Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda on His ‘Big’ Score for ‘The Raid’

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda has contributed the musical score to the upcoming action film 'The Raid,' a sound instantly recognizable to Linkin Park fans -- full of melodic tension and signature anthemic hooks. "The guys reached out to me because they wanted a certain sound: something big and high energy," Shinoda tells Billboard.

Collaborating with Joe Trapanese, who worked with Daft Punk on the 'Tron: Legacy' score, multi-instrumentalist Shinoda is grateful to have been able to devote his time to the project, honing his skills: "I've been approached a few times to score for film and TV, and I've done a few little things, but never anything this involved -- not nearly this much work."

Set in the slums of Jakarta, 'The Raid' is an action-packed tale of a police raid on the "an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters" and the attempted take down of a notorious drug lord.

"I think there are moments in any movie, in a movie like this, at least, that can jump right in the front," Shinoda explains. "It's what the collaboration is all about. But then there are other times when it's important to step back and for the music to be invisible. Clearly that's not something that I would do as much with on a Linkin Park record, and it's something I'm having fun using with a project like this." Let's hope this is the first of many.

Watch Linkin Park's 'A Day in the Life' with AOL Music