They stated they finally felt they were in "familiar territory" and "comfortable in own skin" after years of experimentation that resulted in their two previous studio albums, Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns.
Mereka menyebut bahwa mereka merasa masuk ke dalam "situasi akrab" dan "nyaman di tiap personilnya" setelah bertahun-tahun merancang percobaan yang akhirnya menciptakan dua album sebelumnya, Minutes to Midnight dan A Thousand Suns.