[MC Steven]

Months after Linkin Park took its contract renegotiation dispute with Warner Bros. public, the band and the label are close to resolving the matter without any further ugliness.

"We're resolving our differences and we're looking forward to putting out a record next year," guitarist Brad Delson tells Billboard.com. "We're all focused on the creative process right now."

In May, Linkin Park issued a statement announcing the band was halting plans for a spring 2006 album and expressed concerns about the competitive impact Warner Music Group aggressive cost cutting strategy and initial public offering.

Without revealing details of its business arrangements, MC/vocalist Mike Shinoda says the band has "been working on new stuff for at least a month."

The new album will sport Shinoda's first production credit on one of the band's releases. "Of all the processes of Linkin Park, the guys all have their own special talents and the places they take charge and shine," he says. "One of my favorite places to be is in the studio."

The as-yet-untitled set will be the follow-up to 2003's "Meteora," which has sold 5.14 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set featured the single "Breaking the Habit," which topped Billboard's Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock airplay charts and reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Shinoda said it was way too early to describe the direction of the new material, but one general idea has already taken hold. "Rap/rock and new metal have been used to describe Linkin Park," he says. "But if you think of a song like 'Breaking the Habit,' it would be kind of difficult to describe that as rap/rock. It's not very accurate. On the next record, we're looking to break away from that label even further than we have in the past."

And while Shinoda admits Linkin Park has "hundreds" of unreleased songs that could potentially be revisited, "We tend to not do that, simply because, the band is always evolving. We like the momentum created by coming up with new songs."

While work continues, Shinoda is plotting a late January/early February tour for his hip-hop side project Fort Minor, which just issued its debut album, "The Rising Tied," on Linkin Park's Machine Shop imprint. The set debuted last week at No. 60 on The Billboard 200.

"[Linkin Park] DJ Joseph Hahn came to our show in Los Angeles," Shinoda says. "He didn't even say hi. He didn't even say great show. He just walked straight up to me and said, 'Listen to me. When you go on stage with your side project, it can't be this good. You're not allowed. It's not fair.' He was obviously joking, but we do take a lot of pride in our show and I hope people can see it soon."

Source: http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/arti..._id=1001656504

[~A*D*O*R*A~]

Looking forward to hearing this new direction.

[Brave]

me 2

[Cultie]

I don't know what to expect. It will be good, I hope.
Have you guys heard Shinoda's side project, Fort Minor?

[Mark the Fark]

It's about time they stop releasing the same recycled stuff. I downloaded the last album when it came out, and besides "Faint" (tired of it now, but it's solid) and "Breaking the Habit", it was....eh, just not fresh. I gotta say, I probably would've had no interest in a new LP album, but if they say they're heading in such a 'different direction' I'm interested to see what they come up with.

[.:Froggert:.]

Finally giving up that gimmick huh?

I pray this flops.

[Nick The Third]

Originally posted by .:Froggert:.

Finally giving up that gimmick huh?

I pray this flops.

.

[LuckyDucky]

Hum... It's gonna be amazing!
I think Meteora wasn't all that... I still prefer Hybrid Theory, but something different is always good!

[SHADE 45]

I'm hoping I like this new direction

Originally posted by .:Froggert:.

Finally giving up that gimmick huh?

I pray this flops.

I pray you die

[JDM]

For once Froggert has the right idea!

Originally posted by LuckyDucky

Hum... It's gonna be amazing!
I think Meteora wasn't all that... I still prefer Hybrid Theory, but something different is always good!

They're the same f‘cking albums, just different titles.
I honestly don't know what they're gonna do without the "rap-metal" thing, unless Mike Shinoda starts doing keyboards or something...glad they're ditching that style, though. Korn did, P.O.D. did, it's simply getting old.

[cofeekid03]

i didnt read it.. whats their new genre?

[Anthony K.]

Originally posted by MOCKery

For once Froggert has the right idea!



They're the same f‘cking albums, just different titles.
I honestly don't know what they're gonna do without the "rap-metal" thing, unless Mike Shinoda starts doing keyboards or something...glad they're ditching that style, though. Korn did, P.O.D. did, it's simply getting old.

I so have to agree with you. And with Froggert too.

[LA]

I hope that they will finally come up with something new and refreshing. So I'm looking forward to it.

[Zeo]

Originally posted by .:Froggert:.

Finally giving up that gimmick huh?

I pray this flops.

Why do you hope good bands flop, yet you like people with no talent? That makes no sense.

And what gimmick? There was never a gimmick, it's just the type of music they make. You don't like rap-metal? Fine, but it's not a gimmick. And that's a fact, not an opinion.

Originally posted by MOCKery

For once Froggert has the right idea!



They're the same f‘cking albums, just different titles.
I honestly don't know what they're gonna do without the "rap-metal" thing, unless Mike Shinoda starts doing keyboards or something...glad they're ditching that style, though. Korn did, P.O.D. did, it's simply getting old.

They're not the same albums at all. It's no different than something like Issues/Untouchables. Not extremely different, but each stands out. Hybrid Theory had more of an electronic touch whereas Meteora was much more straightout guitar based (which is why I like Hybrid Theory a little better -- didn't seem like Mr. Hahn had much to do on Meteoa).

If they go in the more "Breaking the Habit" direction, it will rule. Mike will obviously still do some rapping, but he does sing on the Fort Minor album, so why would he just have to do keyboards?

[gabino]

Originally posted by .:Froggert:.

Finally giving up that gimmick huh?

I pray this flops.

I dont think thats going to happen because none of their albums has flopped even Reanimation had great sales for being a remix album and the Collision Course have huge sales too.

[Playboy]

I just started likin them after I saw them and Jay-Z perform at Live 8. I need to buy their albums and I hope they don't stray to far from rap-metal.

[Travis10]

I still haven't gotten a copy of "Meteora" yet...

[JDM]

Originally posted by Zeo

Why do you hope good bands flop, yet you like people with no talent? That makes no sense.

And what gimmick? There was never a gimmick, it's just the type of music they make. You don't like rap-metal? Fine, but it's not a gimmick. And that's a fact, not an opinion.



They're not the same albums at all. It's no different than something like Issues/Untouchables. Not extremely different, but each stands out. Hybrid Theory had more of an electronic touch whereas Meteora was much more straightout guitar based (which is why I like Hybrid Theory a little better -- didn't seem like Mr. Hahn had much to do on Meteoa).

If they go in the more "Breaking the Habit" direction, it will rule. Mike will obviously still do some rapping, but he does sing on the Fort Minor album, so why would he just have to do keyboards?

Issues and Untouchables are WAY different from each other, I don't give a **** how much you and everyone else wanna debate about that, but they sound NOTHING alike.

I was ranting on my Myspace profile on how Linkin Park[, Staind, Disturbed, among others] all pretty much write and record the same album over and over again because they know it sells. Sure they have their differences, but I mean, there's absolutely no drastic change. And most of the time, drastic change is good. It can cost a band millions of record sales, but who cares about record sales? This is about evolving and trying something new. No one wants to hear a band duplicate their first album.

Sorry, but Linkin Park, etc. need to learn how to branch out or they're gonna curl up and die, and I think their new album will be the one to showcase what they're REALLY capable of doing. It's not going to sell nearly as much as Meteora, trust me, but it could wind up being their best album. Like I said, who cares about record sales...besides close-minded pop fans like Froggert and Tina?

And as far as Mike is concerned, he can rap all he wants, it's just going to make me not like their music, that's all. If he sings, fine, I can deal with that...keyboards? Even better, I'm a keyboardist. Heh, but no pointless rapping if they're supposedly steering away from that style.

[MC Steven]

Personally, I feel that stepping away from the Rap-Metal genre is the best thing that could happen. LP could sell 10 copies of this album and I wouldn't give a ****. As long as the album is good I don't care how much they sell. As Johnny said, I would rather see Mike playing Keyboard or some other instrument instead of rapping. If he wants to rap let him continue doing Fort Minor on the side.

I've spoke my few words on this subject now.