• ' Released: April 2, 2007 • ' Released: August 17, 2007 • ' Released: October 16, 2007 • ' Released: March 3, 2008 • ' Released: July 14, 2008 Minutes to Midnight is the third studio album by American band, released on May 14, 2007, through. The album was produced. Minutes to Midnight was the band's follow-up album to (2003) and features a shift in the group's musical direction. For the band, the album marks a beginning of deviation from their signature sound. Minutes to Midnight takes its title from the. It is also the first Linkin Park full-length album to carry a label. Linkin Park started work on their third studio album in 2003, taking a break to tour in support of Meteora in 2004.
In this time period, the band formed numerous side projects; Mike Shinoda formed his, while formed, causing the album to be shelved temporarily. The band returned to work on the record afterward, taking on a different musical direction than the 2003 sessions while working with producer Rick Rubin.