Mike Shinoda has shrugged off the fact that Linkin Park’s recent album The Hunting Party was their first since debut Hybrid Theory to miss the US No.1 spot.
It reached No.3 on its release in June, and made No.2 in the UK – but the mainman isn’t downheartened.
Shinoda tells the Pulse Of Radio: “Some friends of mine said, ‘Sorry you guys didn’t get to No.1 on the chart.’ I said, ‘I feel like the Billboard chart is for one thing: first-week album sales.
“This is not really a first-week sales kind of album; it’s a statement album. It’s meant to be taken to the stage, and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do.”
The Hunting Party was created after Shinoda decided to harden up the band’s sound. He recently reports: “We needed to weed out a lot of the soft, emo approach to our music. We needed to weed out anything that feels aggressive for aggression’s sake. We’re not 18-year-old kids making a loud record – we’re 37-year-old adults making a loud record.”
Linkin Park return to the UK in November:
Nov 22: Manchester Phones 4U Arena
Nov 23: London O2
Nov 24: London O2
