• 2 days ago
Joining host Kevan Kenney for a special Audacy Check In on the release day of their 2024 comeback album, 'FROM ZERO,' the members of Linkin Park are with us to talk about the brand new record, upcoming world tour, and more.
Transcript
00:00Things are still kind of fresh, like we keep finding out new things about Emily and Colin,
00:05like just seeing things that they can do that we didn't know they could do. And there's just this
00:10like energy in that video that she she brought this whole new energy to it that is like incredible.
00:18Of all the videos that we're doing, this one is definitive of what we're,
00:24what From Zero is. The relationship of the band, the energy that we put out,
00:30the personality and the enjoyment we have together, it's all it's all in this video.
00:38It is Kevin Kenney and we are joined by the gentleman of Lincoln Park. Hello everyone.
00:43Hello Kevin. Hi Kevin.
00:46Now you guys are actually calling in from a, how do I say this, Bogota, Colombia?
00:50Bogota.
00:51Bogota. I knew I'd get it wrong. There's, I'm from New Jersey and there's a town called Bogota.
00:55So I just figured it was the same. But lo and behold, you guys were, you guys were saying
00:59actually before we got started that this is the first time you're ever playing this city. How is
01:03that possible with how many shows that Lincoln Park has done that you've missed cities? It's
01:07almost hard to imagine. It is rare. It's very rare to play a new spot. And it was kind of,
01:14it came up somehow on maybe Twitter somewhere. But the last time we had played a new show,
01:21I think was in Hungary on maybe the last tour cycle. But it seems like these days there's one
01:28or two new cities or new countries per cycle that we get to see for the first time. And it's always,
01:35it's always a good time. Hi Emily. Oh, is Emily here now? Hi, sorry about that.
01:42That's all good. Hi Emily. Thanks for joining us. Hi, of course. We were actually, it's a
01:47beautiful segue that you're here because we're talking to these, you guys are playing a show
01:50in a city as a band that you've never done before. And Mike, you were remarking to Emily in,
01:55I guess a podcast, the interview, I don't know. You guys were just kind of hanging out recording.
01:58It was kind of a cool thing you did for the fans or the hour-long chat between you two.
02:01And you were remarking Mike about how it's amazing how despite everything you guys have done,
02:06there's still new experiences to be had. And I'm curious to get inside your mind of going into the
02:13release of this album because the stakes are obviously so high, at least I would imagine,
02:18in terms of expectations, you guys have been gone for seven years now, and maybe it's akin to
02:24following up a hybrid theory, but it's even different than that. So what were sort of the
02:29emotions and the experience navigating the release of From Zero? I mean, it's really complicated.
02:37Like for me, two years ago, it was very overwhelming. And I think the best thing
02:48that we did was to just basically let things happen in the order and at the timeline that
02:56they were going to happen, like let things happen organically and not push too hard.
03:02And I feel like what ended up evolving was we just naturally kind of found each other. We found
03:09this new lineup. We found Emily and Colin in particular. And the music just kind of
03:15came into focus based on what we were having the most fun doing.
03:22So listening to the album, it sounds almost like a return to roots, which I really love.
03:28Two Faces, the new single. Well, you smile when I say return to roots,
03:32Mike. Why do you smile at that?
03:34Because there's a part of it that I love that there's such a strong Linkin Park DNA
03:40in the record. It does really feel like Linkin Park, but I think there's a part of it that's
03:46the old sound and part of it that's every era of the band to me on the record.
03:53Definitely. It's almost like, I don't know if anyone's a car guy at all,
03:57but when they bring back a classic car, it still has the DNA of that classic car.
04:01Like when they brought back the Mustang or something like that, but it's new and improved.
04:04But you talk about that Linkin Park DNA. I don't know how purposeful this was,
04:10but I love the little background chatter, even from zero, the first track.
04:14I mean, it really does harken back to like, where's my freaking Frappuccino?
04:18You guys have always balanced even the heaviness with humor on the records and even
04:24back to the mullet days and whatnot of the Linkin Park universe.
04:27Was that conscious decisions to include that little background chatter?
