Linkin Park UK

Under Construction

2009-06-22T03:28:00.000+01:00

LPUK is under construction so the site might look weird for a while.

New Divide Video // Joe Chat

2009-06-12T03:06:00.001+01:00

You can watch the New Divide video on Myspace here.

Also Joe Hahn will be chatting with LPU members on Monday at 1pm PDT.

New Divide Available for Download

2009-06-11T02:53:00.001+01:00

You can now download New Divide from itunes or digital7.

New Divide UK Release Pushed Back

2009-06-01T19:37:00.000+01:00

If it wasn't enough having to wait to buy New Divide from itunes until today, the release has been pushed back and will now (may)be availble for download on the 7th of June.

New Divide Video Pictures

2009-05-27T00:13:00.001+01:00

Mike has blogged some pictures from the making of the New Divide video, worth taking a look to get a feel of the direction Joe has taken this one http://www.mikeshinoda.com/blog/linkin_park_/new_divide_video_shoot-12

Also Mike would like it if LP fans took this poll http://forums.linkinpark.com/showthread.php?t=11392

State Of The Art

2009-05-25T10:44:00.002+01:00

Hahninator of LPLive.net has posted the official version of 'State of the Art' - a track DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit and Chester Bennington were working on back in 2001 - after 8 years of requesting it's release. Only a few days after starting a new discussion about it on LPLive he's had it sent to him... result!

Shortly after posting the track the host server crashed. LPLive is still currently down though a Rapidshare link is available.

LPU Brad chat

2009-05-22T18:24:00.001+01:00

There's a chat with Brad on the LPU - Friday, May 22 at 12pm PDT! It's about an hour and 40 mins from now (6.20pm UK time)

Dead By Sunrise album name

2009-05-19T19:34:00.002+01:00

Chester revealed on twitter that he has named the first Dead By Sunrise album Out Of Ashes.

Hello!

2009-05-19T15:47:00.002+01:00

Linkin Park UK has a new blogger... moi!

So to start off with... here are the lyrics to New Divide, direct from Mike.

NEW DIVIDE LYRICS BY MIKE SHINODA AND CHESTER BENNINGTON

I remembered black skies / the lightning all around me
I remembered each flash / as time began to blur
Like a startling sign / that fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason / to prove me wrong / to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Give me reason / to fill this hole / connect the space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide

There was nothing in sight / but memories left abandoned
There was nowhere to hide / the ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in / between where we were standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason / to prove me wrong / to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Across this new divide

In every loss / in every lie In every truth that you'd deny
And each regret / and each goodbye was a mistake to great to hide
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason / to prove me wrong / to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Give me reason / to fill this hole / connect the space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide

New Divide out now (non-UKers)

2009-05-19T15:33:00.001+01:00

Those not in the UK can buy Linkin Park's new single "New Divide" from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on iTunes now!

Unfortunately us in the UK have to wait for the 31st to be able to purchase it, I have no idea why the gap is so long.

Happy BIrthday Mike

2009-02-11T18:06:00.001Z

Happy Birthday to Mike who is 32 today!

Tickets on Sale Now

2009-02-11T18:05:00.000Z

Go ahead and buy your tickets for Sonisphere now!

New Live Date for 2009!

2009-02-09T00:55:00.003Z

Its confirmed that Linkin Park will be co headlining the very first Sonisphere Festival with Metallica.

The festival will take place on the 1st and 2nd of August in Knebworth.

more information: www.sonispherefestivals.co.uk/uk

LP to play Knebworth?

2009-02-07T19:39:00.002Z

Strong rumours are circulating about LP headlining a second date of this new festival with Metallica on the 1st and 2nd of August.

Source

Happy Birthday Rob!

2009-01-22T17:04:00.001Z

Ok, i know it's a little late but happy birthday to our favourite drummer Rob! (20th Jan) He's hit the big 30!

Twilight DVD

2009-01-15T20:46:00.001Z

It's been reported that the 'twilight' DVD, due for release around March 21st, will feature the video for 'Leave Out All The Rest'.

The song is featured at the end credits of the film as well.

Special Edition - Road To Revolution

2008-12-14T18:15:00.002Z

Warner are now offering UK fans a special edition 'Road to Revolution' DVD for £36.

It features:

A 'Luxury' case
Road to Revolution CD/DVD
Minutes to Midnight CD
Hardback book
6 Artwork prints
1 month's membership to the LPU

From the looks of it the hardback book and prints are the same from the 'Minutes to Midnight' super fan pack. Have a look here.

