We have added a bunch of pictures from tonight’s benefit show which can be seen below. More to come!

EDIT: I have added 104 more pictures!

Before Linkin Park’s benefit show at the House Of Blues, Chester and Mike unveiled their custom designed Honda Si Coupe and CBR250R motorcycle. Check out the pics below. More to come…

UPDATE: Added 25 more pictures!

A new LPTV episode has been released showing how the band chose the album cover for “LIVING THINGS”.

Download

MySpace recently listened to “LIVING THINGS” and had the chance to also review it. I think they did a good job at it, adding sample lyrics and all. Check it out along with what Brad had to say to them.

Recently Myspace was invited to stop by NRG Studios in North Hollywood to get an exclusive sneak peek at Linkin Park’s upcoming fifth album Living Things, which will be out on June 26 via WBR. Guitarist Brad Delson played host, noting that this disc is an “amalgam of our first releases, which is the sound people know us best for, and that experimental stuff.”
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Delson, who also mentioned that the band listened to a lot of folk music and early Americana during the recording process, added that the shift in sound on this release is due to the fact that the musicians used “a lot of tools we had put aside that we felt comfortable using again.” He added, “It’s a random process where we’re deconstructing things and putting them back together… We just use whatever sounds we think will be best for the record and then figure out how to play them later.”
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While we can’t actually let you hear any of the new tracks we can offer a glimpse into what’s to come (and what the heck Delson is talking about).
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Track: “Lost In The Echo”
Sample Lyric: “We got lost in the echo.”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Epic
What You Can Expect: A grandiose, swelling number that harkens back to early single “In the End.”
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Track: “In My Remains”
Sample Lyric: “Like an army falling one by one”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Slick
What You Can Expect: A heavy rocker that slowly builds from a sparse, electronic backbone.
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Track: “Burn It Down”
Sample Lyric: “We’re building it up to break it down”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Single
What You Can Expect: Listen for yourself below…
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Linkin Park – Burn It Down
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Track: “Lies Greed Misery”
Sample Lyric: “Now let me show you exactly how the breaking point sounds”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Aggressive
What You Can Expect: A thrashing, in-your-face number garnished with a hint of dub-step.
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Track: “I’ll Be Gone”
Sample Lyric: “It’s time you let me go”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Ballad
What You Can Expect: An anthemic radio number that features heavy drums and urgent vocals.
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Track: “Castle of Glass”
Sample Lyric: “I’m only a crack in this castle of glass”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Ambient
What You Can Expect: A combination of synth and acoustic guitar that creates an atmospheric rocker.
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Track: “Victimized”
Sample Lyric: We didn’t write one down because we were so shaken by the track’s aggression.
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Metallic
What You Can Expect: Linkin Park’s heaviest song yet, a screaming, heavy rock song that may surprise you.
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Track: “Roads Untraveled”
Sample Lyric: “The love that you lost wasn’t worth what it cost and in time you’ll be glad it’s gone”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Heartbreak
What You Can Expect: A piano-driven ballad that even features some chimes.
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Track: “Skin To Bone”
Sample Lyric: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Hypnotic
What You Can Expect: An electro-driven rhythmic number that goes hard on the experimentation.
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Track: “Until It Breaks”
Sample Lyric: “You woke the devil that I thought you’d left behind”
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Introspective
What You Can Expect: One of the softer tracks on the album, centered on synth melodies.
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Track: “Tinfoil”
Sample Lyric: This track is instrumental, so…
Word We Wrote Down To Describe It: Ambient
What You Can Expect: An intro between tracks that also delves into experimental noises.
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Track: “Powerless”
What You Can Expect: Unfortunately the CD didn’t work so we didn’t get to hear this one.

Last night Linkin Park played for less than 100 KROQ fans in their practice space. Read the insight and interviews below. They also uploaded pictures which can be found by clicking below.

In a secret North Hollywood practice space, Agoura Hills-formed alternative metal band Linkin Park took a break from their tour rehearsal (and their catered luncheon including crabs cakes and fresh coconuts), to play a dress rehearsal to a tiny audience of less than a hundred people. The band played a six song set including songs like “Waiting For The End,” “Papercut,” and “Burn It Down,” from their forthcoming fifth studio album, Living Things–their third with producer Rick Rubin.

