Linkin Park commemorates the 25th anniversary of debut album ‘Hybrid Theory’

As seen on many fan pages, magazine outlets, and an Instagram post from Linkin Park themselves, Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the release of Linkin Park’s debut album Hybrid Theory.

Released on October 24, 2000, nü-metal was taking the charts and music industry by storm. With a metal subgenre composed of grunge, rock, and hip-hop with vocal elements of rapping, technical screaming, and lyrical singing, bands like Linkin Park have made their mark in establishing the current generation of alternative music.

In the rising stages of Linkin Park, the band was made up of Brad Delson (lead guitarist), Mike Shinoda (keyboardist, guitarist, vocals), Dave Farrell (bassist), Joe Hahn (DJ/turntablist), Ron Bourdon (drummer), and the late Chester Bennington (lead vocalist). In September 2024, the band brought in two new band members: Emily Armstrong (vocalist) and Colin Brittain (drummer). Armstrong makes history by being Linkin Park’s first female vocalist. In an interview clip with Zach Sang, Armstrong recalls her first time listening to “One Step Closer” from Hybrid Theory, describing it as “everything.”

Hybrid Theory is a 12-song record that explores major themes ranging from mental health and addiction to parental conflict and divorce from the perspective of Chester’s upbringing. By using music as an outlet to express his pain, Chester turned decades of hardship into one of the best nü-metal albums of all time, receiving accolades such as being certified 12x Platinum by the RIAA, becoming the UK’s second-best-selling rock album, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling over 32 million copies worldwide, and winning Best Hard Rock Performance at the 44th annual Grammy Awards for their second single “Crawling.”