04:34Was it? How did that happen? I just remember it was having so much fun. And we're just like,
04:39yeah, things kind of flow in that way when you're just having so much fun.
04:43That's how I thought of it.
04:45I think for me, it goes back to the DNA question too, where I don't know if I know
04:52well what the Linkin Park DNA is. It's kind of like when you're too close to something,
04:58you just do it. And then other people tell you, they almost like interpret it. And then you kind
05:04of say, okay, cool. I'm glad that came across. But I think in any and all of that creation of
05:12an album or in working on new music or new stuff or when there's, I don't know, interstitials or
05:19whatever you might want to call it, Kevin. For me, those things are just like us doing us and
05:28figuring that out and moving forward. And in this process, one of the things that was so fun
05:33and rewarding and cool and energizing was just how when we started gradually integrating Emily
05:40and Colin, it felt like Linkin Park. It just felt like it fit for me and for us.
05:47And those were the coolest moments in the entire process, was just feeling like things were
05:55kind of gelling and coming together and we're having a blast doing it the whole time. And so
05:59at this stage, being ready to finally have the album out, having people be excited about it,
06:04that feels great. Totally. And Joe, I understand that sort of in the lineage or the journey to
06:11getting to where we are today with the album, there was an early meeting that you and Mike had
06:15where you kind of got coffee and just hung out and talked about all these Linkin Park what-ifs.
06:19Can you take us back to that day? Yeah, we've talked about that a few times. I think it was just
06:28we've known each other for such a long time. I had moved out of town at that point, so
06:34definitely wanted to make a point to see the guys whenever I had a chance. And so
06:41it became from us hanging out every day, going on the road or in the studio to not seeing
06:49much of each other. So with people you cherish in your life, you definitely have to put that effort
06:56in to just make sure everyone's OK. And just kind of, I guess, kind of reliving the glory days and
07:06like knowing that there is so much potential in what we do together, whether it's Linkin Park or
07:14just people that make art, whether it's music or a painting or just ideas. There's not a whole
07:22lot of people that I have that collaborative, creative energy with. And the people on the screen,
07:29that's it. I'm sure there's a lot of what-ifs, but it was kind of like, OK,
07:39what if we were to do this again? And then it was more important than the goal of
07:47putting Linkin Park back together. It was just like, hey, how did this all start? It was just
07:52us hanging out, talking about life and things that we like and how to
07:59reverse engineer things that we like in an artistic way.
08:05I really enjoyed the spirit of that. And I think that's really where
08:11kind of things took off there. It was just like, OK, let's get together and let's just
08:17hang out. And if we're making music, that's it. And we have so much fun making music
08:24that it just became, at a certain point, just became a regular thing that we just started doing.
08:32How much music did you guys wind up making? Because obviously it's a very concise record.
08:36I believe 11 tracks on From Zero. I mean, it's 10 songs. Yeah.
08:42Yeah. So we made a lot of stuff and kind of like we always do.
08:50Mike never stops making music, whether it's part of what he does. I think it's
08:59you wake up, get coffee and you do what you do every day, what you enjoy. So I think immediately
09:06after we stopped touring and all that, Mike just started writing. I don't think it's ever stopped.
09:17But some of those things are like more like sketches, you know, they're not songs. They're
09:24just kind of like scribbles. And then other ones just become interesting and you just know you
09:30want to spend more time developing them. And yeah, I think that the 10 that made the record,
09:36it was a process of editing down, but it takes a lot. I felt like it took a lot of
09:45maturity and being kind of tough on ourselves to present such a concise body of work.
09:56Yeah. You guys have talked about in other interviews the changes, obviously,
10:01with the new Linkin Park, maturity being one of them, as Mike just pointed out,
10:04and obviously, you know, with Colin and Emily now in the fold, you guys have said how
10:07just having members of a different generation have taught you things they've brought in a
10:11different point of view. And I'm curious, Emily, can you think of that some of those
10:15different points of views you've been able to bring to the band and just a different viewpoint?
10:19Emily, how have you and Colin brought the immaturity back to the band?