“I think our newest record is always our favorite record because it’s the newest and most exciting. It’s like a new car,” says Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda when asked what their favorite record is. “Living Things has that new car smell.” “Hybrid Theory has that classic old car vibe right now. It’s like ‘ Dude that car was f**king dope,” agrees frontman Chester Bennington. “I remember that car. It was awesome. But I have the new version in my garage.’”

Linkin Park are getting into tour shape to co-headline the 2012 Honda Civic Presents tour with Incubus. The two bands, whom have often been put into the same musical category, also grew up in the same area and Linkin Park said they saw Incubus play some backyards when they were in high school; Incubus lived down the 101 freeway in Calabasas.

In an interview with Ted Stryker, the band recollected the early Hybird Theory days of their career–the days of dog collars and jelly bracelets–and how it compares to twelve years later in the Living Things stage of their musical journey.

“There’s an energy there, a spirit there that, in order to get there, I think that part of the process for us was to get OK with the fact that we wore dog collars and silly jelly bracelets up to our elbows and I had bright red hair,” says Shinoda. “I look at the pictures now and I was like, ‘God. What was I thinking?’ But at the same time I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Shinoda then told a story about a time, about two years into their career, when Bennington was hungover and had to get through an airport security line with all his rock and roll metal.

“There was a day when he was wearing a dog collar, he had the metal in his ears, he had the metal in his lip, he had spike bracelets from his wrist to his elbows, he had a belt that had metal all over it with like a chain, and metal in his boots and he goes to the airport with us,” says Shinoda. “And we see him, we get to the airport, we’re in the security line with this guy going, ‘Ummm, there’s like two people in front of you and we don’t say anything to him because clearly he was hungover.”

“It was like Mr. T came to the security line and forgot the lock to his dog collar,” continued the songwriter and rapper. “My favorite part was that he was kind of bitter. He was kind of hungover and angry, so he gets to the front of the line and we were like, “Oh, no. This is gonna be bad.’”

In the end, all the band could do was laugh at Bennington in his state, just like they laugh at the old incarnations of themselves. “That’s who we were at the time,” finishes Shinoda.

The band calls the new record a “developing journey” and one where they had a discussion about “getting real with who they are.” For Shinoda, that meant co-producing the album with Rubin, although he deems the word co-production a “technicality.”

“Rick comes in about once a week and he does a few hours with us where he hears it with fresh ears and gives us the Rick Rubin take,” Shinoda explains.

“There are a couple misconceptions with a band writing a song,” Shinoda continues. “One is that you think of a song, you like dream it up, and then you make it. And that’s not how it works for us. Another thing is people think maybe a band jams and then they write a song and then they go into a studio and then they record it and then when they’re done recorded they go mix and master and then the put it out.”

“Our process is weird because it doesn’t work linearly like that at all,” says Shinoda. “Like from the very first demo, which could be on a laptop, home studio, big recording studio…everyone of those places we’re just writing. And the demos, from the very first idea, we’re already trying to get a handle on it, the engineering of it, the mix, the sound. We’re doing all steps of it at once at all times.”

This also gets alluded to later as their “automatic writing” technique which Bennington admits can sometimes sound like “gibberish.” “There’s no words, just things that sound like words,” he says.

They did say they like to put a positive spin on their music, even some of the “doom and gloom” songs of Hybrid Theory, and when asked how age has played into their writing process, Bennington says that “age comes with a different perspective on life.”

“You know, when you’re young, everything’s about you. It’s not like your fault when you’re young and everything’s about you and you’re trying to find your place,” he explains. “And you view the world, in a way, at least I did, as things happening to me, and so, I think now my perspective is much different. I’m kind of excited about even the shit that’s bad because there’s always some good that comes out of it and I kind of wonder what that will be.”

“When Bennninton was young, one of his first rock and roll experiences, one which Shinoda dubbed as “fate,” was when he found a split record on the bus. One side was the Misfits’ Walk Among Us and the other side was the Descendents’ Milo Goes To College.

