1st Hybrid Theory (2000)
Hybrid Theory is the debut album by Linkin Park, released on October 24, 2000 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was a huge commercial success, having sold over 10 million units in the United States alone as of 2010 and peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 while also reaching high positions on other charts worldwide. Hybrid Theory brought Linkin Park into the mainstream and would ultimately become one of the most well respected American rock albums of the early 2000s.
Recorded at NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, California, and produced by Don Gilmore, the album's lyrical themes deal with problems lead vocalist Chester Bennington experienced during his adolescence, including drug abuse and the constant fighting and divorce of his parents. Hybrid Theory takes its title from the previous name of the band.
Four singles were released from the album: "One Step Closer", "Papercut", the Grammy Award-winning "Crawling" and "In the End", the latter which was responsible for launching Linkin Park into mainstream popularity. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Hybrid Theory was nominated for Best Rock Album. The album is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It was ranked #11 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums of the Decade. A special edition of Hybrid Theory was released March 11, 2002, two years after its original pressing. Hybrid Theory has sold 24 million copies worldwide, which makes it the best selling debut album of the 21st century.
2nd Meteora (2003)
.jpg "2nd Meteora (2003)")
Meteora is the second studio album by Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003 through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on debut studio album Hybrid Theory. Linkin Park released singles from Meteora for over a year, including "Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Numb", "From the Inside" and "Breaking the Habit". Meteora takes it title from the Greek Orthodox monasteries.
Meteora is the most successful album in the history of the Alternative Songs chart, a chart that specializes in radio play (with its audience impression) of alternative rock songs. "Numb" was the biggest song of the year on the chart. The album has sold over 16 million copies worldwide as of 2012 and was ranked number 36 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums of the Decade. The song "Session" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, losing to Jeff Beck's "Plan B".
3rd Minutes to Midnight (2007)
.jpg "3rd Minutes to Midnight (2007)")
Minutes to Midnight is the third studio album by Linkin Park, released on May 14, 2007, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin. Minutes to Midnight features a shift in the group's musical direction. For the band, the album marks a beginning of deviation from their signature nu metal sound. Minutes to Midnight takes its title from the Doomsday Clock.
Linkin Park started work on their third studio album in 2003, taking a break to tour in support of Meteora in 2004. In this time period, the band formed numerous side projects; Mike Shinoda formed his hip hop side project Fort Minor, while Chester Bennington formed Dead by Sunrise, causing the album to be shelved temporarily. The band returned to work on the record afterward, taking on a different musical direction than the 2003 sessions while working with producer Rick Rubin. The album's completion was delayed several times for unknown reasons. Eventually, "What I've Done" was chosen as the album's lead single in April 2007, with the album seeing release in North America on May 15, 2007.
The album debuted at number one in the United States and in 15 other countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, the album had the biggest first week sales of 2007 at the time, with 625,000 albums sold, going on to be certified double platinum in the United States, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and Australia and certified platinum in Canada, France, Switzerland and in the UK. Despite its commercial success, Minutes to Midnight received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone magazine named it the twenty-fifth best album of 2007. It was ranked number 154 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums of the Decade
4th A Thousand Suns (2010)
.jpg "4th A Thousand Suns (2010)")
A Thousand Suns is the fourth studio album by Linkin Park. It was released on September 10, 2010, under Warner Bros. Records. The album was written by the band while production was handled by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who previously worked together to produce the band's third studio album Minutes to Midnight (2007). Recording sessions for the album took place at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California from 2008 until early 2010.
A Thousand Suns is a multi-concept album dealing with human fears such as nuclear warfare. The band has acknowledged that the album is a drastic departure from their previous work, as they experimented on different and new sounds for A Thousand Suns. Shinoda stated in an interview with MTV that the album references numerous social issues, as well as blending human ideas with technology. The album's title comes from the Hindu Sanskrit scripture, the Bhagavad Gita: "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one," a quote made famous by J. Robert Oppenheimer in reference to the atomic bomb, which references the numerous apocalyptic themes of the album.
5th Living Things (2012)
.jpg "5th Living Things (2012)")
Living Things is the fifth studio album by Linkin Park. It was released under Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop Recordings on June 20, 2012, in Japan and throughout the rest of the world during the following week. Production was handled by vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who both co-produced the band's previous two studio albums Minutes to Midnight (2007) and A Thousand Suns (2010).
The band states that Living Things combines elements from their previous four studio albums to create a new sound. They stated they finally felt they were in "familiar territory" and "comfortable in their own skin" after years of experimentation that resulted in their two previous studio albums, Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns. Living Things was chosen as the album's title because of the numerous personal topics on the album.
See Also :