10:23Exactly. I think we've just, you know, we obviously have never been in such big success
10:34before. And the way that we worked every day was still like, we want to make it, you know,
10:42so we just always were every day. The work that we put in is just like very, very concise. And
10:49how do we, you know, spend our days and everything? I don't know. I don't know how
10:56it changed, really. I think it's just like a little not changed. But like, what you're asking
11:01and like, what brings that? I'm not quite sure that it's something that you could say. I don't
11:07know. Is it something do you guys know? Like, is it some kind of like, it's just I don't know,
11:14I think it's just being a fan of the band, and we get along. And there might be a little bit of a
11:22gap, you know, with some things that I can't quite, I don't know if there's like a thing,
11:27you know, I can I remember one, one moment, actually, that Colin was like, we were writing,
11:34and we were just we just had like a guitar riff. And a drum beat, I think was really like,
11:41not very much there to the song yet. And he just had one of those moments where he was like, dude,
11:48this is such this song is already like so Linkin Park. And he was just kind of like, he he was,
11:55you know, it was almost like, you know, allow me a moment to just like geek out on the fact that
12:02this is so the band, and it's not even a song yet. But it just sounds like the thing that I like
12:08was basically what he was saying. And I think that like that, for me, you know,
12:13great point. Yeah, coming from some people, it's like, it could be a little awkward,
12:17because you're like, is this person just like fanning out or whatever? But that from him,
12:23because he's like, really accomplished and like really makes great records and knows what he's
12:28doing. And he was just speaking on behalf of like, I love when I love when you guys do this,
12:35like, are you would you want to do more of it? You know? Yeah, we're capable of making stuff
12:42that's like, very different from that. But he was just really enjoying the moment. I thought
12:47it was like, really, really a cool thing to have. Yeah, because Colin and I, like, we're about the
12:52same age. And we listened to Linkin Park, you know, especially having theory, and we are and
12:58all that. And it's like, we are making our own bands at that point, right? So we're figuring
13:03out our sound. And then we do that. And then, you know, I've been in a band for 20 years, and then,
13:08you know, have had a lot of experience being in a band, doing the whole thing. And then now I'm
13:14coming to a really, really successful band. So it's like, there's a little bit of that gap,
13:19you know, it's like, you guys really inspired me. But then again, I've had all this experience. So
13:25there's still you see, I mean, like, it's not like, we're just like the babies that are coming
13:30in and being like, ooh, teach us. It's like, no, we know who we are, you know, but it just happens
13:35to be such a great fit, you know? Yeah. Well, Emily, is there any sort of compartmentalizing
13:43you need to do, though, where you take that surrealist, like sort of aspect of the job,
13:47where you are the lead singer of Linkin Park now, and then obviously, you have a job to do,
13:51so you need to focus on doing your job. Do you have to compartmentalize those two things at all?
13:54Or is it kind of just more fluid and natural? I mean, just you saying that made me laugh,
13:59just like, how did this happen? So of course, there's some of that, you know. It's definitely
14:07a process, you know, and it's not something that's just like, you just fit on in one day,
14:12you know? It's getting, like I mentioned, you know, being in a band for 20 years before this,
14:18you know, so it's like the same but different, you know? It's like, I'm doing the same thing,
14:23but with just different people now, you know? So it's just like this, you know, adjustments,
14:31you know? And, yeah, and it's exciting, and I kind of hope it doesn't ever go away,
14:35you know? I kind of like that, you know? There's something very exciting about it, and, you know,
14:41just like how you just said it, like, you being the singer of Linkin Park, I'm like, what? Oh,
14:44God. How did that happen? You know? It's like, I'm being it, I'm doing it, but then I hear it
14:49back. It's still very exciting. Yeah, definitely, and it's, I gotta imagine, it's kind of unique
14:55because you become the lead singer of Linkin Park so many times, right? You know, you become,
15:00when they make the announcement, when you do the billboard cover, right? You have to experience
15:04yourself as the lead singer of Linkin Park. The first time you see yourself in a press photo,
15:07you know? Now you're doing interviews, right? So that's a whole new experience. Now you're
15:11going to go out on tour eventually, you know? So it must, like, come in waves.
15:16Exactly, exactly. Yeah, and that's the whole process. That's the adjustments. That's the,
15:21which I hope it never really changes. I mean, there's a lot of firsts for me, obviously,
15:25and Colin, but, you know, and it's everything I've wanted, you know? It's just like, and that's
15:32the other thing, too, you know? It's like working so hard to get to a place, you know, and then this
15:38is just how it all laid out for me, you know, and us, and it's just, it couldn't be more perfect,
15:45you know? And then did I hear you talk about, I think with Apple, you were saying that One Step
15:52Closer may have been, like, what made you want to scream for the first time as a kid.
15:56Yep. Yeah, exactly. I was thinking about, you know, having to navigate just, again, like,
16:01just an unprecedented experience that you're having right now as the lead singer, right,
16:04of Linkin Park. And do you, is your anchor, if you will, to use that phrase, like, is that how
16:09personal and intimate this band might have been to your own journey, that you kind of
16:13find your anchor in that, you know, amid all, like, just everything you're gonna have to navigate
16:18from now on? Sure. You know, I mean, what I'm taking from that is being a fan of the band,
16:26you know? And that's the anchor, really, you know? And I love what they do, you know? And the fact
16:33that I get to be a part of it is, you know, is still crazy, you know? And I try to not ruin
16:42anything. That's funny. Yep. I think, like, it would do us a disservice, though, also,
16:55for us not to talk about how awesome Emily and Colin are, as well. And it's, like,
17:02there's components to it, too, for me, where I forget or I feel weird sometimes that I am the
17:08bassist in, like, in park, or whatever that means. Because, you know, we still, we go home,
17:13and I take out the trash, and my kids make fun of me. And it's, there's a disconnect between coming
17:19to Bogota, Colombia, for the first time ever, and having people be so excited, because they're here.
17:25And then, like, the rest, you know, the 99% of the rest of my normal day or life is not that,
17:31you know? I don't walk downstairs in the morning and have, like, my family cheer that I've entered
17:36the room. That's not real life. That's not normal. So, there's a part of it for all of us,
17:41I think, that's, like, the band is bigger. It means more to people. It means more to us,
17:47in so many ways, than just, like, oh, you know, we're members of the band. Or, I don't know,
17:53it's hard to describe. And with that, also, like, what Emily and Colin have brought into that mix
17:59is invaluable, you know? It's huge, and so important to our live show, what we're doing,
18:07but even more so to the record. Like, their contribution to that was absolutely,
18:13from zero couldn't have happened without the two of them. So, it's, like, I gotta imagine,
18:19Emily, that you guys are in that weird push-pull of, like, I'm doing this thing,
18:26that's a big, crazy thing, and also, like, so normal in so many different ways to, like, have us
18:33sit and hang out, do dinner, record at Mike's house, whatever. There's, like, a weird disconnect
18:40between almost, like, two completely separate modes of how this all goes. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
18:49Guys, more so to the band, was there a song that you heard Emily on that was sort of the
18:54light switch moment of, okay, this isn't just a featured artist or somebody we like working with,
18:58this is somebody who could be the new lead singer of our band? Oh, man, Em, I still have to share
19:03that playlist with you that I made of your stuff. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:09Made, like, when I got more, when we were starting to get, kind of, like, starting to get serious
19:18about this lineup, I made a playlist of favorite songs that Emily had, I mean,
19:24their favorite Dead Sarah songs, basically. And I think, I mean, you know, it kind of goes without
19:30saying that Weatherman was, like, the first one I had heard back when that came out, but
19:35there were ones off of different records that helped me imagine how she would
19:43participate in our band. Like, I have a, I can hear sounds in my head before they're, like,
19:52a real sound. And that's how, like, when I'm working on a song, I might go, oh, I imagine
19:59we should add something kind of like this, because I just, I can almost picture it somehow.
20:05And when I was, when I was listening to certain songs of hers, I could just tell that Emily would
20:12be really good on, you know, on Crawling or on Pleaded Out or, you know, What I've Done.
