Linkin Park shares about the process of completing the album Hybrid Theory
When we finished making Hybrid Theory, we loaded up a U-haul (and then unpacked it because our gear wouldn’t fit) and eventually headed east on the 10 Freeway. Because of the snafu with the trailer, we had about 37 hours to reach St. Petersburg, Florida and, consequently, no time to stop.
The following year, we went from playing small clubs to headlining arenas. At one venue, our tour manager Bob Dallas came backstage and told us the promoter was insistent we play for 90 minutes. Our only album was 37 minutes long. “I guess we’ll play it twice,” we said.
Every time we finished an album, we collected more gear, more road cases, and, fortunately, more songs. Plugging our favorite new material into the setlist became both a privilege and a relief: a way to share the brightest bursts from a series of creative adventures – interwoven spontaneously into a multifaceted whole.
Looking back on a body of work reveals new insights. A through line here. A departure there. A little FRIENDLY FIRE juxtaposed with the need to express a familiar truth. Placing one meaningful moment next to another feels like a great honor…to celebrate with you.
What’s been done and what’s yet to be discovered.
What was never lost and what’s been here all along.
Yearning and triumph like twenty tiny PAPERCUTS.
-BBB
