Shinoda revealed that, in spite of his initial anxiety, getting back into the swing of Linkin Park has been “amazing” in an upcoming interview with Armstrong on The Zach Sang Show. “A portion of it involves the band taking an indefinite break or whatever it was; we simply said, ‘We’re not doing it anymore,’ without naming it. He clarified, “There were all these strange little moments that were so surreal, from it being that to standing on the stage doing it.” “It was really cool to enter a room and do it.”

Because he wanted to “set aside enough time for us to get this right,” he continued, there were times that were “stressful.” With Armstong’s vocal prowess, he noted, “We were changing keys on songs we played for 20 years.” I essentially had to relearn “Breaking the Habit” from start.

Even if Linkin Park is like a part of his DNA, he continued, “it’s like having something that you felt was taken away and then being able to get it back like, ‘Oh, you can’t play shows as Linkin Park anymore.'”

“Linkin Park is part of my DNA,” Shinoda said in closing. Everybody has a fundamental identity diagram that says, “This is me.” At first glance, it seems like a ridiculous exercise to sit down with a piece of paper and write down the things that define you. It could be your partner, your family, your children, or anything else you enjoy doing. For me, Linkin Park is right there in the center of your convictions and the things that make you who you are. It hurt to have that one removed, but there are a lot of other things as well. Nothing compares to having it back in. Nothing like it will ever exist.

Linkin Park will release their eighth studio album, From Zero, on November 15 through Warner Records in advance of their 2025 tour. Watch the complete episode of The Zach Sang Show on Friday, November 15, and watch the exclusive Billboard snippet from the interview below.