20:22It was just seemed obvious to me that the texture of her voice and the way she,
20:28when she sings, like, it's not, I just feel, I feel like she's a great performer, but the singing
20:35isn't performative, if that makes sense. Like, it's not a, it's not an instrument that you just
20:40pick up and play. There's so much, like, personal, like, soul coming through and emotion,
20:48natural emotion that comes through when she sings. And, and I don't get that feeling from
20:55a lot of singers. I only get that feeling from certain people who are great.
21:00Yeah, I'm not a great singer, but I know that Mike gets that feeling from when I sing.
21:05Yeah, because it's not about, it's not about technicality, even though Joe is technically one
21:10of, if not the best singer in the world. It really is about soul and, and emotion,
21:17and he's got that too. So it's very intimidating for us.
21:23And play on words with soul.
21:25I scare myself sometimes.
21:30Well, I've actually, I like that that slipped under the radar,
21:34but I just want to acknowledge, acknowledge the joke.
21:42Speaking of vocals, Emily's vocals, I heard that, that you guys have said that, that
21:48her vocals specifically inspired the sonic direction of the album. Is that fair to say?
21:54I felt like we could do, yeah, it will, in the same way that, like, everybody's participation,
22:00does that, like, for us, the song, like the DNA of the song, the arrangement of it, the sound that
22:11you end up hearing is a synthesis of all of the different people that are there and that
22:17participated, right? So when you've got different people, you've got different, you know, strengths
22:22and weaknesses, or in this case, like all weaknesses. And we just, you know, do our best
22:31to not make the song suck. And I think I would also add that it's not just like, here's Mike
22:42and here's Emily. This is what they do. One raps and kind of sings like, Mike, if you pay attention
22:49to this record, the versatility that he brings to the table is, there's a lot going on that
22:56people may not notice unless they're paying attention. And the way Emily just interweaves
23:02with that is fantastic. And then to be able to set up for a big crescendo is,
23:10for powerful moments, it really comes naturally. You know, that's something that's part of
23:18Linkin Park's historical DNA. That was really,
23:24we're really able to encapsulate when we started working with Emily.
23:32Yeah, Joe was just saying there, what Mike does on the record, and I wanted to ask you guys about
23:36track six, Casualty, and how that, I felt like, you know, I'm by no means a Linkin Park historian
23:45necessarily, but that seemed like a new Mike Shinoda in terms of vocal delivery and even a
23:49new kind of heavy from you guys than maybe the expected Linkin Park heavy. Can you talk to me
23:54about Casualty? It's, I mean, one of our favorite songs on the album. It's arguably the heaviest
24:03song on the record. And yeah, we wrote a good deal of the, I mean, I think we had a lot of
24:13the body of the track. Might have been, I don't remember if Colin and I kind of cooked up a bunch
24:19of that with Brad or how that came about. But I know that when we all got together to do the
24:24vocals, we did a lot of it in one day. And I loved the, like, we came with the chorus verse,
24:32Emily came with those lyrics and that screaming part, and she and I kind of worked that out.
24:39And then when it came to the verses, I just had a, I had a few ideas that I had already sketched out.
24:47And Joe, I think it was Joe that suggested, like, try and do them in a different style,
24:53like a louder, different style instead of just doing like a rap. And yeah, it's like, I grew up
25:00with, like, a couple of the bands that I loved growing up were like, I loved Helmet, I loved
25:05Strife, a few other hardcore bands like that. And I think I kind of pulled in that direction
25:13on the verses. And I've never done anything like that before. It was like, weird for me.
25:20Yeah, it's different, it's new, exciting. We were all so excited when you were doing it.
