It was not without irony. Anti-establishment rock group Linkin Park holding its first Singapore gig at the Padang, right across from City Hall. More irony: The band's "self-censorship" as it pummelled its Singapore audience of 10,000 with its angsty hits. The boys were clearly awed by Singapore — not just by the food and warm weather, but also the McCafes and, most of all, the fact that there's a Borders outlet downtown. "Felt at home while there," smiled Hahn. When talk moved to their upcoming album, there were glum faces all around. "The thing is, we already had an album ready," explained the bald and bearded Farrell. "We recorded it over the last few years and were hoping to release it after the Meteora tour winds down in September. "Unfortunately, the hard disk was erased accidentally. "So, to tell you the truth, I'm really gutted about that." Accidentally? What gives? "(Rapper) Mike Shinoda has this collection of industrial strength magnets and absent-mindedly left the hard disk on top of his magnet collection," said Farrell. Bummer. "It's a real shame," added an equally pensive-looking Hahn. "I don't think we'll set about recreating that album. It took us three years to make. Now that it's gone, I guess we'll just start from scratch." Right now, the only thing keeping the sextet happy is the upcoming Project Revolution concerts happening in July and August all across America. Linkin Park will headline, of course, but they will be joined by bands such as Korn and hip-hop heavyweight Snoop Dogg, in an attempt to further unite the hip-hop and metal divide. "Now this makes up for the hard disk fiasco," Farrell laughed, clearly excited about the tour. As excited as they were to play in Singapore, Farrell and Shinoda added quickly. "We've really been looking forward to coming here," said Shinoda. "Frankly I do hope we do well. It'd be real nice to be asked back again."
THAT SUCKS!
