Band's new vid premieres tomorrow at 5:53 p.m. on MTV, and LP sit down for an exclusive interview right after on MTV.com!
By James Montgomery


Linkin Park's Joe Hahn and Chester Bennington
Photo: MTV News

Throughout their careening career, Linkin Park have made no shortage of truly iconic, eye-catching music videos, the overwhelming majority of which were directed by the band's DJ, Joe Hahn.

And LP's latest clip, "BURN IT DOWN" — which premieres on MTV and MTV.com on Thursday, May 24, at 5:53 p.m. ET as part of our "MTV First" — is both a worthy addition to that video legacy and Hahn's directorial reel. Chock full of cutting-edge digital effects, it's a performance video pushed to the absolute limit ... to the point where, when the band bursts into flames at the end, you can't help wondering if they didn't just spontaneously combust.

Then again, knowing Hahn, it's entirely possible he just decided to set his bandmates on fire. After all, in previous clips, he's nearly drowned them in tanks of water and tossed huge handfuls of dust directly in their faces. So when MTV News sat down with Hahn, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda during the "BURN IT DOWN" premiere (you can watch the entire interview on MTV.com immediately after the video's debut), we had to ask them about Hahn's hardline approach to making music videos.

Basically, how much of a pain in the ass is this guy to work for? As it turns out, the answer is: a huge one.

"Yeah, Joe really goes for it," Bennington laughed. "And, for whatever reason, I usually get it the worst. I've almost drowned, I had all this powder thrown in my face. ... On this new one, I was sweating like crazy. It was intense."

Of course, as you'd probably expect, Hahn wasn't having any of it. The way he sees it, Linkin Park owe their success to the fact that they never do anything the easy way. (Their new album, LIVING THINGS, due June 26, is testament to that.) And since his bandmates are going to complain no matter what he does, well, then he might as well push the limits as far as possible.

"The reason why we're successful is because we're all passionate people; I have to take the director's seat and be in-between," he said. "And the thing I figured out is, no matter what, they're going to complain. They could just be staring at an apple on a table and they'd be like, 'OK ... [makes a 'checking the watch' gesture].' So you might as well make it fun."

"And get your money's worth," Bennington shot back.

Just wait until you see "BURN IT DOWN," because Hahn — and Linkin Park — definitely got their money's worth with this one.

Don't miss the world premiere of the "BURN IT DOWN" video during "MTV First: Linkin Park" tomorrow! It all starts at 5:53 p.m. ET on MTV, followed by an exclusive interview with the band on MTV.com

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