Linkin Park

Linkin Park is a truly unique band. They are not just Rock, Rap, or
Electronica band. They comprimise of a veritable mixture of different styles
and stylists in music, This makes them a hybrid in the type of music they
play and their fan-base too. We are true lovers of Linkin Park

Linkin Park's origin began in 1996 when rapper guitarist Brad Delson and the
infamouis Mike Shinoda started a band called Xero. Other members of the
band were Mark Wakefield the vocalist, Joseph
Hahn the DJ, Rob Bourdon the drummer, and "Phoenix" Farrell the bassist.
Xero made a four track demo tape including: Fuse, Stick N' Move, Rhinestone,
and Reading My Eyes.

When Mark Wakefield left the band, they changed their name to Hybrid
Theory. Later "Phoenix" chose to leave the band to tour with another band,
called"The Snax". The rest of the gang continued to play together primarily
for fun. They later, signed with Zomba Music an occasion that came about
when they played at The Whiskey Club in Los Angeles. The final addition to
the band came in the form of Chester Bennington.

Magical Chester, in our humble opinion, was absolutely the missing catalyst.
His extra-ordinary voice lets him deliver the lyrics at a gentle yet
aggressive pace. He can hit pitch notes like no other. Chester humbly even
blames this on "years of singing" and "scar tissue". We absolutely love him.

His arrival completed the Band. Thus in 1999 Carousel, And One, Technique,
Step up, High Voltage & Part of me were born as a six track EP, to
tremendous applause.

Some legal wrangling made it necessary to change the band's name. True to
their "hybrid' spirit Linkin Park was chosen. Members drove by Lincoln Park
regularly so why not use a similar sounding, unique name. Chester has been
recorded to say he wanted a name which was unique, "where the music could
define the name rather than the name define the music". Phoneix pulled a
mythical rebirth and rejoined the band fulfilling his destiny. New demos
were made and the chase for a record label was on. Warner Records were lucky
to hear the music, like it and sign up Linkin Park. A massive page in their
history was written.

Linkin Park released their debut album, Hybrid Theory In October 2000,. Hits
like One Step Closer, Crawling, and In The End were born. Hybrid Theory
eventually received 8x platinum. Hybrid Theory does not follow a trend set
up by a lot of other bands in that it doesn't contain any curses or swear
words. This was because the band wanted to write lyrics honestly and they
thought that unnecessary swear words take away attention from the music.
They wanted something that the public could listen to over and over again
and enjoy repeatedly. At it's completion they felt they had achieved this
feat with Hybrid Theory.

After Hybrid Theory was released, Linkin Park's fame permitted them to tour
all over the world. They toured with bands like POD, 3 Doors Down, and
System Of a Down.

July of 2002, saw LP release the Hybrid Theory Remix album, Reanimation.
These remixes included talent from rappers like Black Thought and 20 tracks
were cut.

In March of 2003, LP released their 2nd year album, Meteora. This album
includes hits like Somewhere I Belong, Numb,, and Faint. Included on Meteora
and Reanimation were ground breaking extras. They contained enhanced
portions. These parts of the discs included videos and other extra 'goodies"
fans could view on their PC. The band wanted to use technology and let the
fans to see the process of making albums . This helped them share all the
"Blood, Sweat and Tears," they put into making the albums .

Linkin Park has won numerous awards including an award at the VMAs. Their
popularity has grown world-wide. They are now truly international with a
multitude of fans. From their hybrid genres to their non offensive
swear-free lyrics, to their use of turntables and samples, Linkin Park cover
a truly versatile ground and provide an entertaining and unique performance

Current:
* Chester Bennington - vocals (1999-present)
* Rob Bourdon - drums, percussion (1996-present)
* Brad Delson - lead guitar (1996-present)
* Dave Farrell - bass guitar, backing vocals (1996-1998, 2001-present)
* Joe Hahn - turntables, programming, samples (1996-present)
* Mike Shinoda - MC, vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1996-present)
Former:
*Mark Wakefield - vocals (1996-1998)
Session:
* Kyle Christener - bass guitar (1998-1999)
* Scott Koziol - bass guitar (1999-2001)

Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora combined 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 Allmusic regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style," whereas Rolling Stone called "Breaking the Habit" "risky, beautiful art".

In Minutes to Midnight the band experimented with their established sound and drew 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. In it, only two of the songs feature rapping, and the majority of the album can be considered alternative rock, rather than nu metal or rap rock. It also is their first studio album to feature guitar solos.

In concert the band have covered songs by artists as varied as The Cure, Deftones, Guns n' Roses, Nine Inch Nails, and Rihanna.[citation needed]

Linkin Park's use of two separate vocalists has become a large part of their music. Chester Bennington is most known for using screaming vocals common in various forms of metal and hardcore, while also using more melodic singing, and was placed 46th in Hit Paraders list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".

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 "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.

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington has told that he is "honoured" to be playing Knebworth as part of the Sonisphere festival this summer.
His band and Metallica will headline the new touring rock festival, which includes a stop at the English stately home and famous rock concert venue.

Both bands top the bill at Sonisphere, which visits Holland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Finland before finishing up at the legendary site on the weekend of August 1-2.

"As I've become aware of the awesome bands who have played Knebworth over the years I realise what an honour it will be for Linkin Park. This is definitely one of the big ones," he said of the venue which has hosted massive shows from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Oasis.
"You have to work on earning the respect of the fans in the UK," he added. "I would say the experiences over the years playing festivals over there, the audiences actually get better and better each time.

"I think it will be amazing to come out and play this festival. Obviously we're huge fans of Metallica as well. We've had the pleasure of playing with them on a number of occasions. We get on really well with Metallica and its so much fun to play with Metallica."

The singer hinted that Sonisphere might see the band debut some all-new material.

"I can't promise because we're still writing," said Bennington, "but I'm going to put it out there that you might hear some new stuff from us."