Mike Shinoda’s ‘Motivating Factor’ for Linkin Park Reunion

There were a lot of reasons Linkin Park decided to reunite, but there was one particular “motivating factor” for Mike Shinoda.

Shinoda recently sat down with Complex to discuss his career with Linkin Park from the very beginning until today. The band has undoubtedly changed overtime, but the sudden death of frontman Chester Bennington in July of 2017 changed it in a way none of them could have imagined.

“We’re at a very interesting time in our band as individuals because we experienced a great loss, and the opportunity to continue doing what we loved to do got taken away,” Shinoda recalled. “In our minds, it was almost like, done. And there’s nothing any of us could do to hide that.”

The musician explained that part of what motivated him to want to reunite with Linkin Park was to prove to his kids and everyone else that it’s possible to overcome tragedy and “rock bottom,” and still come back strong.

Shinoda released his solo record Post-Traumatic in 2018, which helped him deal with his grief over the loss of his bandmate. And although he still had fans supporting the material, he knew something was missing.

Sometime after, he met Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain, and reconnected with Joe Hahn and Dave Farrell after that. Shinoda, Hahn and Farrell spent time together and day dreamed about creating music again, but it took a while before they admitted to themselves that their chemistry with Armstrong and Brittain made them feel like it was Linkin Park again.

Regardless, they knew they still had some challenges to overcome.

“[From Zero] was like… There are all of these different elements at play. There’s people that loved our first two records and didn’t love anything after that. There’s people that were along for the entire ride and preferred the more adventurous stuff. There are people who are potential fans that have never liked the band, but with the new lineup they would,” Shinoda acknowledged.

“There’s also the aspect of Chester and Rob [Bourdon] — who are not in the new lineup — how do we treat that? How do we do it respectfully to them and for them? How do we do that while maintaining our new members, Emily and Colin, and lift them up and give them the best platform to succeed from? It was freaking insane. And that’s just the creative side.”

READ MORE: Emily Armstrong Shares Photo of New Linkin Park-Themed Tattoo

Through it all, Shinoda admitted to feeling a bit of anxiety about the situation and questioning whether bringing the band back was “the right thing” to do. However, the music they created reassured him that it had the “DNA of Linkin Park” in it.

While many fans on the internet have their opinions about Linkin Park’s decision to come back as Linkin Park, From Zero debuted at No. 1 in 10 different countries and No. 2 in the U.S. So it seems that the majority, which are usually silent, are happy to have the band back.

Watch the full interview below.

The Moments That Made Mike Shinoda Question Linkin Park Reunion