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Linkin Park

Linkin Park is a rock/alternative/nu metal band from Agoura Hills, California. Since their formation in 1996, the band has sold more than fifty million albums and won two Grammy Awards.[3][4][5] They achieved mainstream success with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005.[6] Their following studio album, Meteora, continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200’s album charts in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world.[7]

Recognized for their adaption of the nu metal genre into a radio-friendly yet densely-layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora,[8][9] the band moved away from this and explored a variety of other genres in their latest studio album, Minutes to Midnight.[10][11] The album topped the Billboard Charts and had the third best debut week of any album that year.[12][13] They are also known for their several collaborations, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mash-up album Collision Course, and many other artists on Reanimation.[9]

Band history

Early years (1996–1999)

Originally consisting of three high school friends, Linkin Park’s foundation was anchored by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson along with Rob Bourdon.[14][15] After graduating from high school, the California natives began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band then titled Xero. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda’s make-shift bedroom studio in 1996.[14][16] Tensions and frustration within the band grew after they failed to land a record deal.[14] The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band's vocalist, to leave the band in search for other projects.[14][16] Farrell would also leave the band to tour with Tasty Snax and other bands.[17][18]

After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist Chester Bennington. Jeff Blue, the vice president of Zomba Music, had referred him to the band in March 1999.[19] Bennington, formerly of Grey Daze, became a standout among applicants on account of his unique singing style. The band changed their name from Xero to Hybrid Theory.[17] The newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material.[14] The band’s renaissance culminated with a change in name; from Hybrid Theory, the band changed their name to Linkin Park, a play on and homage to Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park.[14] However, despite these changes, the band still struggled to sign a record deal. After facing numerous rejections from several major record labels, Linkin Park turned to Jeff Blue for additional help. After failing to catch Warner Bros. Records on three previous reviews, Jeff Blue, now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company in 1999. Now aside with Warner Bros. Records, the band released their breakthrough album, Hybrid Theory, the following year.[19]

Breakthrough: Hybrid Theory (2000–2002)

Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory on October 24, 2000.[20][21] The album, which represented half a decade’s worth of the band’s work, was edited by music producer Don Gilmore.[14] Hybrid Theory was well received by music fans; the band sold more than 4.8 million records during its debut year, earning it the status of best-selling album of 2001, while singles such as "Crawling" and "One Step Closer" established themselves as staples among alternative rock radio play lists during the year.[17] Additionally, other singles from the album were featured in movies such as Dracula 2000, Little Nicky, and Valentine.[17] Hybrid Theory was also nominated for three Grammy Awards, including best new artist, best rock album, and best hard rock performance (for "Crawling").[22] MTV awarded the band their Best Rock Video and Best Direction awards for In the End.[14] Through the winning of the Grammy for best hard rock performance, Hybrid Theory’s overall success had catapulted the band into the mainstream's attention.

During this time, Linkin Park received many invitations to perform on many high-profile tours and concerts including Ozzfest, Family Values Tour and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas.[17][23] The band also formed their own tour, Projekt Revolution, which featured other notable artists such as, Cypress Hill, Adema, and Snoop Dogg.[19] Within a year’s stretch, Linkin Park had performed at over 320 concerts.[14] The experiences and performances of the precocious band were documented in their first DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival, which debuted in November 2001. Now reunited with former bassist Dave Farrell, the band began work on a remix album, dubbed Reanimation, which would include works from Hybrid Theory and Hybrid Theory EP.[17] The album Reanimation debuted on July 30, 2002, featuring the likes of Black Thought, Jonathan Davis, Aaron Lewis, and many others.[24] Reanimation claimed the second spot on the Billboard 200, and sold nearly 270,000 copies during its debut week.[25]

Continued success: Meteora (2002–2004)

Following the success of Hybrid Theory and Reanimation, Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States. The band began to work on new material amidst their saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio.[26] The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.[27] Meteora featured a mixture of the band's previous nu metal and rapcore styles with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a shakuhachi (a Japanese flute made of bamboo) and other instruments.[14] Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003 and instantly earned worldwide recognition,[14] going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.[16]

Meteora sold more than 800,000 copies during its first week, and it ranked as the best selling album on the Billboard charts at the time.[28] Music videos for some of the album's singles, including "Somewhere I Belong", "Breaking the Habit", "Faint", and "Numb", received significant radio attention.[29] By October 2003, Meteora sold nearly three million copies.[30] The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another Projekt Revolution, which featured other bands and artists including, Mudvayne, Blindside, and Xzibit.[14] Additionally, Metallica invited Linkin Park to play at the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, which included well-known acts such as Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones.[31] The band released an album and DVD, entitled Live in Texas, which consisted of audio and video tracks of some of the band's performances in Texas during the tour.[14] In early 2004, Linkin Park started a world tour titled the Meteora World Tour, supporting bands on the tour include Hoobastank, P.O.D and Story of the Year.

Meteora earned the band multiple awards and honors. The band won MTV's awards for Best Rock Video ("Somewhere I Belong") and the Viewer's Choice Award ("Breaking the Habit").[32] Linkin Park also received significant recognition during the 2004 Radio Music Awards, winning the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (Numb) awards.[32] Although Meteora was not nearly as successful as Hybrid Theory, it was the third best selling album in America during 2003.[17] The band spent the first few months of 2004 touring around the world, first with the third Projekt Revolution tour, and later several European concerts.[17]

Side projects and charity work (2004–2006)

Bennington appears on the band's behalf at MTV Asia Aid

Following Meteora's success, the band postponed working on a new studio album for the next few years. Instead, Linkin Park continued to tour and work on many side projects. Bennington appeared on DJ Lethal’s State of the Art and other work with Dead By Sunrise, while Shinoda did work with Depeche Mode.[17] In 2004, the band began to work with Jay-Z to produce another remix album, entitled Collision Course. The album, which featured intermixed lyrics and background tracks from both artists' previous albums, debuted in November 2004. Shinoda also formed a new band, Fort Minor, as a side project. With the aid of Jay-Z, Fort Minor released their debut album, The Rising Tied, to critical acclaim.[33][34] At the same time, the band's relationship with Warner Bros. Records was deteriorating rapidly on account of several trust and financial issues.[35] After months of feuding, the band finally negotiated a deal in December 2005.[36]

Linkin Park also participated in numerous charitable events. Linkin Park helped raise money to benefit victims of Hurricane Dan in 2004 and later Hurricane Matt in 2005.[17] The band donated $75,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in March of 2004.[37] They also helped relief efforts for the 2004 Tsunami victims by staging several charity concerts and setting up an additional fund called "Music for Relief".[38] Most notably, however, the band participated at Live 8, a series of charitable benefit concerts set up to raise global awareness.[39] Alongside Jay-Z, the band performed on Live 8's stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a global audience.[39] The band would later be reunited with Jay-Z at the Grammy Award Ceremony 2006, during which they performed Numb/Encore, en route to winning a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.[40] They would later go on to play at the 2006 Summer Sonic music festival, which was hosted by Metallica, in Japan.[41]

Resurgence: Minutes to Midnight (2006–present)

Linkin Park in Prague, 2007

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was delayed until 2007.[10] The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed.[42] Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound.[43] Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States.[44] After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Minutes to Midnight sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.[13] Some songs, before its release, were mislabeled for Tribal Ink's music.

The album's first single, "What I've Done" was released on April 2, and premiered on MTV and Fuse within the same week.[45] The single was acclaimed by listeners, becoming the top-ranked song on the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.[46] "Bleed It Out", the second single from Minutes to Midnight, was released August 20, 2007, slightly over a month before "Shadow of the Day", the third single, was released in the UK on October 8, and the U.S. on October 16. The album's fourth single, "Given Up", will be released on February 2008.

Linkin Park's touring and live shows have, among other things, included a performance at Live Earth Japan on July 7, 2007.[47] The band completed touring on their fourth Projekt Revolution tour before taking up an Arena tour around the United Kingdom, visiting Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester before finishing on a double night at the O2 Arena in London. They are now about to embark on a 19-show tour of North America.[48] Bennington stated that Linkin Park plans to release a "follow up album" to Minutes to Midnight.[49] However he stated the band will first embark on a United States tour to gather inspiration for the album.[49]

Style

Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora intertwined the nu metal and rap rock sound with influences and elements from hip-hop, alternative rock, and electronica, utilizing programming and synthesizers. William Ruhlmann from All Music Guide regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style,"[50] whereas Rolling Stone called "Breaking the Habit" "risky, beautiful art."[51]

In Minutes to Midnight the band experimented with their established sound and sees them drawing influences from a wider and more varied range of genres and styles, a process Los Angeles Times compares to a stage in U2's work.[52] In it, only two of the songs feature rapping. It also is their first studio album to feature guitar solos and to feature Mike Shinoda's singing, rather than rapping.

Linkin Park's use of two separate vocalists has become a large part of their music. Chester Bennington is most known for using growling and screaming vocals common in various forms of metal, while also using more melodic singing, and has placed 46th in Hit Paraders list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".[53] Mike Shinoda is the group's MC, and does all of the rapping. Mike has also done all of the backing vocals live, and in their latest album, Minutes to Midnight, he sings lead vocals on three songs: "In Between", "Hands Held High", and the b-side "No Roads Left". Shinoda has also been placed in Hit Parader's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" at number 72, along with lead singer Chester Bennington at number 46.[53]

Band members

MTV Thailand interviews Mike Shinoda in 2006
Current
Former
  • Mark Wakefield – Vocals (1996–1998, while the band was named Xero)
Stand-in

Discography

Main article: Linkin Park discography
Demos and EPs
Studio Albums
Live Albums and Remixes

