Fans have been hyped up when earlier this year, Linkin Park has confirmed that they are working on a new album and a new sound, by that.
"We're just getting started in the studio on a new album," Linkin Park posted on their website and on Jan. 5, Chester Bennington posted on Instagram a picture of him in the studio with the caption: "Back to work this week.
Mike Shinoda, in an interview with Altwire, said that the new album will feature a "different side to their sound." In a separate interview, Shinoda said that the new album will certainly "not sound like 'The Hunting Party,'" the album they had released last June 2014; and that the new album will "surprise people."
And in a new update, Mike Shinoda told fans in a webchat that the new album is definitely coming this year.
He said in the video (via Blabbermouth.net), "It's going well. It's gonna be [released] later... It's probably, like, the second half of this year, I think. But we've started on it."
"We've got some songs [in the works]. They're mostly just like words and melodies at this point," Shinoda added. "All the guys are really... I think everybody is pretty happy with where things are at. [Guitarist] Brad [Delson] and [singer] Chester [Bennington] have been coming in with me a lot and it's like... I feel like it's really a good start."
Rapper Mike Shinoda further said that they don't have any names or titles for the songs yet, and said, "But we're back at the... we did our last two records here, I think... And, yeah, it's mostly vocals and piano and guitar-like, acoustic guitar and some samples and stuff at this point. And even as stripped down as that is, I think we're all really happy and we're really excited about where things are going."
