With lines like “ I'm tired of being what you want me to be/ Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface / Don't know what you're expecting of me / Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes," the song is a cry for help and acceptance from parents that resonates with youngsters across generations. 'Numb ,' from their second album Meteora, is one of their most famous songs, and fittingly acquires cult status because of how instantly relatable it is to young adults a crushing plea to parents about their overvaulting expectations. The band presented vulnerability as an accepted state of mind and being, giving vent to so many college-goers who found validation through their music. Accustomed to the drop C# or D tuning that as was typical of nu metal bands of the time, Linkin Park’s songs did not hesitate from lyrically and melodically going to deeper, darker spaces. Opening with simple chords before the powerful guitars kick in - almost prepping the fans to start jumping along to the riffs. If the riffs were instantly recognisable, so were the guitar-playing formulae. And the piano riff has over the years evokes a Pavlovian response from fans who only need to hear the chords before taking over vocal responsibilities. Bennington sounds hurt, angry even, as he oscillates between painful realisation and outright screaming only to be ably punctuated by Shinoda’s energetic rapping. Over two decades have passed, yet even today the opening piano riffs of ' In the End' - Linkin Park’s most successful and recognisable song - serves as a clarion call for frenzied head-banging, even as fans sing along to every single word of the chorus. If the vocal chemistry between them defined the band’s sonic palette, then the rest of the instrumentalists’ role bolstered Linkin Park’s identity in ways that impacted us listeners rather subliminally. Hybrid Theory ’s overwhelming success spawned a generation of musicians who were inspired by the same nu metal sound, and generations of fans who took to the unabashed back and forth between Bennington’s rock vocals and Shinoda’s rap style. Īmplified power chords, a guttural bassline, and frenetic rapping set the tone for the most heartfelt of lyrics to be screamed out throughout the album. Unflinchingly committed to their concept for the album, the band held its ground and its members, to record what went on to be one of their most historic records: Hybrid Theory. If that was not enough, there were prompts from the label to side-line Shinoda’s rapping predilection so that Bennington to helm a more rock-sounding record.ĭestiny, of course, had other plans. Legend has it that Warner Bros’ A&R executive was not too excited about the band’s rock-meets-hiphop identity, instead asking them to focus on being more pure rock. Twenty-five-years ago, Linkin Park was formed by three high school friends from Los Anegles - Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon, before Chester Bennington joined them on lead vocals duty. Straddling the rebellious and the reflective since a quarter of a century, the band has provided a robust soundtrack in our lives, often giving us an opportunity to scream out what pains us. And as its audience grew, so did Linkin Park’s music. Its range of themes, bending of genres, powerful riffs, and intense vocal interplay, gave a voice to generation after generation of young adults. The band was a willing conduit of one’s coming of age. Still, the statistics pale in comparison with the band’s legacy in our consciousness: For children of the '90s, Linkin Park was an outlet for angst, frustration, heartbreak.
Apart from being among the best-selling bands of the 21 st century, this six-time Grammy-winning band is credited with having sold over 100 million records around the world.
There are many accolades one associates with American rock outfit Linkin Park.
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