Linkin Park Biography
In 1996, in Los Angeles, California USA, vocalist + rapper Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, bass player Darren 'Phoenix' Farrell and drummer Rob Bourdon started a band called Xero; Shinoda then hooked up with DJ + turntablist Joseph Hahn while studying painting at the Pasadena Art Center. The final piece in the puzzle was singer Chester Bennington, a transplanted Arizona native who started making records when he was 16. A short while later, Farrell left to tour with another band; Xero then renamed themselves to Hybrid Theory, started writing new material and recorded their self-titled 6-track EP in 1999. After resolving a legal issue with another band concerning their name, the group, newly named Linkin Park, were finally signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2000.
In October, that same year, was released their first full-length disc,
a 12-track set entitled "Hybrid Theory", like their former band
name; the explosive mix of Industrial Alternative-Metal Rap-Metal made
them truly unique and the band themselves were getting increasing media
attention. Tour dates were selling out; within five weeks of "Hybrid
Theory"'s release, the album had been certified gold by the RIAA,
signifying 500,000 units sold and launching the crew into the top 20 of
the U.S. Albums chart; by this time, founding member bassist Darren 'Phoenix'
Farrell had returned to the line-up and before the year's end, the album
hit #2 on The Billboard Top 200 chart. It included "One Step Closer"
which rose to #5 on The Modern Rock Tracks and #4 on The Mainstream Rock
chart.
The next year, the album, went 8 times platinum following the success
of "In The End" which hit #1 on The Modern Rock chart and #2
on The Billboard Hot 100; the album also contained two more Modern Rock
top 40 hits, "Papercut" and "Runaway", plus the massive
smash hit "Crawling", which crashed into the top 5 on both Billboard's
Rock charts and won them a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Linkin
Park achieved worldwide fame with just one album which the group supported
with over 300 shows; "Hybrid Theory" ended up selling 19 million
copies all over the world.
In July 2002 Linkin Park issued the remix-album "Reanimation" which peaked at #2 in U.S. while the re-worked and re-titled track "Pts. Of. Athrty" entered the top 30 of The Modern Rock chart.
The band's proper sophomore outing "Meteora", followed one and a half year later, in March 2003; the first single, "Somewhere I Belong", went straight to the #1 spots on both Modern and Mainstream Rock charts and the album shot to the top of the U.S. Billboard Top 200; a few weeks later became #1 in several European countries, #2 in Canada and Australia. The CD spawned a staggering four more #1 Modern Rock hit singles: "Faint", "Breaking The Habit", "Lying From You" and "Numb". Linkin Park continued to tour extensively sharing the stage with the likes of Metallica, Mudvayne, Blindside, Limp Bizkit and Deftones.
In the fall of 2004 was released "Collision Course", a collaboration
album between Jay Z and Linkin Park which hit #1 on The Billboard 200
and included the top 40 single "Numb/Encore", the song eventually
earned the artists a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
Mike Shinoda started the band Fort Minor
as a side-project and in late 2005 he decided to finally release his long
dreamed about Rap album, "The Rising Tied".
After 14 months in the studio, Linkin Park released, "Minutes To Midnight", in May 2007. The first single off the CD, "What I've Done", debuted straight at #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, it was only the third song ever to do so; the track also hit #7 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Active Rock charts. With their third album, once again, the band topped the charts in every corner of the globe; in U.S. the second single, "Bleed It Out", peaked at #2 on The Hot Modern Rock chart and at #3 on The Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks; also the follow-up, "Shadow Of The Day", fell just shy of the #1 spot on The Hot Modern Rock Tracks and "Given Up" broke into the top 5 on both Billboard's Rock charts. The final single, "Leave Out All The Rest", reached the #11 position on The Hot Modern Rock airplay chart.
In mid-2009 the heavy-Rock powerhouse group returned at #1 on the Modern
and Active Rock charts with "New Divide", a single lifted off
the soundtrack to the summer blockbuster action film "Transformers:
Revenge Of The Fallen".
In October of that same year, Dead
By Sunrise, the side-project of Chester Bennington, put out its debut
album: "Out Of Ashes".
Linkin Park issued their fourth studio album, "A Thousand Suns", in September 2010; it debuted at #1 in Astralia, Canada, U.S. and several European charts, although its numbers didn't match those of the band's previous offering. The disc included two Billboard's Alternative Songs #1 hits: "The Catalyst" and "Waiting For The End", the latter of which also stopped just short of #1 on The Rock Songs chart. The final single, "Iridescent", reached the #19 spot on The Alternative Songs chart.
The sextet made their return with "Living Things", in June 2012, a personal album centered on human emotions and relationships implied by the title, which easily debuted at the top of The Billboard 200 and on the Canadian Albums list. Lead single, "Burn It Down", hit #1 on both Alternative and Active Rock charts. The subsequent two singles, "Lost In The Echo" and "Castle Of Glass", fared less well, falling outside the top 10 of The Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
October 2013 saw Linkin Park release its second remix album called "Recharged", a collection of new interpretations of songs from their most recent studio outing. The set included the Alternative radio top 10 hit single "A Light That Never Comes", recorded in collaboration with EDM musical genius, Steve Aoki.
Latest News:
In anticipation of their upcoming studio album, the group have released a single titled "Guilty All The Same" which features New York legendary rapper Rakim.