Videography

Main article: Linkin Park videography
DVD/VHS

Notes and references

  1. ^ IGN, Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight, Retrived on January 27, 2008.
  2. ^ MetaCritic, Minutes To Midnight, , Retrived on January 27, 2008.
  3. ^ Marketwire.com, Linkin Park on top of the charts, Retrieved on June 07 2007
  4. ^ Rock On The Net, Grammy Awards: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Retrieved on June 99, 2007
  5. ^ Rock On The Net Grammy Awards: Best Hard Rock Performance, Retrieved on June 14, 2006
  6. ^ Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA Record Sales, Retrieved on June 13, 2007
  7. ^ Soundspike.com, Album Chart: Linkin Park’s ‘Meteora’ shoots to the top, Retrieved on March 19, 2007
  8. ^ Sinclair, Tom (March 28, 2003). "Meteora (2003)". Music Review. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  9. ^ a b MSN Music, Linkin Park: Biography, Retrieved on June 14, 2007
  10. ^ a b MTV.com, Mike Shinoda Says 'No New Linkin Park Album In 2006 After All', Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  11. ^ Powers, Ann (May 15, 2007). "Minutes to Midnight (Warner Bros.)". Pop Album Review. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  12. ^ Billboard.com, M2M holds the top slot for the current week, Retrieved on May 28 2007
  13. ^ a b Billboard.com, Linkin Park Scores Year's Best Debut With 'Midnight', Retrieved on May 28 2007
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m AskMen.com, Linkin Park – Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007 Cite error: The named reference "Ask-Bio" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Linkin Park Biography". Retrieved 23 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b c "Linkin Park - band history and biography". Retrieved 23 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rockdetector.com, Linkin Park – Rockdetector Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007
  18. ^ Livedaily.com, LiveDaily Interview: Linkin Park’s Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell Retrieved on March 20, 2007
  19. ^ a b c Lptimes.com, Band History Retrieved on March 20, 2007
  20. ^ "Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory released 24 October 2000". Retrieved 23 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Linkin Park fansite - Album release date". Retrieved 23 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ United Stations Radio Network, Linkin Park's Grammy Noms Are Icing On The Cake Retrieved on March 26, 2007
  23. ^ MTV.com, Linkin Park, P.O.D., Nickelback, More To Play LA’s KROQ Fest Retrieved on March 26, 2007
  24. ^ United Stations Radio Network, Linkin Park’s 'Reanimation' Set For July 30 Retrieved on March 26, 2007
  25. ^ Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park Remixes Chart With Number Two Debut Retrieved on March 26, 2007
  26. ^ Warner Bros. Records, "The Making of Meteora" (2003) [DVD], Released on March 25, 2003.
  27. ^ MTV.com, Linkin Park Get Their Tempers Under Control To Complete New LP Retrieved on June 10, 2006
  28. ^ Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park 'Meteora' Debuts At Number One, Sets Aside Tix For Military Retrieved on April 8, 2007
  29. ^ Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park Says 'Faint' Is Equal To Other Songs Retrieved on April 8, 2007
  30. ^ LAUNCH Radio Networks, Linkin Park Album Certified Triple Platinum Retrieved on April 8, 2007
  31. ^ VH1.com, Linkin Park : Biography Retrieved on April 8, 2007
  32. ^ a b Ringsurf.com, Linkin Park Awards Retrieved on April 4, 2007
  33. ^ Chartattack, Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor Rise To The Occasion Retrieved on April 23, 2007
  34. ^ Machine Shop, Fort Minor Biography Retrieved on April 23, 2007
  35. ^ Rolling Stone, Linkin, Warner Feud Rages Retrieved on May 12, 2007
  36. ^ Aversion, Linkin Park, Warner Bros. Kiss, Make Up Retrieved on May 12, 2007
  37. ^ Special Operations Warrior Foundation: News and Events Archive
  38. ^ VoaNews, Linkin Park Launches Relief Fund for Tsunami Victims; Backstreet Boys to Release New Album Retrieved on May 12, 2007
  39. ^ a b The Linkin Park Times, Live 8 Philadelphia 2005 Retrieved on May 12, 2007
  40. ^ About.com, Jay-Z and Linkin Park to Mash-Up Onstage at the Grammys, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  41. ^ Linkinpark.com, Linkin Park, Fort Minor at Summer Sonic in Japan, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  42. ^ MTV.com, Mike Shinoda Says Linkin Park Halfway Done With New Album, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  43. ^ MTV.com, Linkin Park Say Nu-Metal Sound Is 'Completely Gone' On Next LP, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  44. ^ Warner Bros. Records, Fans Counting the 'Minutes' as Linkin Park Reveal Album Name and Release Date, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  45. ^ Videostatic, MTV Adds for the Week of 4/2/07, Retrieved on December 19, 2007.
  46. ^ Billboard.com, Artist Chart History - Singles Retrieved on June 9, 2007
  47. ^ Billboard.com, Linkin Park, Local Stars Kickstart Live Earth Japan, Retrieved on July 12, 2007
  48. ^ Zvents.com, Win tickets to Linkin Park at Projekt Revolution Tour, Retrieved on July 25, 2007
  49. ^ a b Billboard.com, Linkin Park Plans Quick 'Midnight' Follow Up, Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
  50. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Allmusic.com allmusic ((( Hybrid Theory > Overview ))):, Retrieved on May 30, 2007
  51. ^ Rolling Stones Rolling Stone : Linkin Park: Meteora : Music Reviews:, Retrieved on May 30, 2007
  52. ^ Calendarlive.com, Linkin Park releases new album: 'Minutes to Midnight' Retrieved on May 30, 2007
  53. ^ a b RoadRunnerRecords.com, Rob Halford, Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Ozzy Are Among 'Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists' - Dec. 1, 2006, Retrieved on December 5, 2007.

Further reading

  • Saulmon, Greg. Linkin Park. Contemporary Musicians and Their Music. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2007. ISBN 1404207139.
  • Baltin, Steve. From The Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora. California: Bradson Press, 2004. ISBN 0960357416.
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