New Instrumental

2008-12-11T15:03:00.002Z

Mike posted a new clip on his blog of an instrumental. Check it out here.

Sounds like they're really focusing on getting this album out, hopefully by 09!

Chester with Camp Freddy

2008-12-10T14:03:00.000Z

Chester performed with Camp Freddy last night, Mike posted pictures on his blog here.

MTV LP Night

2008-12-03T22:36:00.001Z

MTV 2 are having an LP night this friday the schedule is as follows:

MTV TWO (Uk & Europe) Schedule for Friday, 5th Dec 2008

21:00 - Linkin Park Feat. Jay-Z TMF Live
Linkin Park's blistering Projekt Revolution Tour hit the UK leaving 50,000 fans blown away! If you missed this, don't miss them again! Featuring the one and only Jay-Z.

22:00 - Linkin Park Vs Jay Z: The...
...Ultimate Mash-Up! A behind the scenes look into the hugley successfull 'Collision Course' album, and exclusive interviews backstage at Project Revolution Festival!

22:30 - Linkin Park Talk Videos (the commented videography already aired in February)
Linkin Park's eclectic hybrid of hard rock, hip hop and rap is highlighted now, including the tracks 'Somewhere I Belong', 'My December', 'Crawling', 'Papercut' and 'In The End'.

23:00 - Linkin Park: MTV Live (probably Rock Am Ring 2007)
Check out this explosive and energetic performance from the mighty Linkin Park in a live show captured exclusively by MTV.

23:30 - Linkin Park: Making The Video
We're on set with Linkin Park for the making of their brand new video 'What I've Done'.

(thanks to Mark 86 for the tip)

Search With Chester

2008-12-03T22:34:00.003Z

You can now download a google toolbar that allows you to "search with Chester" with every search you collect points, which then can be redeemed for LP and Chester goodies.

Its open to us, UK people over the age of 16 so go for it.

Click the banner to start!

Happy Birthday Brad!

2008-12-01T19:04:00.001Z

Today its Brad's 31st birthday, happy birthday!

LPU 8

2008-11-28T20:28:00.004Z

Well it's leaked a week early...and well it's different - that's certainly for sure!

The tracklisting is as follows:
1. You Ain't Gotsta Gotsta
2. Bubbles
3. No Laundry
4. Da Bloos
5. PB N' Jellyfish
6. 26 Lettaz In Da Alphabet

Already the community seems in uproar how do you feel about the CD? Go to our messageboard to share your opinion

Edit: I personally think the CD is highly entertaining and mike has uploaded a post on LPU explaining this:

FROM MIKE: New LPU CD
I’m going to post something on my blog as soon as I can wrap my head around the stuff going on regarding the new LPU CD “MMM…Cookies.” This new LPU CD was intended to be something fun that we could all enjoy: a lighter CD of music, meant to be silly.Although some people think the CD is great (I think it’s hilarious), I have read some comments on the LPUMB that said they felt like we were “slapping the fans in the face” with this CD. For any of you who think we “did this as a fuck you to the fans,” I can wholeheartedly assure you that there is absolutely no scenario where that would ever be the case. In our minds, you would laugh with us about this CD in the same way that you laugh with the funniest moments of LPTV or the “Frat Party” DVD. Some of you responded this way to the CD, and some did not.I’ll address it later. But for now, I want to assure you that our only intention with the LPU CD, as with all our fan club endeavors, is to create a fan club that you can enjoy and is worth your time. If anyone was let down by the CD, I sincerely apologize.-m

LP feat Jay Z on TMF

2008-11-24T23:32:00.000Z

Highlights from Projekt Revolution UK is on TMF at midnight on saturday, this will include some of Jay Z and N*E*R*D*S performance as well as Linkin Parks.

This was supposed to be on MTV at some point too but I can't find the listing.

Road To Revolution - Out Now!

2008-11-24T05:31:00.000Z

Go and buy the new DVD today! And don't forget to watch past the credits for the remaining tracks off the setlist.

Kerrang Road To Revolution Review

2008-11-21T21:23:00.004Z

This may be the best review Kerrang have ever given to anything Linkin Park, click below to read it. I'm starting to think that maybe there is more footage to be found.

From Kerrang 1237 November 22 2008

Road to Revolution Update

2008-11-21T12:32:00.000Z

It has been confirmed by those who already have their DVD that the 3 missing tracks are on it after the credits of the main portion of the DVD, there are no other special features.

