From the very beginning, Linkin Park knew they were creating something significant. “Nobody out there sounds like us,” vocalist Chester Bennington said, in their first major Metal Hammer feature in January 2001. “Sure, there are comparisons that can be made, but we sincerely believe we’re doing something unique.”
Back then, these six 20-somethings from LA were already on an upswing thanks to the out-of-the-box success of their debut album, Hybrid Theory, released the previous October. But they could never have predicted the scale of what would follow. Within a year, the album had sold almost five million copies, launching Linkin Park to superstardom and a rollercoaster journey that would end in tragedy, before an unexpected rebirth added a surprising chapter to the story.
