Linkin Park Has 'Every Intention of Continuing,' Says Mike Shinoda

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda says the band intends to continue in spite of the death of frontman Chester Bennington last summer. 

Shinoda made the announcement Thursday morning via his Twitter account with the caveat that the band is still making sense of Bennington's death and will not rush into anything.

"I have every intention on continuing with LP, and the guys feel the same," Shinoda wrote. "We have a lot of rebuilding to do, and questions to answer, so it’ll take time."

Earlier Thursday morning Shinoda, Linkin Park's primary songwriter released a three-song EP called Post Traumatic, the lyrics of which deal largely with Bennington's death.

"The past six months have been a rollercoaster. Amidst the chaos, I’ve started to feel an intense gratitude — for your tributes and messages of support, for the career you have allowed me to have, and for the simple opportunity to create," he said of the EP, the first new music from Linkin Park since the band's One More Light album last year.

Shinoda has been the most accessible member of Linkin Park since Bennington's death (he is one of the only band members with active social media accounts), posting often to his Twitter and Instagram pages, being overt in his support for Bennington's family and open regarding his emotion struggles since losing his friend.

Shinoda's declaration about Linkin Park's future still leaves many unanswered questions, namely: Who will be the new lead singer for Linkin Park?

While Shinoda seemed comfortable enough at the front of the stage during the band's One More Light tribute to Bennington in October, his vocal contributions to Linkin Park have mostly been rapping and it won't be easy to find another vocalist with as dynamic a range as Bennington.

You can listen to Shinoda's EP here

In December, during a fan Q&A session, Shinoda clarified that Linkin Park would never agree to perform with a hologram of Bennington, calling the suggestion "awful."

"I can't do a hologram Chester; that would be the worst," he said. "For any of you guys who have lost a loved one, best friend, family member, can you imagine having a hologram of them? Ugh. Awful. I can't do it. I don't know what we're gonna do, but, you know, we'll figure it out eventually."  

Shinoda added that the Q&A wasn't the first time someone outside the band suggested a hologram as a solution to Linkin Park's apparent limbo, but he added that "there's absolutely no way."

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content