Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson knew each other from high school. They attended a concert in 1991 together of the thrash metal band Anthrax, along with the hip-hop group Public Enemy it was to be the key event for starting a band.

Shinoda and Delson agreed on adding Rob Bourdon as a drummer, and later met Joseph Hahn - who studied art with Shinoda - to the band. David Farrell, a roommate of Delson, completed the band temporarily. Singer of the band was first Mark Wakefield, who, however, after uploading a demo, left. The band members were looking for a versatile substitute, whom they found with Chester Bennington. They asked him to sing their demo and Bennington locked himself for three days in a small studio to do so. He played the band's demo over the phone and became a member of the band. Bennington quit his job and moved with his wife from Arizona to California to be able to concentrate fully on the band.

Linkin Park were named at its founding in 1996 Xero. Due to possible legal problems (it already existed another band by that name) was a second name change made and the parties agreed to Linkin Park.

This name goes back to the Lincoln Park in Santa Monica, which now has a different name.

The variation in the spelling of Linkin Park was purely pragmatic, because the band wanted to secure a dot Com domain name. 

Music

Linkin Park put on their first albums mainly different elements of metal and rap in, and put this in contrast to pop-like melodic lines. In interviews they said that their goal was to introduce hip-hop to metal and vice versa.

Lyrics and visual design

Lyrically, the songs turn mostly to negative feelings, relationship conflicts, internal problems and the struggle of their management. Quiet sections alternate with hard bodies, the singers range from melodic singing, systematic Rap to wild cries. The text made a certain percentage but also typical rap lyrics that address what the lifestyle of hip-hop is like. Unlike many other nu-metal bands they completely eliminated the use of foul language. This changed with the release of Minutes to Midnight, which was the first Linkin Park album what had a "Parental Advisory" sticker.

The band is very particular about the design of their music videos and graphics for CD covers, website, etc. One consequence of this is the creative participation of the fans at the overall picture of the band, for example, through extensive art fans .

Awards

Linkin Park has been awarded numerous music awards, a small selection will be shown below:

   Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Crawling 2002

   German Echo Music Award 2001

   MTV Video Music Award for In The End 2002

   MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 for Best Rock

   World Music Award 2003

   MTV Video Music Awards for Somewhere I Belong 2003

   MTV Europe Music Awards 2004 for Best Rock

   MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 as the Best Group Video (Breaking  The Habit) and Best Collaboration Video (Numb / Encore)

   Grammy for Numb / Encore for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration with Jay-Z 2006

   MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 as Best Band

   Echo 2008 as the best international band "

   MTV Video Music Awards 2008 Best Rock Video (Shadow of the Day)

   MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 as Best World Stage live performance 

    SoundScan / Billboard as a best-selling band of the decade

   MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 for Best Live Act

By Melanie Bradley

Linkin Park free Tablature

• A Place for my Head

• By Myself

• Papercut

• Without You

Linkin Park Merchandise

Looking to re-create the success of Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park are once again teaming up with super-producer Rick Rubin for their fourth album, A Thousand Suns. Lyricists: Chester Bennington; Mike Shinoda. Personnel: Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda (vocals); Rob Bourdon, Dave "Phoenix" ...

Import only 2010 release featuring demo recordings made between 1998 and 2007. LPU9: Demos is a rarities CD which features nine unreleased demo versions of some of the band's biggest hits including 'Faint,' 'Breaking The Habit,' and 'Leave Out All ...

"Crawling" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Additional personnel includes: Ian Hornbeck, Scott Koziol (bass); The Dust Brothers (programming). Recorded at NRG Recordings, North Hollywood, California. Personnel: Mike Shinoda (vocals, sampler); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, background vocals); ...