 Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material . To produce the album , the band chose producer Rick Rubin . Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006 , the album was delayed until 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 its previous nu metal sound . Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band 's third studio album , titled Minutes to Midnight , would be released on May 15 , 2007 in the United States . After spending fourteen months working on the album , the band members opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks . The album 's title , a reference to the Doomsday Clock , foreshadowed the band 's new lyrical themes . Minutes to Midnight sold over 625 @,@ 000 copies in its first week , making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years . The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts . 
