Linkin Park are set to make an announcement in front of a live audience later today (September 5), but have insisted that those present sign a waiver beforehand.
The fan event comes in light of the band teasing some kind of activity last week – sharing a mysterious countdown on their social media accounts.
Mike Shinoda and co. got fans talking when they shared a video of a clock counting down from 100 hours and 59 minutes. The caption of the post was a link to the official Linkin Park website, which led to a live countdown along with an email subscription box and a link to a My Community phone chat.
Then, when it came to an end on August 28, viewers were left baffled as once it hit zero, it immediately began counting up again. The band then re-shared the countdown alongside the caption: “It’s only a matter of time…” The clock then glitched nine hours and five minutes in, leading to fan speculation that music would be released on September 5.
Linkin Park later confirmed this, revealing that the timer was working its way back up to 100 hours and an announcement would be made in front of a live audience on September 5.
Now, ahead of the event taking place later tonight, it has come to light that the select group of fans invited to the announcement have been made to sign a waiver beforehand – ensuring that the details are kept to themselves for now.
A screenshot of the document was shared on Reddit, and provided fans with a bit more of an idea of what to expect.
Waiver for Sept 5 event
byu/Necessary-Isopod-862 inLinkinPark
While it doesn’t necessarily say what kind of announcement will be shared at the event, it does suggest that the band aren’t eager to publicly disclose the exact location just yet. This is likely to prevent anyone from looking into what information could have been transported to the venue ahead of time.
In the waiver, attendees also grant permission to be included in footage that is recorded there – suggesting that the event will be filmed and shared at a later date – and are prevented from “obtaining any form or injunctive or equitable relief that would interfere, hinder, stop or impede the production, distribution or any other exploitation of the event.”
Many fans have been speculating that the band could be preparing sharing news of a new singer, following the death of Chester Bennington in 2017, and Linkin Park’s subsequent hiatus.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the ‘Numb’ hitmakers were planning a 2025 tour and potentially looking to recruit a female vocalist to succeed the late frontman, but nothing has been officially confirmed.
Fans initially speculated that Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley would be announced as the new frontman, after the Canadian band also teased an announcement earlier this week. However, Whibley set the record straight yesterday (August 27), telling fans on Instagram that he’s “not joining Oasis…. or Linkin Park. or any other band for that matter.”
In other Linkin Park news, last year Mike Shinoda spoke to NME and opened up about potential plans for some Linkin Park reissues.
“Nothing planned right now. I always just tell people like when there’s news I’ll give you the news. We’ve been doing it for a while and I think our expectation for what’s a proper reissue is kind of high,” he told us.
He continued: “I don’t love putting out Greatest Hits stuff or putting out re-masters of things we’ve done, [so] if we were to do a re-reissue of one of our Linkin Park albums, we want it to be a big deal. If we can’t make it that quality then we won’t do it. If it’s not great then I don’t think we should do it.”
Since then, Linkin Park have released the previously unheard ‘Friendly Fire’ with Bennington on vocals, which was originally recorded for the band’s 2017 sessions for ‘One More Light’. They also went on to release ‘Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023)’ in April, a 20-song overview of the band’s best-selling tracks over the past two decades.
