Linkin Park react to critics of their new pop direction

It’s hard to think of a musical comeback that has polarised fans quite as seismically as Linkin Park’s new single ‘Heavy’.

Despite the somewhat misleading title, the collaboration with Kiiara sees Linkin Park make the leap into mainstream pop realms – not surprising really given it was co-penned by Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, songwriters for Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Little Mix, Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears and more.

Speaking exclusively to Kerrang! Magazine this week, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda says he’s completely at ease with some of the comments fired at the band on social media since the single was unveiled.

Mike said: “I love the fact that you’ll find comments pretty regularly that say things like, ‘The heavy stuff is my thing, but I can get into this,’ or; ‘I’m going to skip this one.’ Both are fine with us.”

In fact, it wasn’t the disparaging remarks that have surprised Mike – “I was expecting more of that” – instead it’s the number of people who have embraced the shift in direction with open arms: “It’s shocking to me.”

Distancing themselves from a lot of chart pop music, Chester Bennington insists that upcoming album ‘One More Light’ is cut from a very different cloth.

“I think the lyrical content is what provides the sustenance,” Chester says. “We want something nourishing, not something that’s like candy – like that song ‘Blue’ by Eiffel 65.

“Things can be poppy but still have a lot of substance. That’s what we shoot for.”

Waxing lyrical about Kiiara, Mike and Chester both confirmed to Kerrang! that they “hope” to take her on tour with them and the collaboration initially came about quite straightforwardly.

Mike explains: “We realised we’d never worked with a female vocalist, so thought ‘What would that sound like?”

You can read Mike and Chester’s full world exclusive interview in this week’s edition of Kerrang! Magazine, which is available to buy right now!