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Tom Mattson's Self Written Biography of Linkin Park: Linkin Park's music is incredibly unique. Unlike most bands of today, they dont just try to copy what others have done in order to get an easy ride to success. Instead, Linkin Park has created a sound all their own. Their music has incredibly catchy beats that you can get stuck in your head for days at a time. And then to back up the beat, are the emotionaly driven vocals that seem to come straight from their soul and into yours. The songs have hip hop elements in them, while also throwing in the hard core rock and electronic industrial sounds. Plus the vocals arent the hellraising blood curtling screams that are in so much music nowadays, showing that the vocalists in Linkin Park actually have some form of skill, and are capable of more than screaming. Brad and Mike attended the same highschool togeter where Brad also met Rob. Mike then went to the Pasadena Art Center where he studied Painting. While he was there he met Joe. Next Chester came into the picture to complete the Linkin Park lineup and to form what was to be one of the best up and coming bands in the world today. Then they began to perform shows and get a huge underground following. They hooked up with Warner Brothers and are recording their first album titled "Hybrid Theory". Producing the album is Don Gilmore (Eve 6, Lit, Pearl Jam). Linkin Park is growing as songwriters every day. Each song they write bring them "One Step Closer" to being the chart toppers that they deserve to be. Official Warner Brothers Biography of Linkin Park: Ask Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson for a wish-list of bands he’d like to tour with, and he’s ready with a response. "We told our manager, ‘Pick a band and we can tour with them.’ Our music reaches out in so many directions that there’s pretty much an unlimited amount of cool bands with which we could play.." Delson is understandably proud of the diversity and uniqueness apparent on the band’s debut album, Hybrid Theory (the band’s original name). Built on an aggressive hard rock foundation, flavored with hip-hop vocal stylings and electronic flourishes, Linkin Park’s sound is utterly their own, an accomplishment strengthened by the band’s remarkably powerful and unforced songwriting. But almost everything about Linkin Park has been unforced, including their Southern California origins. Delson and emcee/vocalist Mike Shinoda attended the same high school together, where Delson also met the band’s drummer, Rob Bourdon. Shinoda then hooked up with DJ 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 sixteen. "Since I learned how to talk I’ve been telling everybody I was gonna grow up to be a singer," laughs Bennington. "When I was two, I used to run around singing Foreigner songs – there’s tapes of me doing that." The combination of Bennington’s rich, mammoth vocal style clicked immediately with Shinoda’s streetwise emceeing. "I think one of Chester and Mike’s goals is to be as integrated as possible," offers Delson. "We want our sound to come across so that people go, ‘oh, that’s Linkin Park,’ not ‘I heard this hip-hop part, and now they’re hitting me over the head with this rock chorus.’ We want everything to have dynamics, but also a continuous cohesive flavor, so that you know what band you’re listening to." It was that cohesive style and instantly memorable songs that attracted immediate attention, starting with a publishing offer after the band’s very first show at L.A.’s famed Whisky. After showcasing around town and eventually inking with Warner Bros., the band began work on their first album with producer Don Gilmore (Eve 6, Lit, Pearl Jam). "We met with a lot of people and had a very difficult time deciding," says Shinoda. "But Don, aside from making things sound good, stood out as someone who could really push us further as songwriters. The end result is an album that’s as well-crafted and melodic as it is confrontational, with a strong lyrical message. "We try to push real things through in our lyrics; whether it’s feeling insignificant or questioning your own thoughts or discovering the dark side of yourself." Weaving influences as diverse as Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Aphex Twin, and The Roots into a single unified whole, Linkin Park and Hybrid Theory are living proof that a fresh combination of talent, an unwavering dedication to craft, and a pure artistic vision can result in a powerful musical statement. "I’ve wanted to do this my whole life, and I feel really blessed to be here," says Bennington. "A lot of hard work and dedication and faith can get you through anything and make it happen." |
