Mike Shinoda says he wrote "bad '90s grunge songs" after Bennington's death
[Photo by: Linkin Park/YouTube]
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda has opened up about the difficulties of getting back into the studio after frontman Chester Bennington's death.
Read more: Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda is working on a new solo album
In a recent interview with Kerrang, Shinoda discusses the hurdles of returning to the studio without his fellow creator by his side.
“A week after Chester passed, the idea of the studio was scary,” he says. “And it wasn’t just the idea of attempting to make a song and being overwhelmed by those memories. There’s another layer of fear for artists in this situation that is, ‘What if I can’t make anything good [without that person]?’ Those hurdles start to accumulate, whether that’s fear or depression or the chaos of the outside world, it creates an echo chamber of anxiety.”
Shinoda goes on to say he needed to go “make some stuff” in order to get through that, regardless of the quality.
“I was making bad ’90s grunge songs, making bad rap songs… and then I made something good,” he says. “I’d make all these different things with no intention of putting them out, but just diving into some of the ideas that were already in my head.”
Mike Shinoda released his EP, Post Traumatic, back in January that featured three heartfelt new tracks, the first new music from Shinoda since he debuted the piano-led “Looking For An Answer” at October’s Linkin Park's Chester Bennington memorial show.
He goes on to explain that some of those songs were specifically linked to Bennington's death.
“We did the tribute show back in October and while I was working on that set and show I was also working on the song “Over Again”. The first verse of that was written and recorded the day of the Hollywood Bowl show. I wrote the second verse the day after.”
You can listen to Shinoda's “Over Again” below:
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington would have turned 42 this month, and his widow Talinda Bennington honored his memory by sharing the “5 signs of emotional health” as part of depression awareness campaign Change Direction in honor of the late performer's birthday.
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