Linkin Park launches this October 9 its 20th anniversary edition of his debut album Hybrid Theory, one of the most influential albums of all time in the history of Rock.

To know the history of this album we must refer to the influence exerted by the Grunge in the nineties sounds of rock, bands born in the suburbs of the cities delivered songs full of social criticism, philosophy of life and deep stories, unlike the rockers of the 80’s who were dedicated to strengthening the idea of sex, drugs and Rock and Roll. 

All that strident sound influence shook a generation of young people hidden in the shadows who found refuge in the cries of those voices that marked the new era of rock, at the end of that explosive decade many nascent bands experimented to add new ingredients to the mix to achieve a much more explosive result.

The new bands added to their compositions the old guitars, drums and basses but also scratching, record players, sampling and programming of sound effects, rap lyrics and more industrial visual productions to show a harder rock and according to the social circumstances that the young people of those musical years were experiencing.

Woodstock 99 marked the final incendiary of the 90’s, everything old was burned on that stage, only the ashes, the looting and the excesses of that legendary night of July 25, 1999 remained, and as always rock sought to be reborn from that fire giving way to a decade where the flame reached its highest degree of incandescence and then extinguished again.

The band that led the new wave of rock in the 2000’s was called Linkin Park and took the stage with a wonderful Hybrid Theory the first studio album of the American rock band, released on October 24, 2000 through Warner Bros. The lyrical themes of the album deal with the problems experienced by the lead singer Chester Bennington during his adolescence, including drug abuse and constant fights and divorces of their parents. Hybrid Theory takes its title from the previous name of the band as well as the concept of music theory and combination of different styles.

Four Hybrid Theory singles were released: “One Step Closer”, “In the End”, “Crawling” and “Papercut”, all of which were responsible for launching Linkin Park to widespread popularity. While “In the End” was the most successful of the four, all the singles on the album remain some of the band’s most successful songs to date. Although “Runaway”, “Points of Authority” and “My December” from the special edition bonus album were not released as singles, they were minor hits on alternative rock radio stations thanks to the success of all the band’s singles and the album.

The most powerful musical start of the decade put Chester, Mike, Rob, Brad, Dave and Joe Hann (Linkin Park) in the first world tops, because the impact of Hybrid Theory went beyond the borders of the United States and became a global phenomenon where all young people adopted the shrill voice of Chester as the deep mantra they were waiting for.

It is inevitable to recognize the visual impact of the band in their videos. In the end, Crawling and Papercut were engraved in the collective memory of all the teenagers who enjoyed a visual show. The passing of the years kept Linkin Park as the most influential rock band of the following years until in 2017 the powerful voice of their leader reached the end of the fight against their addictions.

What it meant to me. Eventually it will be a memory of a time when I tried so hard and got so far. But in the end it doesn’t even matter.

strophe In the End – Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory

Despite not having their lead voice Mike and the rest of the band members did not leave the legacy of Linkin Park and continued to work together on new projects until in 2020 they announced the release of the album 20th anniversary of Hybrid Theory, in addition to music, the super deluxe edition of the launch will include additional content including three DVDs, art prints and an 80-page book that will include images never before seen. A digital counterpart to the compilation, including only the music, will also be released. It will contain a total of 80 tracks and will be the most valuable tribute to a band that managed to build one of the best albums in the history of Rock.

@citilennial