25:25Oh my God, yeah. You guys, I think that I was like, I think I did it. And I was so like,
25:30I don't have any idea if this is any good at all. When I was in the booth, I was like, I don't know,
25:35is this stupid? And then I and I finished the take. And I look in the room. And they're all
25:40like cheering, basically. It was fun. And then Mike, you were mentioning arrangements before
25:49just talking about, you know, making the record. And I heard you say somewhere that was there a
25:54different arrangement for the Emptiness Machine than what is on the radio right now that everyone
25:59knows? Oh, it's just that when I wrote it, I wrote, I wrote it, like in my register, like front,
26:06I did, I sang the whole thing. So that's, you know, the music was pretty similar. It was just,
26:12it would have been, was it lower or higher? I don't remember which way we went to get it
26:18to Emily's, to have Emily sing on it. But yeah, it was, it was just, it was a different key. And
26:24it was me all the way down. And then, and I remember thinking, like, this is a special song,
26:30like, I remembered loving it so much. I kept playing it for management. I played it for the
26:35label. And they all they all liked it and were curious about it. But we realized, okay, if this
26:45is like, this is, this could potentially be a first single. And so we organized the, you know,
26:52we put Emily in, starting on the second verse and beyond, and then we kind of trade off in the
26:57bridge. And that once people heard that, like once, as soon as we heard it that way, we were
27:03like, yeah, that's the real song. Like that's, it's way better now. And kind of the, you know,
27:09it's kind of like the rest is history. Like everybody who heard it in that version was like,
27:12wow. Another track that I want to ask you guys about is Overflow. My note on Overflow is if
27:22Linkin Park made a Travis Scott song, which I really liked about that. But I was curious,
27:27what is your creative vision going into that song?
27:32That song for me went through maybe, maybe of everything on the record, it went through the most
27:39different versions and permutations. And it just, it always felt like one of those ones where
27:45we needed to figure out how to get this to the right spot. And it probably,
27:52it went through at least, at least three, if not four choruses and arrangements of that.
28:00It just was a tricky one to kind of unlock how it would work. And it was always one that I think
28:06all of us really wanted to work, because it does feel like it fits, but it feels very different.
28:12It expresses like a different side of Linkin Park and what we like to do.
28:18I think without that song on From Zero, the album itself wouldn't be as like, well-rounded.
28:27So in the process, it was just, I think like at one point we worked with a handful of different
28:32writers early on. There just never was the right feel to the whole thing. There are bits and pieces
28:39that were like, yep, that's amazing. That sounds great. I'm excited about that. But then it gets
28:43to here and, you know, we just need to unlock it. And I think it wasn't, did we finally unlock that
28:51in East West a little bit? Is that where we started on?
28:54The chorus, we did a chorus in East West and Em sang it. And then like a day later, I was like,
29:01oh, I've got a better idea doing that to that song. I mean, part of the thing about that song,
29:06like Dave said, like the original demo we did with a few different friends in the room.
29:12And then we came back to it and rewrote it with a different group of people.
29:17And then we came back to it a bunch of times after that with just us. And I think that was
29:23the part of the key was for us to like, almost like kick everybody out of the room and have the
29:29band just kind of focus on it and figure it out. Because the contribution of the other
29:35writers on it was super, super valuable and it helped make the song what it is.
29:40But I don't think the song would have completely worked unless it still
29:44sounded like Linkin Park. And in order for it to do that, it had to be us.
29:50And kind of a different flow for you, Mike, right?
29:54Yeah, that was one of the things that was working, like that, you know,
29:57different parts of it were things that I went, OK, we have to make this song work
30:03because the sounds in the intro are so amazing. The patterns and the words in the verses,
30:09I really, really like. We finally landed on that chorus and then the outro of the song
30:15is this really weird guitar and kind of like, it's almost like production.
30:22Some people listen to songs for melodies, some people listen for lyrics and some people listen
30:27just for sounds and we, you know, in combinations of those things. And we always have, you know,
30:36moments on our albums where it's kind of like production moments, like just cool headphone
30:44stuff. And I wanted to find a way to do that at the end of that song that felt new and felt,
30:51you know, rewarding. And I feel like we got there.
30:55Yeah. And the new single that is dropping this week or it's already out,
31:00actually, once this airs is Two Faced. What can you tell us about that record?
31:07It's fun.
31:11Joe, by the way, shout out to Joe on that video. We did a clip for it. I don't want to give away
31:16too much, but I love that video. We had five hours to shoot it.
31:22Go.
31:22Yeah, that video had no treatment, but it was just like, OK, this is what we're wearing.
31:28This is where we're going to meet up and the rest we're going to just,
31:33we're just going to put it on camera. When you see it, you'll understand.
31:38Where did you guys shoot it?
31:41We shot it at the stage, the same stages that we had for the launch event in Burbank.
