Linkin Park Say New Album Is Due 'Toward The End Of The Year'

'It's produced by myself and Rick Rubin,' Mike Shinoda says of upcoming LP.
By now, you're probably aware that Linkin Park have a new album coming out this year, a challenging "concept record" that features plenty of "grandiose insanity."
But what you may not know is when that album is hitting stores. Well, we do — sort of. Because when MTV News caught up with the guys in Linkin Park on the red carpet of Sunday's Grammy Awards, co-frontman Mike Shinoda filled us in on the release date.
"Toward the end of the year, we're going to have a new record out," he said. "It's produced by myself and Rick Rubin."
So there you go — the new LP from LP will be out by the end of 2010, which is good news for the band's long-suffering fanbase. Of course, it should be noted that just last year Shinoda's pal Chester Bennington told MTV News that the still-untitled album could be out as early as June, so it would appear the release date is still very much in flux (an e-mail seeking comment from the band's label, Warner Bros. Records, was not returned by press time).
Of course, Linkin Park weren't just at the Grammys to spill secrets about their new album — they were also nominated for an award, as a live version of their hit "What I've Done" was up for Best Hard Rock Performance. And though they were honored by the nod, they'd be lying if they said it wasn't a bit surprising.
"This particular nom was a little unexpected for us. It was actually for a live track and when I heard there was a possibility of us being nominated, I thought initially it would be for 'New Divide,' because that was the most recent single," LP bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell said. "But they actually got this off of Road to Revolution, which is the live DVD we did a ways back. ... So when I got the e-mail and read it, I had to do a little double-take."
"Being nominated for a live track in the midst of all these studio tracks is a good feeling," Shinoda added. "It made me a little nervous, because you only get one take when you do a live recording. I don't think there's even that many live tracks nominated this year."
And while LP didn't win the Grammy (it went to AC/DC's "War Machine"), you get the feeling they weren't too bummed. After all, they've got big things on the horizon — toward the end of the horizon, that is.