Linkin Park are to be inducted into the Guitar Center Rock Walk later this month, it's been confirmed.
The band will attend the ceremony on Sunset Boulevard the day after the release of sixth album The Hunting Party – and Guitar Center chairman Dave Weiderman believes it’s high time.
He says: “Innovative and influential: those are the two major traits we look to honour with the Rock Walk, and Linkin Park has them in spades.”
Frontman Chester Bennington reports: “We’re honoured to have our music recognised by our peers. To be added to the Rock Walk on Sunset Boulevard, right where we started, is pretty surreal. We’re really grateful to be here alongside so many of the artists that inspired us.”
Bandmate Mike Shinoda recently told how the band made a conscious decision to change tack with The Hunting Party – even though their management warned them it would be a bad move.
He said: “We needed to weed out a lot of the soft, emo approach to our music. We needed to weed out anything that feels aggressive for aggression’s sake. We’re not 18-year-old kids making a loud record – we’re 37-year-old adults making a loud record.”
The follow-up to 2012’s Living Things is released on June 17 – just days after Linkin Park deliver classic album Hybrid Theory in full at this year’s Download festival.
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