Also the DVD is now being released on the 24th in the US.

Road To Revolution CD Stream

2008-11-18T20:52:00.002Z

If you haven't heard it yet you can listen to the Road To Revolution CD on Linkin Parks Myspace page

LPU 8 Newletter

2008-11-18T03:27:00.000Z

The LPU 8 newsletter is now available to download, go the the home page and the "newsletter" link on the navigation page, there you can also order a print out of the newsletter.

Chester on the mend

2008-11-12T16:34:00.000Z

From Mikes Blog:

"Chester's back is recovering well. He is still scheduled for regular visits to the doctor, but he's able to go about most of his daily routine. He had a scare the other day when he was recording a vocal; in the middle of a take, his back seized up. he thought he might need to go back to the hospital, but after some rest and doctor's advice, it relaxed again. Things are looking good. Thanks for your support!"

Get well soon Chester!

LP back in the studio!

2008-11-11T15:56:00.002Z

Mike's put up a new post on his blog confirming LP are back in the studio with a ton of demos done and is confident the album will be out next year unless they should hit some serious writer's block.

View the article here

New Album Articles

2008-11-08T01:49:00.002Z

Rolling Stone have a nice little article where Mike tells them that they a tonne of work already done for the new album, and also that interview footage from White Pegacorn may or may not exist.

And in this MTV article with Chester he talks about the new album and the Dead By Sunrise album, whom he worked with producer Howard Benson with.

Road To Revolution Trailer

2008-11-07T01:33:00.003Z

A new trailer for the new DVD Road To Revolution has been posted on LP's myspace, looks great, watch here.

Also note that Mike is delaying his next art show for Glorious Excess (Dies) until late 2009.

Small Video

2008-11-06T23:51:00.000Z

A little video of Brad and Joe introducing the new DVD Road to Revolution is here at Amazon Europe. (Yes Brad has shaved off his afro.)

MTV Europe Music Awards - Tonight

2008-11-06T15:24:00.004Z

Just a reminder that the EMAs are on MTV tonight at 9pm, Linkin Park have been nominated for the Rock Out and Headliner awards, lets hope they win one!

Update: Unfortunately the boys didn't win either awards. :(

Fuse Best Video Nomination

2008-11-05T02:29:00.003Z

Not in the UK but still, the video for Given Up has been nominated for Best Video of 2008 on Fuse, its in a battle against the Foo Fighters video for Long Road To Ruin, go support LP and vote here.

Preorder Road To Revolution DVD Bundle

2008-11-04T00:17:00.002Z

Bandmerch are offering a bundle consisting of the Road to Revolution DVD and "Fierce" Tshirt for preorder.

View and order it here

Small Album Update

2008-10-30T10:53:00.002Z

KBS radio has a short article in which Mike reveal that the band are to go into the studio next week to work on the new album, he also mentioned that they don't have a producer yet but he has been taking on that role for now.

In other news Chester has been advised to stop jumping off risers during live shows as this would have been a contribution to his back injury that forced the band to cancel their shows in China.

Road to Revolution on Yoooutooooob

2008-10-29T12:42:00.003Z

The Japan TV broadcast of parts of the DVD have been uploaded on yooouutoooob by Fufunsmith

Linkin Parks set:
Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6 (note that the uploader got parts 2 and 3 mixed up)

The also aired part of Jay Z and N*E*R*D's sets which will not be on the DVD.

Jay-Z's Set

N*E*R*D's Set

Two new albums!

2008-10-28T22:11:00.002Z

Admittedly I only posted a day or two ago about mike and co. getting on with album ideas, however in a recent interview with billboard.com Chester has revealed that it will be a concept album but doesn't want to reveal the big plan yet. Head over to billboard.com to read the full story! Going back to what mike said on his blog it's sounding like this could be a darker album which would be more closely linked to Hybrid Theory and Meteora, but obviously containing the more mature sound of Minutes to Midnight. Obviously they run the risk of not everyone liking the theme of the album but it's LP and I can't see why they won't pull it off, but for those who prefer the variation of MTM then maybe this won't be up your street...

On another note I did say two albums, Chester has said that Dead by Sunrise will be out spring to summer of next year and he will be touring, however doesn't want touring to conflict with the LP album - such a nice guy!!! More info on this is also included in the billboard interview.

Working on new album!

2008-10-27T20:17:00.004Z

In a post on his blog yesterday Mike confirmed that he had started work on the new album a while ago and has now come together with Joe and Phoenix and started some proper song ideas. The two they worked on this week both sound to be harder songs so can we hope LP will veer towards a harder album this time! To check out Mike's full post head over to his blog.

