As with many bands, Linkin Park started out as a group of friends with distant dreams of making it big in the music world. In this case, the friends were vocalist Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson and drummer Rob Bourdon, and in contrast to most dreamers, they possessed the drive and talent to ultimately turn their dreams into reality.

All three boys attended the same high school in Agoura Hills, California; they frequently gathered to hang out and have jam sessions. Upon graduation the trio expanded their musical circle to include DJ Joseph Hahn and bassist Dave ‘Phoenix’ Farrell, also adding vocalist Mark Wakefield to the mix and by 1996 they began laying down tracks in Shinoda’s bedroom studio.

Naming themselves Xero, their music fell on deaf ears despite their hard work and they were never signed – distressed with the lack of momentum, Wakefield left the band and if not for Shinoda’s persistence, the story may have ended there and then. Shinoda advertised for a replacement vocalist and received interest from Chester Bennington, an Arizona native, who possessed high-pitched vocals and frenetic energy. He proved to be a perfect fit. Bennington suggested that they change their name to ‘Lincoln Park’, after a public park he regularly passed in Santa Monica. After discovering that the domain name www.lincolnpark.com was already taken, the name was simply changed to ‘Linkin Park’ instead.

They recorded their debut album ‘Hybrid Theory’ which attracted industry interest and the content was crude by their current standards, but by 1999 Linkin Park had been signed by Warner Brothers Records to a modest contract. After the albums release, positive reviews came flooding in and Rolling Stone magazine called it “12 songs of compact fire” and readers voted Linkin Park ‘Best Hard Rock/Metal Band of the Year’. ‘Hybrid Theory’s’ extraordinary success resulted in a series of prime touring opportunities including Ozzfest and their own tour project, Projekt Revolution; in all they performed a staggering 324 live shows in 2001.

Fortunately the hard work paid off as the band continued to collect awards and in 2002 Linkin Park made headlines again with the release of ‘Reanimation’, an album featuring remixes from ‘Hybrid Theory’. 2003 marked the release of the band’s next studio album ‘Meteora’ and the wildly, inventive album pushed the boys to their creative limits, featuring live strings, piano, complex beats and even Japanese flutes.

“Mike is a computer whiz, and a formally-trained musician. Chester brings the rawness – the emotion that needs to come out. They compliment each other that way. It’s a true ying-yang thing.” Joseph Hahn.

They shared the stage with metal luminaries Metallica and the experience led to the creation of a CD/DVD set called ‘Live In Texas’. Linkin Park stayed on the road for much of 2004 splitting their time between their own Meteora World Tour, part of Projekt Revolution 2004. Before the year was up, they released ‘Collision Course’, a collaboration with Jay-Z featuring mash-ups from ‘Meteora’ and ‘Hybrid Theory’. Another partnership with Jay-Z occurred in July 2005 when they performed on the star-studded Live 8 bill in Philadelphia.

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 and by August 2006 had completed half the album. Bennington stated that the new album would stray away from their previous nu-metal sound and after initially announcing that ‘Minutes To Midnight’ would be released in May 2007, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original 17 tracks. It was eventually released 14 months after the first recording began.

So what makes Linkin Park so popular? They are in a class of their own when it comes to musical ingenuity. The California rockers seamlessly blend alternative metal, hip-hop and turntable art into a cohesive, award-winning mixture that demands multiple listenings. The Grammy-winning rockers are the face of nu-metal, single handedly revitalizing the genre with their innovative music and video clips – if you haven’t seen their videos on MTV, you’ve likely heard their songs in films such as The Matrix Reloaded, Little Nicky and Dracula 2000.

In the words of Rolling Stone, they “growl like angry dogs roused from sleep” and yet their lyrics convey great emotional depth and insight. They bust out wicked hip-hop grooves, yet some of their songs also feature strings and piano – Linkin Park are also famously animated.

“I’ve always wanted our show to be energetic. We use drum pads, samplers and turntables with original vinyl to perform all the sample parts live on stage, which I think brings an exciting uniqueness to the songs.” Joseph Hahn

Awards to be proud of:

** Favourite Alternative Artist – American Music 
     Award (2004)
** Best Rock Act – MTV Europe 
     Award (2004)
** Song Of The Year – Rock Radio 
     Radio Music Award (2004)
** Artist Of The Year – Rock Radio  
     Radio Music Award (2004)
** Viewer’s Choice Award for ‘Breaking 
     The Habit’ – MTV Video Music Award (2004)

** Best Rock Group – World Music 
     Award (2003)
** Favourite Alternative Artist  
     American Music Award (2003)
** Best Rock Video ‘Somewhere I 
     Belong’ – MTV Video Music Award (2003)

** Best Hard Rock Performance 
     ‘Crawling’ – Grammy Award (2002)
** World’s Best Selling Rock Group  
      World Music Award (2002)
** Best Hard Rock Act  
     MTV Music Award (2002)
** Best Group – MTV Music 
     Award (2002)
** Best Rock Video ‘In The End’  
     MTV Video Music Award (2002)
** Best Group – Hard Rock  
     MTV Europe Music Award (2002)
** Best Foreign Rock Group  
     Swedish Hit Music Award (2002)
** Best International Nu-Metal/Alternative 
     Artist – ECHO Award (2002)

** Best Foreigner Artist of The Year  
     Finland’s Emma Award (2001)
** Best International Newcomer  
     Kerrang Award (2001)