Minutes to Midnight (2006-present)

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose popular producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was pushed off to 2007. The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed. Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound. Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States. After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. Minutes to Midnight sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also captured the top spot on the Billboard Charts.

The album's first single, What I've Done was released on April 2, and later premiered on MTV and Fuse within the same week. The single was acclaimed by listeners, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 days after its debut, and later was the top-ranked song on the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. Bleed It Out is the second single from Minutes to Midnight which was released August 20, 2007. Shadow of the Day, the third single, was released in the UK on October 8. The song has also been released in the U.S (October 16)

Linkin Park performed at Live Earth Japan on July 7, 2007. The band recently finished touring on their fourth Projekt Revolution tour.