Hopefully this time next year we'll have a release date - here's hoping!!

Road to Revolution Video on Kerrang

2008-10-24T20:22:00.002+01:00

Just a quick note to let you know that the Leave Out All The Rest video from the bands forthcoming Road to Revolution DVD has been added to the Kerrang TV playlists.

You can tune into Kerrang on Sky channel 368 or Virgin channel 342.

Happy Linkin Park Day!

2008-10-24T00:39:00.002+01:00

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the release of Hybrid Theory, known as Linkin Park day.

So, happy Linkin Park day!

Road To Revolution: First Video!

2008-10-23T13:32:00.002+01:00

The video for Leave Out All The Rest has been released, it looks beautiful, enjoy!

Thanks to Geki on the LPU for the tip!

CSI

2008-10-20T13:30:00.002+01:00

An episode of CSI has been written around Leave Out All The Rest and will be aired on Tuesday at 9 on CBS.

Mikes Blog

2008-10-20T13:28:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend Mike has blogged concerning Road to Revolution and LPU8. He has confirmed that the rest of the tracks from the set will get to us in one way or the other. Also that the LPU8 CD will not contain any live tracks. Thank goodness.

Leave Out All the Rest on 'Twilight' Soundtrack

2008-10-16T16:35:00.004+01:00

A new film coming out (November 21) 'Twilight', has announced 'Leave Out All the Rest' will be on it's soundtrack.

Order it here

LP Nominated for a American Music Award

2008-10-15T23:58:00.003+01:00

Linkin Park have been nominated for Alternative Rock Music - Favourite Artist, for this years American Music awards, go vote for them at amavote.com

LP.com Layout

2008-10-15T23:55:00.003+01:00

If anyones interested Linkin Park.com has added the DVD cover as a new background, theres also a countdown until the US release date.

Glorious Excess Dies: 1st Painting

2008-10-14T19:31:00.003+01:00

Mike has posted a picture on his blog of the first painting he has done for his upcoming art show, its looking good! Go see for yourself at mikeshinoda.com.

Road To Revolution: Live At Milton Keynes

2008-10-14T18:14:00.002+01:00

Due for release on 24/11/2008

Check it out here!

PRUK DVD: Clarification

2008-10-13T14:14:00.001+01:00

Some people have wondered if footage from Jay Z's and N*E*R*D' s would be included on the DVD after Pooch mentioning working on them in his blog regarding the new DVD. To clarify I emailed him and he's informed me that the DVD will feature Linkin Park's set only, footage from the other sets were being produced for a TV broadcast to be aired overseas.

Thanks to Pooch for replying!

New LP.com Survey

2008-10-13T13:58:00.000+01:00

New post from Mike and the band:

"Hey everyone, it's Mike here. On behalf of the band, I'd like to thank you for making LinkinPark.com one of the most-visited artist sites on the internet! We'd really like to know what we can do to make your visit here the absolute best it can be. Could you do us a favor, and answer these questions? It will help us tailor the site to your needs, so you get exactly what you are looking for when you come here. Thanks for your help!
http://www.ivpsurvey.com/survey.php?p_key=ae1df2ac46dc196fe51c37d24ee85081"

More On Tour Cancellations and MK DVD

2008-10-12T20:09:00.004+01:00

According to LP's soundman (Pooch) Chester has slipped two discs in his back, which has led to the cancellations.

"Chester (lead singer of Linkin Park) hurt his back while playing with his kid. Apparently he slipped two of his discs in his back. I imagine that this is excruciatingly painful. I feel for him."

Also more information on the Milton Keynese DVD has been provided from his blog.

"OK - here is the part where I apologize to all LP fans about not being able to tell you about the Milton Keynes DVD project. YES - it looks like that there will be a release of the Milton Keyns show. My hands were truly tied in this matter. Management swore me to secrecy. Dylan and I were working on all that stuff along with some Jay Z and NERD when we were in the studio a few weeks ago. I think that the release is slated for November, but don't hold your breath. There is always delays and shit in this stuff. "

Tour Cancellations

2008-10-09T15:26:00.000+01:00

Chester is still not able to play any shows meaning that Linkin Park have unfortunately had to cancel their Music For Relief and final Minutes to Midnight shows in China and Taiwan.

New DVD Name Update.