31:48Oh, did you shoot it that day?
31:50Yeah. And part of the reason for that is-
31:51Or a day before, a couple of days before.
31:55We had that stage, which was going to go away right after the launch event. And I was like,
31:59this thing looks too cool to not shoot. And everybody was nice enough to come on a day off
32:07when we were pretty exhausted to just make it happen.
32:12I'm happy it did.
32:13Emily, we keep, since we still, things are still kind of fresh, like we keep finding out new things
32:24about Emily and Colin, like just seeing things that they can do that we didn't know they could
32:28do. And there's just this like energy in that video that she brought this whole new energy to
32:36it that is like incredible.
32:39I would say that of all the videos that we're doing, this one is definitive of what we're-
32:48what From Zero is. The relationship of the band, the energy that we put out,
32:55the personality and the enjoyment we have together. It's all in this video.
33:01We talked a lot about the term Linkin Park DNA in our conversation today. Part of that DNA,
33:06of course, is the visuals. Mike, I've talked to you in interviews in the past about Frank Maddox
33:10and just his work with you guys and Deftones, etc. throughout the years. Who's behind the cover
33:16shot? It's a beautiful cover shot. And just honestly, the whole visual identity of From Zero,
33:21who'd you guys work with?
33:25Well, I mean, I really have to give a lot of credit to Frank for that.
33:30I know that he worked with a few other people to get those shots.
33:34One thing to know about the album artwork is it's not computer generated,
33:39even though the images might look that way. There's no Photoshop. There's no AI.
33:45It's just photography of, you know, different paints. And I think they used- there was like
33:52oils or something and water and, you know, and it's physical elements shot with light and cameras.
34:01So gorgeous stuff. We wanted, you know, Joe and I talked to Frank about it beforehand,
34:07like what types of things we were into. And we went down a couple different rabbit holes
34:14and landed on this because the nature of how the band came together was very organic,
34:23meaning this new lineup. And we really- we wrote the album while we-
34:32like while we built the band back up. Like it was- it all happened at the same time. Like
34:38certain songs were already kind of like coming into focus while we were like,
34:44I wonder if Colin would be a good fit for- to be like in the band, you know? And so that type
34:50of thing, it's not- it's not- it's almost like not logical and it's not something you can
35:02manufacture in your mind. Like we couldn't say we're going to do it this way and then execute
35:06that step by step. Like you have to just kind of like wander into it and see what's the best fit.
35:13And the artwork, you know, it happened that way too. Like even if you said,
35:17I want to set up this shot of something that looks this way, if you're talking about paints and
35:24water, like there's a lot of randomness to it and you can't control it.
35:30And I think that to me, that's one of the tie- one of the things that tied in conceptually.
35:38Right on. And the final question, guys, we're headed out on tour. This will come out after
35:43tour gets announced. What can you tell fans about what they can expect from the shows? Of course,
35:48you've done this. I don't want to call it a mini run. You've done huge shows over the past two
35:52months. But what is the next forthcoming tour going to look like for fans or anything you can tease?
36:01New songs.
36:04Yeah, I think we're excited to play the new stuff. So we're gonna add that to the set.
36:09I think too, like for fans to know, we wanted to set up 2025 touring just in this,
36:18the end of 2024. We've kind of done like a version of touching, putting our toe down
36:26on every place where we might play shows all around the globe. And that's not a sustainable
36:35way to tour or to keep ourselves sane. So come next year, it's going to be a lot more like
36:43shows in different territories. We want to play a ton of places we haven't played in a while,
36:50city-wise, country-wise, etc. And it's going to be a lot. It's going to be a lot of shows,
36:57but we're really, really excited about it. It's been so fun reconnecting just in these last couple
37:03months. But I think next year is going to be very special. And I think the six of us are looking
37:11forward to it and excited about playing new songs and old songs and just reconnecting with the fans
37:17everywhere. Yeah, we do want to play a lot of shows and hopefully every fan that wants to see
37:25the band play live, we'll have an opportunity to soon. We're out of time, but I really appreciate
37:32you taking the time. Thanks for having us. Awesome. Thanks for having us.

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