Linkin Park

Linkin Park

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, United States, formed in 1996 and active from 1996 to the present. The group is associated with alternative rock, metal, nu metal, rap metal, rap rock and rock, and it also draws on heavy metal, hip hop, electronic music and pop music. Its members include Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain, with Mark Wakefield, Rob Bourdon and Chester Bennington part of earlier lineups.

Formation and early years

The band begins with high school friends Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon and Brad Delson, who attend Agoura High School in Agoura Hills. After graduation they recruit Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell and Mark Wakefield and form a band called Xero. In 1997 the group releases a demo album titled Xero and plays live in Los Angeles venues including the Whisky a Go Go. After difficulties securing a recording contract, Wakefield leaves and Farrell temporarily departs to tour with other groups.

In 1999 Chester Bennington, formerly of Grey Daze, joins as lead vocalist. The group changes its name from Xero to Hybrid Theory and then to Linkin Park, a name that refers to Lincoln Park in Santa Monica. The spelling is altered so the band can obtain the domain name linkinpark.com. The band signs with Warner Bros. Records in 1999 and releases the Hybrid Theory EP the same year.

Breakthrough and major releases

Hybrid Theory, released in 2000, becomes a major commercial success and is certified Diamond by the RIAA. Singles including “One Step Closer”, “Crawling” and “In the End” receive heavy radio and television play, and “In the End” reaches number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The album wins the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for “Crawling” and is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album. The band tours extensively in support of the record and launches the Projekt Revolution tour series.

Linkin Park follows with the remix album Reanimation in 2002, featuring collaborations with Black Thought, Jonathan Davis, Aaron Lewis and Snoop Dogg. Meteora arrives in 2003 and debuts at number one on several international charts. Its singles include “Somewhere I Belong”, “Faint”, “Breaking the Habit” and “Numb”. The band also releases the live album and DVD Live in Texas in 2003.

Collaborations, side projects and stylistic changes

In 2004 Linkin Park works with Jay-Z on the remix EP Collision Course, which includes the Grammy-winning single “Numb/Encore”. Mike Shinoda also forms the side project Fort Minor, which releases The Rising Tied in 2005. The band participates in charitable work including Music for Relief and performs at the Live 8 concerts in 2005.

Minutes to Midnight is released in 2007 and is produced by Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda. It marks a shift away from the group’s earlier nu metal sound and includes “What I’ve Done”, “Bleed It Out”, “Shadow of the Day” and “Leave Out All the Rest”. “What I’ve Done” appears in the film Transformers. The band supports the album with the Minutes to Midnight World Tour and further Projekt Revolution shows.

In 2009 Linkin Park collaborates with Hans Zimmer on the score for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and releases “New Divide” for the film. A Thousand Suns follows in 2010, with a more experimental approach and a stronger emphasis on electronic music and conceptual themes. Singles include “The Catalyst”, “Waiting for the End” and “Iridescent”. Living Things appears in 2012, combines elements from earlier and later phases of the band’s sound, debuts at number one in the United States, and includes “Burn It Down”, “Lost in the Echo” and “Castle of Glass”.

In 2013 the band works with Steve Aoki on “A Light That Never Comes” and releases the remix album Recharged. The Hunting Party follows in 2014 as a heavier rock-focused album with guest appearances by Rakim, Tom Morello, Daron Malakian and Page Hamilton. Its singles include “Guilty All the Same”, “Until It’s Gone”, “Wastelands” and “Final Masquerade”. The band performs Hybrid Theory in full at Download Festival in 2014 and headlines several international music festivals.

Later work, Bennington’s death and return

One More Light is released in 2017 and moves toward a more pop-oriented sound. Singles include “Heavy”, “Battle Symphony”, “Good Goodbye” and “Invisible”. Chester Bennington dies in 2017, after which the band cancels the remaining dates of the One More Light World Tour and later stages the tribute concert Linkin Park and Friends: Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The live album One More Light Live is released later that year, and the band then enters a hiatus.

During the hiatus, Linkin Park releases anniversary editions of Hybrid Theory and Meteora, including previously unreleased songs such as “She Couldn’t”, “Lost” and “Fighting Myself”. By 2019, Shinoda, Farrell, Hahn and Delson are working on new music. Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain later join the project, and in 2024 the band releases the previously unreleased song “Friendly Fire” and the compilation album Papercuts.

In 2024 Linkin Park officially announces its return with Armstrong as co-vocalist and Brittain as drummer. The band releases “The Emptiness Machine” and announces From Zero, which arrives in 2024 and draws together elements from earlier and later parts of the band’s style. Singles from the album include “Heavy Is the Crown”, “Over Each Other” and “Two Faced”. Additional songs linked to a deluxe edition include “Up From the Bottom”, “Unshatter” and “Let You Fade”.

Awards, recognition and touring

Linkin Park has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and receives two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, ten MTV Europe Music Awards and three World Music Awards. In 2003 MTV2 ranks the band sixth among bands of the music video era and third among artists of the new millennium. Billboard places the group at number 19 on its Best Artists of the Decade list, and in 2014 Kerrang! describes it as the biggest rock band in the world at that time.

Following its return, the band tours internationally in 2024 and announces a larger stadium and arena tour for 2025. Brad Delson later says he no longer tours with the group and focuses on studio and behind-the-scenes work, with Alex Feder performing live in his place. Linkin Park also performs at the 2025 UEFA Champions League final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.