At this past weekend’s Download festival, Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda sat down with BBC News reporter Mel Ramsay to discuss the band’s upcoming documentary film, “Unshatter“. The project intimately chronicles the group’s highly anticipated 2024 comeback, marking their return seven years after the tragic passing of legendary frontman Chester Bennington.
Directed by the band’s own DJ and creative director, Joseph Hahn, the movie captures the uncertain years following Chester Bennington‘s death in 2017. It details the emotional journey of reforming the group with a new lineup featuring former Dead Sara vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who previously worked as a songwriter and producer for acts like G Flip, Illenium, and One OK Rock. The film will feature an expansive mix of behind-the-scenes footage, rare archival clips, and glimpses of their recent live performances.
Speaking to BBC News, Mike Shinoda detailed how the project naturally came to life over the years.
“We have a documentary coming out called ‘Unshatter‘. I feel like it’s just been in the ether. Even before Chester passed away, it was kind of Joe being a filmmaker. He always wanted to do something that kind of explained our universe to people. And then after Chester passed, everything was just, like… We didn’t even think we had a band anymore, so everything just kind of went away. And as things started to come back together, and we met Colin, and we met Emily, and we started to make music and the album became a reality, we were filming things. And eventually, we realized that not only do a lot of people not understand the band’s culture — not us, just us, but the community around Linkin Park. But they and the people inside that bubble and the people outside, they wanna know, like, how did you pick up the pieces after this tragedy and losing your friend and co-founder of this thing that we spent 20 years with? How do you go from that to Wembley? How do you go from that to… Our [From Zero] album-launch show was in São Paulo. It was one of the most celebratory, emotional moments of our lives. So, thankfully, we had the good sense to have some cameras rolling during the whole time,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
When asked about what fans should expect from the upcoming release, Mike Shinoda emphasized the film’s authentic and grounded approach:
“Don’t think reality TV. It’s literally our friend Mark [who did most of the filming]. It’s one guy. We hang out with him all the time. So we had Mark there, and we were just recording things and filming things just so we had it, and that became ‘Unshatter‘. And so more info will come out soon, but we’re very excited about it. I’m really proud of Joe, and I think it kind of tells the story of the past — I don’t know — three, four years or so pretty well.”
Linkin Park officially introduced their new lineup during a live performance event in September 2024. During the performance, Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain formally joined Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, and Joseph Hahn. In addition to introducing the new members, the band released their comeback single, “The Emptiness Machine“, and announced their acclaimed studio album, From Zero.
Linkin Park 2026 European & U.K. Tour Dates:
With Last Train & Phantogram:
- Jun 16 – Lyon, France @ Groupama Stadium
Linkin Park:
- Jun 19 – Santiago de Compostela, Spain @ O Son Do Camino
- Jun 21 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Rock In Rio Lisboa
With Clipse & Phantogram:
- Jun 23 – Madrid, Spain @ Auditorio Miguel Rios
- Jun 24 – Madrid, Spain @ Auditorio Miguel Rios
- Jun 26 – Florence, Italy @ Visarno Arena
- Jun 28 – Werchter, Belgium @ Werchter Parklife
- Jun 30 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Stadion Letzigrund
