Linkin Park won't be subjecting the world to the horrors of a hologram Chester Bennington, thankfully. According to Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda in an interview with 94.5 The Buzz, the idea of having a hologram Bennington is creepy, though he gets how the technology might work for other artists.
"Those are creepy. Even if we weren't talking about us, if we weren't talking about Chester, which is… that's a very sensitive subject, and we would have our feelings about how we would represent that… For me, that's a clear no; I'm not into that. But even as a viewer of, like, just a fan of another band — like I heard ABBA, for example, they're doing a hologram show, and they're still alive.
"Then you get to have an opinion about it based on, like… They're all still here, and yet they wanna do it this way because they wanna transport you back to that moment in time where those songs were new and it was whatever era it was. I get that; I see that. I'm not positive, even under those circumstances, I'm not positive I personally would buy a ticket to the show. But [other people] would. That's fine."
Shinoda later added that he doesn't care if other people enjoy hologram-fronted bands, but says that he's not into it. And to be fair, it does seem like the whole "put a hologram of a dead person on stage" thing is dying out. Of course the main one in the metal world being the extremely-divisive hologram Ronnie James Dio.
"The problem with the Internet now is that everybody thinks that everything is for everybody. And what I mean is everyone feels like they need to chime in, like, 'Well, here's my opinion. This is what I have to say. And if it's not for me, like if I don't like it, then nobody should like it.' That's not the way the world works. If you like a thing and I don't like the thing, then you go see the thing; you go buy the thing."
Linkin Park will release their Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition on April 7. The anniversary edition of the classic 2003 album includes a newly-unearthed song "Lost" that you can stream below, as well as five additional unreleased tracks. The Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set of Meteora features:
- Six additional unreleased songs, plus demos, b-sides, live shows, and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage on five LPs – Meteora, Live in Texas for the first time on vinyl, the previously unreleased Live in Nottingham 2003
- Four CDs – Meteora, LPU Rarities 2.0, Live Rarities 2003-2004, and Lost Demos
- Three DVDs, including four previously unreleased concerts – The Making of Meteora/The Art of Meteora/Work In Progress, Veterans Stadium (2003), Live in Seoul (2003), Live In Manila (2004), and Live in Denver – Projekt Revolution 2004.
- A 40-page book, 36” x 24” poster, litho, sticker sheet, stencil, and hi-res download card
There's also the Deluxe Vinyl Box Set featuring the aforementioned LPs and CDs, as well as various standalone configurations. Get 'em here.
