Linkin Park Announces September 14th Release For New Album A Thousand Suns

Linkin Park has announced a September 14th release date for their new album A Thousand Suns (Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros.). The album is co-produced by Rick Rubin (U2, Johnny Cash) and Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda, who last joined forces to produce Linkin Park's 2007 release, Minutes To Midnight.

The band also announced that the first single from the new album will be'The Catalyst,' which debuts on radio worldwide onAugust 2 and willalso be featured on the band's MySpace Music profile. Prior to the song's release, the band and MySpace are teaming up for "Linkin Park, Featuring You," a unique promotion that gives fans a first-of-its-kind opportunity to collaborate with Linkin Park to produce their own song based on some of the tracks from the forthcoming single.

A winner will be chosen by Linkin Park and their submission will either be included on the band's new album or the winner will be invited to perform with the band on a song on the upcoming record.

Beginning tomorrow, July 9th, fans can go to their myspace page to download audio stems from The Catalyst. Fans will be encouraged to adjust the stems and also record and produce their own additional tracks. Fans can use their own music production software to create their song and then upload it to the band via their MySpace page. Once each new version is submitted, the track will be shared in an embeddable player, which anyone can access to rate and comment, as well as click through to record their own tracks. The contest is live as of tomorrow.

"Our albums are the foundation of who we are as a band, and reserving a spot for a fan to play on one of our songs felt like a way to show our dedication to them," says Shinoda. "There are a lot of unknowns about what might get submitted for this contest, but that's what makes it fun. Our fans continually energize us with their creativity and dedication, so I think they're going to come up with something great."

The band (Shinoda, vocalist Chester Bennington, drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, DJ Joe Hahn and bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell) also recently announced that they'll be touring Europe this fall, beginning Wednesday, October 20th at the O2 World, Berlin and wrapping Wednesday, November 11th at the 02 Arena, London. Ticket info can be found on their website.

A celebration of sound and vision, each of these live performances is designed to be a transformative multi-media experience, complete with a unique blending of music and art and featuring never-before-seen visual technology. In addition, this tour's setlist, which will be packed with a plethora of the band's biggest hits, will be the first to showcase material from A Thousand Suns.

MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.myspace.com/linkinpark