Blink-182’s next album is shaping up to be a departure from their normal sound, with Mark Hoppus revealing it will go in “completely weird directions”.
Back in 2016, Blink-182 released California, their seventh studio album, their second since their 2009 reunion, and first without founding member Tom DeLonge.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the inclusion of Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, the record ended up being their highest-charting to date, and even gave them their first Grammy nomination.
Understandably, the band’s fans were somewhat divided, with dedicated fans missing Tom DeLonge, yet still considering the album to be one of their best.
However, it appears that the group’s upcoming eighth record might surprise fans somewhat, with frontman Mark Hoppus explaining they’ll go in “completely weird directions” on the new release.
Check out Blink-182’s ‘She’s Out Of Her Mind’:
Speaking to Kerrang! recently, Hoppus revealed he has a desire to explore new territory in a similar way to their decidedly more ‘serious’ 2003 record.
“After playing in this band for 27 years, I want to push it and do different things and take Blink to places where we haven’t been before,” Hoppus explained. “We’re really trying to do that on the new record.”
“We want to do with our band what we did in 2003 with Untitled, where we take our foundations and go off in completely weird directions.”
Of course, Blink-182 isn’t the only thing on Mark Hoppus’ mind, with the rocker announcing Secret Creatures over the weekend. A collaboration with All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth, it seems that his new side project isn’t distracting him from the work with his main band.
“We’re in the studio all the time,” Hoppus explained. “That’s the thing, our main bands are our main focus and will always be.”
“We all have our outside interests and our outside things, but we’re pretty straightforward with one another; Blink really is everybody’s priority and that’s understood among all of us.”
While there’s no word at this stage when we’ll finally receive Blink-182’s next album, it’s clear that it might be a bit of a confronting listen the first time around. However, considering how brilliant their untitled record was, we might be in store for their best work yet.
Check out Blink-182’s ‘Bored To Death’:
