Hybrid Theory

Performer: Linkin Park
Engineer: Don Gilmore; Mike Shinoda; Steve Sisco
Producer: Don Gilmore
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Linkin Park: Mike Shinoda (vocals, programming, samples); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, bass, background vocals); Rob Bourdon (drums, background vocals); Joseph Hahn (turntables, programming). Additional personnel includes: Ian Hornbeck, Scott Koziol (bass); The Dust Brothers (programming). Recorded at NRG Recordings, North Hollywood, California. "Crawling" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Personnel: Mike Shinoda (vocals, sampler); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, background vocals); Rob Bourdon (drums, background vocals); Joseph Hahn (sampler, background vocals). Audio Mixer: Andy Wallace. Recording information: NRG Recordings, North Hollywood, CA. Illustrator: Joseph Hahn. Photographer: James Minchin. Linkin Park's mixture of metal, industrial rock, and rap fits comfortably into the niche created by the likes of Kid Rock, Korn, and Limp Bizkit. The opening "Papercut" is every bit as angular and unavoidable as its title. "With You" opens with electronic squeaks and squiggles before leaping into a mix of heavy guitar riffs and hip-hop rhythms. "Crawling" bears a largely subdued tone and atmospheric synth coloring that provides a respite from the crushing riffs and grinding rhythms that typify HYBRID THEORY, but even this relatively sedate song is full of tension and sonic angst. The five young men of Linkin Park are on a mission to communicate their inner turmoil through a non-stop barrage of confrontational lyrics and aggressive aural constructions, and their debut gets the point across with alacrity.

Q (1/03, p.56) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (1/01, p.111) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Giving angst-ridden rock...an effective electronic spin....Throw in the contrasting vocal interplay of gruff rapper Mike Shinoda and crooner Chester Bellington, hooks you could land a whale with and Fred Durst-style earnestness and [the group] shine like the proverbial diamond in excrement..." CMJ (11/20/00, p.22) - "...a solid hit machine, combining the catchy with the crisp, the melodic with the monstrous..." Melody Maker (11/14/00, p.51) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...An absolutely storming debut....packing more punch than Lennox Lewis armed with a rolled up copy of well...Punch....Award this album the red baseball cap of merit..." NME (Magazine) (1/13/01, p.35) - 6 out of 10 - "...There is innovation here..."

Californian sextet Linkin Park simultaneously took inspiration from and expanded upon the hybrid of heavy rock, hip-hop, and electronics that made such bands as Korn and Limp Bizkit so successful at the tail end of the 1990s. The band's 2000 debut HYBRID THEORY racked up both album sales and Grammy nominations, and won a widespread audience for Linkin Park's combination of hard rock guitar, turntablism, and rap, while neatly avoiding disparaging comparisons to the aforementioned rap-rock outfits. In 2004 they took their status as rap-rock kingpins to its logical summit and collaborated with Jay-Z for the album COLLISION COURSE, which debuted at number one. They have been scoring awards and soaring up the charts with consistency ever since, while still allowing room for growth and experimentation as a band.

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