Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has revealed his brand-new single ‘Already Over,’ released via Warner Records. In a stunning return to form, the visceral and personal track is powered by kinetic live drums, coarse distorted guitar, and his uncanny vocal delivery. Shinoda also notably wrote, recorded, sang, and performed every instrument on the track. Accompanying the song is a frenetic, hand-painted visual by Dusty Deen incorporating images by legendary photographer Mike Miller.
About the song, Shinoda shared: “‘Already Over,’ came to me as I was sitting with my favorite guitar in my hands – the same guitar I used on songs from ‘What I’ve Done’ to ‘In My Head.’ There was a familiar DNA to the song that I think Linkin Park fans will recognize. For me, it creates a bridge from the past to a blurry but exciting future.”
So far, half the fun of the release has been in its ancillary fan activities. Shinoda debuted the campaign with cryptic Tumblr-style mood images online to set the tone of the new chapter. Chopped-up song snippets leaked out in different online locations for fans to collect and piece together themselves; unreleased stickers began popping up, only attainable from the hands of Shinoda himself, in person; and beginning next week, an online game will appear on MikeShinoda.com, teasing fans with a new sci-fi horror narrative.
“In the bigger picture,” Shinoda says, “this release takes some of my favorite things about releasing music and assembles them in a different way—with more music, games, challenges, great things to watch, and lots of new art on the way.”