Whenever we finish an album, it's usually coupled with a block of text meant to describe it. The record company pays a “reputable” writer to craft their most exciting description of the music, in the hopes that it will help convince you to like it. But it seems to us that words usually don't do a great job of defining the sound of an album, so we thought we’d try something different and just tell you, directly from us, what was on our minds as we set out to make our new album, A Thousand Suns. We’ll leave the rest up to you.
Before you hear the music, we wanted you to know that this album was put together to be enjoyed as that: an album. We’re aware that many people are accustomed to small, single-song servings. In spite of that (or maybe because of it), we mean for this album to take you on a journey. If you decide to listen to the album in pieces, that’s fine; we just wanted to let you know there’s a part of the experience that only works when you listen to A Thousand Suns from beginning to end.
Listening to some of our favorite albums, it’s easy to forget that there was a moment in time, before their release, when they were just a crazy idea to an artist. We tried to keep that moment in mind as we were making this record. It provided us with the inspiration to take chances and not worry if at first something we tried was different or weird.
If you are already familiar with our band, you may notice a difference in the sound of this one. Part of it is because we love to try new things, and part of it is because there has been a sound that we've been waiting for in modern alternative music. We worked with Rick Rubin again on this record (he co-produced our last record) because he understood our vision of trying to capture this new sound.
We hope you enjoy the music and will come talk to us at www.linkinpark.com.
Brad, Chester, Dave, Joe, Mike, and Rob.
PS: The people who work hard to promote our band wanted us to add a bunch of stats right here that are meant to impress you. We didn’t like that idea but, as a compromise, we agreed that we’d provide this link in case you want any of this information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkin_Park. We said that we’re pretty sure you’ve heard of Wikipedia but they didn’t believe us.
2) A THOUSAND SUNS
We were not making an album.
For months, we'd been destroying and rebuilding our band. The experiments that resulted filled the studio hard drive with diverse, abstract sounds. Amorphous echoes, cacophonous samples, and handmade staccato merged into wandering, elusive melody. Each track felt like a hallucination.
We didn't know if any of those unorthodox ideas could be incorporated into a traditional album, but we knew we didn't want our next album to be predictable. Sitting together in the same studio where we made our first album, all six of us voiced a commitment to going out on a limb, to making something truly daring. We asked ourselves: were we all earnestly willing, more than ever before, to abandon the precepts of commercial ambition in pursuit of what we believe to be honest art?
The inclination to begin writing conventional songs for a conventional album came and went. The temptation to adjust our creative vision to fulfill expectations beyond our studio walls yielded to the audacious ambition of what he hoped to achieve as a band. The two years of making A Thousand Suns marked our exhilarating, surrealistic, and often challenging journey into the creative unknown.
On the eve of its completion, this body of work, assembled through unconscious inspiration and unmitigated exertion, has revealed to us notions both stirring and surprising. The album's personified imagery is neither dogma nor political premeditation. The emergent themes and metaphors illuminate a uniquely human story.
A Thousand Suns grapples with the personal cycle of pride, destruction, and regret. In life, like in dreams, this sequence is not always linear. And, sometimes, true remorse penetrates the devastating cycle. The hope, of course, springs from the notion that the possibility of change is born in our most harrowing moments.
Enjoy the music.
Linkin Park.
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