Mark Hoppus Says New Blink-182 Songs Sound Like 'Early Blink Meets Early Alkaline Trio'

Blink-182 fans around the world have been divided in opinion ever since it was announced that Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba had stepped in to replace former guitarist Tom Delonge as the band work on a new album and in a recent interview, bassist Mark Hoppus has revealed some details surrounding the forthcoming music. 

Speaking to Alternative Press, the co-founding member of the iconic outfit said, "We have a few songs that are pretty far along, pretty well in."

"Right now the stuff that we’re writing sounds like early Blink meets early Alkaline Trio."

After announcing in late August that Skiba would be joining Hoppus and Blink drummer Travis Barker in the studio, it appears they are moving faster than expected on a new record. 

"I'm really happy with the way that its going and the energy in the studio's great..." Hoppus said.

"Nothing except good stuff is going to come out of the studio."

So well is the new material coming along, that the new-look trio have a release date for the forthcoming album in mind, though Hoppus would not disclose that information.

"There’s been discussions and we have a target date, but I don’t want to say anything because you don’t know if things change," he said.

He concluded that the band's current goals are, "Writing right now and getting ready to tour."

Delonge departed Blink for a second time in January this year and later citied other projects, specifically his record label and entertainment company, To The Stars, as the catalyst for his departure.

While admitting he would like to make music again with his former band mates somewhere down the line, Delonge maintains that recording music and touring right now are not his main priorities. 

His new science-fiction novel, Poet Anderson...Of Nightmares was released yesterday. 

Similarly, Barker's forthcoming biography, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums, which chronicles the musician's drug addiction, Blink's rise and eventual break-up and his near fatal plane crash, is due for release on 20 October.

Meanwhile Hoppus recently performed at annual US music festival, Taste Of Chaos, where he played a debut DJ set — check out this fan-shot footage from the show below.