Getting Reacquainted with the Music of Linkin Park

The last time Linkin Park held a concert in the Philippines was nine years ago. That was at the height of their popularity and they were second to none when it came to their own unique brand of music. To say they were huge at that early stage of their careers is the better word to describe the band’s international success. Who had not heard of their hits in those years? Linkin Park dominated the airwaves, record sales, and music channels for a good number of years. You could hear their songs being played everywhere. That was the impact that Linkin Park had at the time.

For the youth who were around during the year 2000 to the early 2000’s, the name recall of the acclaimed and multi-awarded band is very high for us. This was during the Nu-Metal scene when we had bands like Linkin Park leading the charge for other bands that would soon become household names for us music aficionados. Their major label debut “Hybrid Theory” introduced us to the world of Linkin Park. That was one of the hottest selling cd’s at the time. Almost everyone had that album in their possession and brought it with them to play in their discman during break time and in between classes. The IPod wasn’ invented yet then and we had more appreciation for physical hard copies of our favorite records.

Now, I look back with fond memories at just not caring what other people thought of new bands like Linkin Park because really, what other choices did we have at the t? Other bands like Deftones were considered a bit too dark; Limp Bizkit were thought of as juvenile delinquents; and Korn at that point of their careers were getting old already. These were the impressions that music aficionados in my age group had of these bands.

Nevertheless, the music of Linkin Park was immediately accessible and struck a certain chord of balance when it came to the elements it borrowed from other genres. It is no secret that vocalist Chester Bennington was a fan of iconic bands like the Post-Grunge band Stone Temple Pilots and Industrial-Metal great Nine Inch Nails. This proclivity showed in most of the tracks of their major label debut, “Hybrid Theory”. And, indeed, the title of the album does serve justice to its contents. It was really a hybrid of ideas, influences, experimentation, and all of those were tapping into the resourcefulness of all the six members of Linkin Park. Sure, there music is classified as Alternative Rock, Nu-Metal, and Modern Rock, among others. But when we were that young, we didn’t really care about the classification and description of the band’s sound. We just found the music to be uber cool because of its complexity, layering, production value, lyrics, and how we could relate to almost every single track in that multi-platinum, multi-awarded, and a breakthrough of an album for the band.

After “Hybrid Theory”, it would be a couple of years more between any new album release for Linkin Park was made. And we wouldn’t settle for any repackaged release or any album filled with remixes of old tracks. We wanted to hear new unreleased material from the band and not “recycled” ones. The music scene just felt a little empty without these guys around. By the time “Meteora” was finally released, most of us were already in college and although we still bought that album, the years that there was no music forthcoming from them eventually altered our tastes and how we thought of the band. And in my case, in 2007, their studio release entitled “Minutes To Midnight” was the last album I bought of the band.

In an effort for the band to prove their naysayers wrong that they couldn’t make a record that wasn’t purely Nu-Metal in nature, their songs started to sound further away from what we were used to hearing from them. That album just didn’t sound like Linkin Park anymore and it was only four tracks from “Minutes To Midnight” that were reminiscent of their original sound–which “orginal” sound, in the first place–had helped make them such big hits! Was it because they wanted to grow out of their comfort zones ? Was it because they were adapting to the times ? Was it because they just didn’t want to be heavily criticized anymore ? All these could be valid points raised. But it is only the band members themselves who have the answers to these queries from their fans who have stuck around and still listen to their music.

In closing, Linkin Park’s name will always ring a bell to numerous music aficionados. Was there ever a time, anyway, that we didn’t at least enjoy listening to their songs ? Just don’t mention their name, though, to people who think that it is only their kind of music that everyone should listen to. That is one of the predicaments that Linkin Park has found themselves in ever since they made their major record label debut album–some people simply disliked their music from the beginning and yet, you have those fans like myself who really do not see anything wrong with it. That right there is a mark of excellence from a band–the mere fact that they can get a reaction and they can have two sides debate why they are great or not. I frankly think they were ahead of their time.

Linkin Park is set to return to Manila for a one-night concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (MOA) Arena this coming Aug. 13, 2013.