Chester Bennington of Linkin Park Talks ‘Hybrid Theory’ Days

2016-07-22

Story by Anne Erickson

Chester Bennington says Linkin Park’s label tried to kick Mike Shinoda out during the band’s ‘Hybrid Theory’ days

Can you imagine Linkin Park without Mike Shinoda? The answer to that question should really be, “No.” Shinoda is one of the major minds behind Linkin Park— a multi-instrumentalist and rapper for the band. Even so, Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington says there was a time during the “Hybrid Theory” sessions in 2000 when the band’s label actually suggested they take Shinoda out of the group.

“…I mean, the label tried to get rid of Mike, which is probably the funniest thing in the world,” Bennington told the U.K.’s Metal Hammer. “Looking back I was just thinking ‘Wow, this is insane, this is a wild ride.’”

Bennington said that Linkin Park knew they had to keep Shinoda in the band and were confident in what they were doing at the time.  and wanted to keep him in the band.

“We believed in what we were doing so much, and we were like…why can’t anybody else see this?’” Bennington said. “But when the album came out, I guess they saw it.”

“Hybrid Theory” almost immediately put Linkin Park on the map. The album spawned the rock radio hits “Crawling,” “In the End” and “One Step Closer” and sold more than 10 million copies. So, yeah, it’s a good thing they kept Shinoda in the band.

The guys of Linkin Park are currently working on their upcoming, seventh studio album. There’s no word yet on when the new tune will drop, but they’ve been working on the album for several months, so it’s shouldn’t be too long.

Photo by Anne Erickson

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