Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Opens New Chapter With Raucous Single ‘Already Over’

Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda has released a new solo single, “Already Over.” Along with the track, the musician dropped a hand-painted visual for the guitar-driven song created by Dusty Deen and incorporating images by photographer Mike Miller.

“‘Already Over’ came to me as I was sitting with my favorite guitar in my hands—the same guitar I used on songs from ‘What I’ve Done’ to ‘In My Head,’” Shinoda said in a statement. “There was a familiar DNA to the song that I think Linkin Park fans will recognize. For me, it creates a bridge from the past to a blurry but exciting future.”

“Already Over” follows on the heels of Shinoda’s single “In My Head,” released for Scream VI, the sixth movie in the horror film franchise. The track, which featured Kailee Morgue, appeared in the film and landed in the Top 10 at alternative radio.

Shinoda teased the new single with a series of cryptic Tumblr-style images online and will debut a connected online game via his website next week. “In the bigger picture, this release takes some of my favorite things about releasing music and assembles them in a different way—with more music, games, challenges, great things to watch, and lots of new art on the way,” Shinoda explained.

In 2021, Shinoda sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss his plans beyond his formative band of Linkin Park, as well as his views on the future of music.

“I think there’s a shift happening from large groups to smaller scale,” he explained of how the industry landscape is changing. “We’re already prioritizing a more direct and focused relationship in a fanbase, where it’s more about closer connection over quantity. People are overloaded with the pressures and annoyances of the current version of social media. We’re tired of it. I think we’re headed deeper into tribalism.”

Earlier this year, Linkin Park released Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition, which featured single “Lost.” It also included unreleased track “Fighting Myself,” a vintage Linkin Park number, with Shinoda spitting angst-ridden bars over simmering production, before late singer Chester Bennington bursts in with a monster chorus, paired with arena-sized guitars.