GET TO KNOW: Linkin Park
- Mariia Bulkina
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
Anyone who isn’t familiar with LINKIN PARK, past and present, must be living under a rock. Titans of nu metal, they wrote some of the world’s most renowned and iconic heavy albums, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, after all. But this is by far not the only thing they’ve got to offer — with over two decades behind their back, they keep shapeshifting at every step. Finally reunited after Chester Bennington’s tragic death put life on hold for years, the band teaches us how grief and the legacy of the past can coexist with the joy we can still find in the present.
Originally called XERO, the band was formed by Mike Shinoda and his school friends in Agoura Hills, CA. Releasing their first mixtapes produced in a bedroom studio, XERO’s first ever show back in 1997 was in support of none other than SYSTEM OF A DOWN. Chester was a late addition to the mix, first recruited as an outsider, but soon enough bonding very strongly with the group. The label soon even tried to force the singer to fire Shinoda from the band, to which he thankfully protested.
Hybrid Theory was finally released as the millennium rolled around, and quite definitively split life for LINKIN PARK into before and after. With almost 5 million copies in the first year, it became the best-selling album of 2001. Such a rapid rise to world domination is hardly possible anymore, but back then, it was clear to everyone: this band is something special. With flyers put around by self-organised fans, the movement later grew into an official Linkin Park Underground club, still alive to this day. Even then, the band could not sit still for a moment, playing over 320 shows in one year, which included putting on their own festival-style tour called Projekt Revolution. Throughout the 00s, it had a massive couple of runs, inviting acts like KORN and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.
Their sophomore album, Meteora (2003), was no less influential, similar in genre but with even more quirky infusions of different instruments and DJ techniques. From then on, LINKIN PARK just kept experimenting — and a tale as old as time — people kept judging them for it. Minutes to Midnight (2007) already invited plenty of criticism both for pushing the boundaries and straying away from nu metal, despite having some of their heaviest songs on it.
Coming right after, A Thousand Suns (2010) was what truly divided the crowd. The album is largely electronic, infused with softer synths and long interludes. It also centres on more political topics, such as the disasters of nuclear warfare. Mike Shinoda addresses the criticism eloquently on one of the singles When They Come for Me: 'Stop talking, start tryna catch up motherfucker' — this line will be as relevant as ever with anything LINKIN PARK do.
The band kept fluctuating between leaning more into their electronic (Living Things, 2012) or heavy sides (The Hunting Party, 2014) from then on. The latter even served as a brief return to their metal roots, although it was still unable to satisfy the older fans at that point. One More Light (2017) is the last album featuring Chester, released just two months before his passing. Even though genre-wise it might be as pop as it gets, it still keeps the true LINKIN PARK essence with the lyrics. Overall, no matter how much they experiment around the soundboard, it will always somehow make sense altogether as being LINKIN PARK.
Of course, the legacy the group have left is immeasurable; even a regular person who doesn’t listen to heavy metal has probably heard and loved some of their songs. They have been cited as the biggest inspiration for so many artists that followed, including BRING ME THE HORIZON, EVANESCENCE, and PAPA ROACH, to name a few. One of the crucial elements here is the band’s openness about mental health issues, uniting so many people through their own struggles. LINKIN PARK, and Chester in particular, were one of the first to write about depression and addiction in such depth, not shying away even from the ugliest aspects.
Even though we are far removed from the spirit of the 00s, with LINKIN PARK, it seems as if no matter how old they get, they will look and sound as youthful as ever before. Both completely unexpected and long-awaited, their comeback in late 2024 brought smiles not only to many of our faces but to the members themselves. At all of the shows since then, Mike Shinoda has been brimming with joy, seeing how they brought together the fans of different generations. Those who missed them dearly, those who never got a chance to experience LINKIN PARK live before, those who became fans just a couple days ago.
It is impossible to forget Emily Armstrong, the fresh voice fronting the band along with Mike Shinoda. This turn of events attracted yet another wave of criticism, partly simply because of her gender, which is somehow still a point of contention. Still, LINKIN PARK continues to move forward, their decision to take a queer woman to represent the band proving to be an important step for a lot of the wider fan community.
From Zero (2024) is the band’s most recent work, serving as both a reflection point and a new beginning. Its sound is a mixture of all the different versions of LINKIN PARK that were, encompassing both the heaviest and the lightest elements. Short but sweet, it takes you through their journey, blending in all the genres seamlessly, like they know how to. This album might be a perfect introduction for someone who is not familiar with the band but wants to get a quick taste before catching them at a festival this summer.
Catch Linkin Park headlining Download this summer.
Words: Mariia Bulkina
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