Linkin Park co-vocalist Mike Shinoda has opened up on how the band's new-look lineup came together and why guitarist Brad Delson stepped down from live duties but remains a member of the band.
The nu metal icons recently reunited, with Emily Armstrong in place of the late Chester Bennington. They also have a new face behind the drums, with Colin Brittain in place of Rob Bourdon who opted not to take part in the reunion.
And lead guitarist and founding member Delson chose to remain part of the band, but to stay behing the scenes and not go on the road. His place on stage for the previous reunion shows and the upcoming world tour has been and will continue to be filled by Alex Feder.
Now Shinoda has given more insight into the recruitment of Brittain and Feder.
He tells the Zach Sang Show: "In case anybody doesn't understand the dynamic, Brad is our guitarist. He's in the band, but he's realized that ... it's kind of a mental health thing.
"He doesn't love the touring and the live show lifestyle, and so he is our guitarist, but he's not playing live. He found a guy named Alex who's spectacular, a really good guitarist and they get along great, and Brad chose Alex to play his parts live.
"But at the time, we hadn't met Alex, and so we asked Colin. I was, like, 'Brad needs somebody to play guitar, and we need a drummer. You do both equally well. What would you wanna do?' And he was just like a kid in a candy store. I think he said, 'I can't believe what you're asking me right now.' He was so excited."
Brittain was working in the studio with the band as they put together their new album From Zero when he was asked if he'd play drums live.
Shinoda continues: "I just love working with Colin. I met him in sessions and then was bringing him in to help with writing and production. And then eventually we were, like, 'Hey, dude, it turns out we need somebody to play drums.' I know that's his primary instrument. So I was, like, 'Is that something you would wanna do? It would mean stepping away from your production career.'"
After a short run of shows with the new lineup, Linkin Park announced a massive 2025 world tour which kicks off in Mexico in January.
Linkin Park 2025 world tour dates
Jan 31: Mexico City Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico
Feb 03: Guadalajara Estadio 3 De Marzo, Mexico
Feb 05: Monterrey Estadio Banorte, Mexico
Feb 11: Tokyo Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Feb 12: Tokyo Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Feb 16: Jakarta TBA, Indonesia
Apr 12: Las Vegas Sick New World, NV *
Apr 26: Austin Moody Center, TX ^
Apr 28: Tulsa BOK Center, OK ^
May 01: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI ^
May 03: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, ND ^
May 06: Raleigh Lenovo Center, NC ^
May 08: Greenville Bon Secours Wellness Arena, SC ^
May 10: Columbus Sonic Temple, OH *
May 17: Daytona Welcome To Rockville, FL *
Jun 12: Nisckelsdorf Novarock, Austria *
Jun 14: Hradec Kralove Rock For People, Czech Republic *
Jun 16: Hannover Heinz-Von-Heiden Arena, Germany ~
Jun 18: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany ~
Jun 20: Bern Bernexpo, Switzerland
Jun 24: Milan I-Days, Italy *
Jun 26: Arnhem Gelredome, Netherlands $
Jun 28: London Wembley Stadium, UK $&
Jul 01: Dusseldorf Merkur Spiel Arena, Germany ~&
Jul 03: Werchter Rock Werchter Festival, Belgium *
Jul 05: Gdynia Open’er Festival, Poland *
Jul 08: Frankfurt Deutsche Bank Park, Germany ~&
Jul 11: Paris Stade De France, France
Jul 29: Brooklyn Barclays Center, NY +
Aug 01: Boston TD Garden, MA +
Aug 03: Newark Prudential Center, NJ +
Aug 06: Montreal Bell Centre, Canada +
Aug 08: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, Canada +
Aug 11: Chicago United Center, IL +
Aug 14: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI +
Aug 16: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA #
Aug 19: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA #
Aug 21: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN #
Aug 23: St Louis Enterprise Center, MO #
Aug 25: Milwaukee Fiserv Forum, WI #
Aug 27: Minneapolis Target Center, MN #
Aug 29: Omaha CHI Health Center, NE #
Aug 31: Kansas City T-Movile Center, MO #
Sep 03: Denver Ball Arena, CO #
Sep 06: Phoenix Footprint Center, AZ #
Sep 13: Los Angeles Dodger Stadium, CA !&
Sep 15: San Josa SAP Ceter, CA &
Sep 17: Sacramento Golden 1 Center, CA &
Sep 19: Portland Moda Center, OR &
Sep 21: Vancouver Rogers Arena, Canada &
Sep 24: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WA &
Oct 26: Bogota TBA, Colombia
Oct 29: Lima TBA, Peru
Nov 01: Buenos Aires TBA, Argentina
Nov 05: Santiago TBA, Chile
Nov 08: Rio De Janeiro TBA, Brazil
Nov 10: São Paulo TVA, Brazil
Nov 13: Brasilia TBA, Brazil
Nov 15: Porto Alegre TVA, Brazil
Festival performance *
With Queens Of The Stone Age !
With Spiritbox $
With AFI =
With Architects ~
With Grandson ^
With Jean Dawson #
With Jpegmafia &
With Pvris +
