cover news trainee reporter Xu Yuyang's picture is provided by the activist

In the youthful memories of 198s and 199s, rock and roll may not only be nothing but anger and resistance, but also gentleness. In the last decade, Linkin Park created that seemingly heavy metal but gentle rock era. The familiar songs such as In The End, Burn It Down, Numb, and New Divide》…… can instantly wake up the auditory cells that have been sleeping for many years. However, with the death of lead singer Chester Bennington in 217, Linkin Park may be tender.

Chester's sudden death has dealt a heavy blow to other members of the band. After a year of sadness and silence, lead singer mike shinoda returned after trauma, released a new album, Post Traumatic, and toured China this summer. On August 16th, mike shinoda will come to Chengdu, bringing his confusion, mourning, pity and self-reflection about life and death. Prior to this, mike shinoda was interviewed by Huaxi Dushi Bao and Cover News, telling about his music, album, tour in China and his impression of Chengdu.

The new album piled up with sadness doesn't express sadness itself

On July 2th, 217, Chester Bennington, the lead singer of the band and Xintian's good partner, was found hanging himself at home. Since then, Shinda has been interviewed by a large number of media, telling the process of sadness and getting out of sadness over and over again. He once admitted that he could refuse the interview completely, but he also wanted to "clarify what he thinks and heal his heart".

So he began to write songs in grief, shoot and edit music videos by himself, and draw illustrations for his first solo album for visual design. Last October, the remaining members of the band held a memorial performance at the Hollywood amphitheater, which was the first and only performance of the band since Chester's death. Between performances, Shinda created Over Again to commemorate the performance and also to commemorate the lost friends. The creation of this song only took two days. In the interview, Shinoda mentioned that he quickly wrote the first paragraph on the day of the concert, and wrote the second paragraph and finished recording the next day.

"I have never done such a thing. I write pain and psychological activities into songs without reservation."

Obviously, this album begins with sadness, and 16 songs contain thoughts on death, mourning for close friends and confusion of life. However, Shinoda said, "This is a journey out of sadness and darkness, not about sadness and darkness itself."

Write a diary with music to record the instant feelings

How real the feelings at that moment are when you put your pain into your creation, and we will really feel them in Xintian's new songs. Like Over Again, all the songs in the new album were written in a day or two, and Shinda admits that he wants to record every moment.

For him, the new specialty is like a diary or an autobiography, which records everything that happened last year.

"Every moment, I feel very different, so when making an album, I try to finish a song in one or two days."

This is totally different from Linkin Park's creation. Shinoda recalls that when making band music, he often wrote a little and then wrote it two or three days later, adding things slowly, and it often took several weeks to complete a piece.

The new attempt lies in the sudden and drastic changes around us. "Last year, the pace of life was too fast and there were too many changes. I think every song has its moment. " Mike said.

Sichuan hotpot? "I want to eat authentic food in Sichuan!"

As a mixed-race American and Japanese, mike shinoda is a gourmet in addition to being a singer. He once revealed in an interview that he often cooks at home, and the requirements for raw materials are almost harsh. Every time he goes to Japan, he has to "stock up" and bring home a bunch of original sauces.

when you come to Sichuan, you can't miss the hot pot. Shinoda said that he had eaten hot pot in America, but never in Sichuan. Shinoda said that eating must go to the country of origin to eat, so it is authentic.

When it comes to Chengdu, Shinoda also talks about pandas unexpectedly. "Cool!"

Linkin Park, who has been in the army for nearly 2 years, has won 5 american music awards, 2 Grammy Awards and 4 MTV Music Video Awards. He has been loved by many fans and fans through three consecutive "Transformers" movie theme songs, and they have sold more than 55 million albums around the world. As a founding member of Linkin Park, mike shinoda is well known to the public. In addition to this singer status, mike shinoda is also a record producer, film composer and visual artist, and is a doctor in art center college of design, USA.