.2003 : words on the new album...
if you enjoyed brad's interview below, you'll be eager to know that we are currently doing a lot of interviews about our new album, METEORA, right now. in the past few days, the journalists have been meeting up with us to ask questions about the new album, songs, and what we're doing. in an effort to make things more accessible for you guys, i'm putting a thread in the message board section called "LP interviews". please keep this thread as free of chatting as possible. i know this is a pretty ridiculous request, because you guys like to mess around...but my reasoning is simple: hopefully, i want to put a page up on the site where we list links to other interviews and features the band has done. but until we decide whether we are going to have an "interview links" page, we'll just do it on our message board to try it out.

if you find an interview on us that is dated after 1/18/03, please put a link up.

POSTED BY MIKE

3/22/03: album is almost out...
Location: san francisco
Posted by m1k3 5h1n0da

i'm hangin in san francisco, mixing some songs for MTV $2bill. we let MTV2 record our show in detroit so you guys who couldn't make it to the show can have a look. the tour has been a lot of fun, and we can't wait to get out there on PROJEKT REVOLUTION, and see more of you guys. it's our first big tour following the release of the album on the 25th here in the US. check for tickets now, they're going fast...

as you can imagine, the excitement we feel right now is inexplicable. the album is going to be in stores this week. and whatever happens, please know that the most exciting thing right now is for you to hear this new stuff. we hope that in listening to it you remember the best memories you've had with our older music, and are ready to make new memories listening to our new music.

we sincerely thank all of you for coming to the shows and doing so much to support the band. we have put a ton of work into the music and art for the album, and hope you enjoy it.

[...and we can't wait to play you the new songs live--see you on projekt rev...]

4/25/03: Update
Location: Billings, MT
Posted by Rob

Hey what’s up, this is Rob. I’m here in Billings, Montana at the Metra Park Arena. We’re coming close to the end of Projekt Revolution 2003. It has been a great tour so far. Hanging out with all the guys from Blindside, Mudvayne, Xzibit and Guerilla Union has been great. All of the bands and the crew has been super cool. It has been another successful Projekt Revolution tour in that we have continued to blend all styles of music together and expose our audience to acts they haven’t heard of before. During our set, Xzibit has been coming out for “’Nobody’s Listening” which has definitely been a highlight of the show. We’ve hit a lot of smaller markets on this tour that we didn’t get to hit on the first Projekt Revolution and it has been cool meeting those fans for the first time.

Catering has been a real hit and miss so sometimes we’re a bit hungry (and I hear today is one of the miss days). On a positive note, we have played for some of the best audiences on this tour. We’re all really happy with our set design and lights and think that the look of the show is really incredible. Our crew has done an amazing job putting it all together. We’re sorry we couldn’t make it into more markets and continue the tour for a few more months. It feels like we’re just getting started but will definitely continue our headlining dates at a later time.

We’re really looking forward to Summer Sanitarium with Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, and Mudvayne. Playing right after the Deftones is definitely going to force us to put on the best Linkin Park show possible.

We’re going to be shooting a video for our second single faint when we get home in a couple of days. Video shoots are always super long days but the result makes up for the work that goes into it. We’re looking forward to seeing a lot of you out there. Having you guys out there will make this a special shoot.