“And it changed my life,” says Bennington who admitted to spinning Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Mothers Milk continuously before that find. Shinoda says that the first album he ever bought with his own money was the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill.

Now Shinoda is working on what critics have dubbed one of the best action movies of the year, The Raid: Redemption. Shinoda says that he’s wanted to score a film for a long time

“Getting a call from Sony on that movie; those kind of things don’t come around that often,” says Shinoda.”People are saying it’s one of the best action movies of the last decade. And I’m not that versed in what’s been going on in action films, so for me I just think this film is cool. It’s an indie film; I can probably make mistakes and the whole world won’t be watching me screw it up. But it turned out good. If I have time, I’d love to keep doing it [scoring films].”

Linkin Park’s DJ Joe Hahn is also having “fun” directing a “low budget indie movie” called Mall. One which he said Linkin Park is doing the music for.

“It’s a great script adapted from an Eric Bogosian novel and it’s kind of dark and twisted,” explains Hahn. “Rated R. And we’re doing the music for it. It’s going to be cool. Probably going to take it to the festivals at the end of the year and you’ll see it sometime next year. Or maybe sooner.

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Linkin Park’s Living Things will be available on June 26th through Warner Bros Records. You can pre-order it on iTunes here.

Mike Shinoda has talked to WMGM about how his projects outside Linkin Park have helped. The audio is very very brief:

“I grew up drawing and painting. I also grew up loving music and I’ve recently got into scoring. I did my first movie score for a movie called The Raid. Doing stuff like that, for me, being able to switch from one thing to the other, I feel like it keeps me fresh. And in addition to that, I’m able to pull creative ideas from one thing into the other.”

Listen HERE.

Music For Relief is auctioning off the chance to meet Linkin Park at select, upcoming European shows this summer. Tickets are included. Bid now HERE.

The first LPU summit of the year has been announced. It will take place in Camden, New Jersey on August 17th. More information about passes and prices below.

We are excited to announce that will be be hosting our 6th
 International LPU Summit on August 17 in Camden, NJ*. Previous LPU Summit’s have taken place in London, Sydney, Chicago, Hamburg and Tokyo and included activities such as meet & greets with Linkin Park, backstage tours, walking across the stage, a jam band using LP’s gear, watching soundchecks, acoustic sets by Linkin Park, Q&A’s and more.

Passes for the Summit will be available to LPU members only starting
 Saturday, May 19 at 12:00 PM ET only at LPUnderground.com.** Summit passes are FREE for LPU Plus Pass ($60) members as a benefit to your membership. If you have a $25 LPU pass, you can purchase a Summit pass for $50, or purchase a new $60 LPU Plus Pass membership for a free pass. Members will only be able to reserve ONE Summit pass each, if you have friends who want to try to attend they must JOIN the LP Underground to get access to this benefit.

There will be 
limited passes available for the Summit, and they will sell out FAST. To ensure you have the best opportunity possible to get a pass, make sure you are online prior to the 12:00 PM ET time. Those fans who are able to reserve a pass in their cart have 20 minutes to check out. If they do not do so in time, the passes are dumped back into the pool. Because of this, if you do not immediately see passes available, you can try refreshing the page throughout the next couple of hours. Please only reserve a pass if you are 100% certain you will be able to travel to the Summit and attend.

Details on a pre-Summit events held the day before on August 16th, and a full list of all Summit activities will be announced in the coming weeks.

Check out the LPTV episode below from our very first LPU Summit in London in 2010. Join the LPU now for your chance to reserve a pass.

*Tickets to the Linkin Park show on August 17th NOT included. Tickets to the show not required to attend the summit.
**While supplies last. 1 pass per member.

Warner Music Japan has uploaded a small video of Mike introducing the “Burn It Down” music video. In the end Mike goes: “Here’s the new video for “Burn It Down.” but the video ends there. Could it premiere today?

A video of Mike announcing the premiere of “The Raid: Redemption” in Indonesia with his score, has surfaced.

I also found a picture of Linkin Park along with cast members of “The Raid: Redemption”. No idea where that’s from or when it was shot.