There are rumours circling the Internet of a possible U2 album to be released in spring or summer 2006. Feeding these rumours, Bono was quoted in Rolling Stone late last year as saying “I think there will be a record in 2006. Because we're on it now. But I don't think it's a healthy state of mind to imagine that this band should go on and on. Everyone in it asks very hard questions about its continuing.” As reported U2 left various tracks off How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb that did not fit in with the overall sound of the record. Many of these songs were rumoured to be more aggressive in nature, which may explain early explanations of the album being guitar driven.

In the Rolling Stone interview, Bono talked about the sessions of How to Dismantle An Atomic Bob. “There's a certain hit you want to get off a song, and we weren't getting it from the material. It happens. And that's the problem. We're addicted to that feeling. We could have had an album out [earlier], and it would have been pretty damn good. You would have really liked it, because it was a rock & roll album. But we have to sing these songs for the rest of our lives, and they have to work on so many levels.”

Bono then went on to say “Two years -- it's a song a month. There are twenty-four songs that came out of the sessions. Eleven of them are on the album.” (How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb)