Blink-182 scrapped full album

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker says the band scrapped a full album’s worth of material as they were writing the follow-up to 2011’s Neighborhoods.

Barker and Mark Hoppus split with Tom DeLonge last year and brought in Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. And the sticksman says Skiba’s input has been invaluable.

He tells radio station KX 93.5: “I knew he was going to be a great fit – but I didn’t know it was going to be this great. The writing has been amazing. We actually wrote 16 songs and we trashed everything. We got back in the studio and did everything over.”

Barker reports the material is the best they’ve created in over a decade – and they’re still on track for a release later this year.

He continues: “We’re probably about 70-80% finished with the album and I think it’s the best Blink album since 2003 – and I think fans will agree once they hear it.

“I can honestly say I haven’t been excited about a Blink album like this in a long time.”

Estranged frontman DeLonge said in September that he was “totally willing and interested” in rejoining Blink.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.