2008-10-09T10:02:00.001+01:00

Linkin Park has narrowed down these names from all the suggestions

Linkin Park: Midnight In Milton Keynes
Sunset Revolution: Linkin Park Live In The UK
Road To Revolution: Linkin Park Live
Revolution In The Iron City: Linkin Park Live
Revolution in the UK: Linkin Park Live

Go vote for your favourite now!

LPTV: End Of Projekt Revolution

2008-10-09T10:01:00.001+01:00

A new LPTV episode has been released, watch on LP.com or Youtube. Mike and Joe playing Halo....again.

Projekt Revolution Milton Keynes DVD

2008-10-07T20:11:00.003+01:00

Mike has posted the confirmation we have all been waiting for, a DVD depicting Linkin Park's first Projekt Revolution in the UK will be released along with a CD. Read here.

Not only that but Linkin Park want the fans to name the DVD, to post an idea for the DVD title, use this thread (only those over 18 can enter).

Remix to Win Show Cancelled

2008-10-05T15:24:00.001+01:00

Chester has hurt his back and is under doctors orders to not play the show forcing Linkin Park to postpone the show.

Read the official press statement here.

Reviews 2007

2008-08-01T23:00:00.004+01:00

David Sinclair at the Astoria, from thetimes.com

Rating 3/5

You may be surprised to discover that Linkin Park are the bestselling group in the world this side of the millennium. According to their record company, the six-man band from Los Angeles have sold 46 million albums since 2000. And yet they are hardly household names. Can you hum one of their hits? Or name the group’s singer?

One reason why their mainstream profile has continued to lag so far behind their commercial stock, particularly in Britain, is that the media gatekeepers have never much cared for Linkin Park. Along with Limp Bizkit, they were, after all, prominent among the architects of “nu-metal”, a genre now so discredited that even the groups involved have been careful to distance themselves from it in recent times. But Linkin Park’s ability to reach out directly to their fans is apparently undiminished.

With a new album, Minutes to Midnight, due for release on May 15, they brought their thunderous brand of rock music with rap trimmings to a venue of incongruously modest proportions in London last week. The stage at the 2,000-capacity Astoria was barely big enough to accommodate the giant riser on which were set the drums and an escarpment of record decks and other electronic equipment. At the front were four individual platforms for the guitarists and singers, leaving precious little open floor space for anything much else to happen.

In a comparatively brief set, two songs from the new album emerged: No More Sorrow, a brawny, metallic epic set to a military marching drum beat, and What I’ve Done, the current radio-friendly single with a chorus like a jet plane soaring a long way overhead.

For the most part, however, the group contented themselves with a trawl through the tried and tested, producing tub-thumping versions of hits such as Papercut, Numb, Breaking the Habit and Crawling. Whether sung in a piercing yell by the group’s mainman, Chester Bennington, or delivered in rap-lite mode by Mike Shinoda, who also played guitar and keyboards, their anthems of introspective rage and adolescent alienation rarely seemed to hit any truly emotional spot.

Next month Linkin Park will be headlining at the Download Festival in Donington Park, an environment better suited to the mammoth scale of their sound and production. Here, they looked rather cramped, while the bludgeoning tone of their music seemed similarly misplaced.

Download Festival 2007

Hitting the stage running with their breakthrough song 'One Step Closer', Linkin Park are their usual assured and confident selves as they close the main stage - aided by a quite stunning light display - by running through their staggering array of hits. Be it the rap-rock of 'Papercut' and 'Faint' or the mellower "Halloween" meets U2 bombast of 'What I've Done', Linkin Park are never anything less than totally engrossing.

Download Festival 2007
Donington Park, Leicestershire - 8 Jun 2007
by Laila Hassani

Hoping for something a little better on the Main Stage, the Linkin Park robot is working its way through a dirgy, dreary set. We hadn't expected a lot of spontaneity, but we’re still bowled over by the total lack of excitement and enthusiasm Linkin Park bring to such prestigious surroundings. Sounding like they are on autopilot, not even ‘One Step Closer’ or ‘In The End’ really ignites. Needless to say, it’s a wholly disappointing end to an entertaining, sunny day.

And unfortunately that’s where our Download journey ends. A vicious bout of hayfever – resulting in NN unable to breathe and looking like they’ve been punched in both eyes – means we call it quits a day early. As Fall Out Boy (almost) recently sang; Download, thanks for the memories. See you next year, armed with as much eye drops and antihistamines as we can carry.

Tour Reviews

2008-08-01T22:46:00.004+01:00

Choose a year to read its reviews:

2001

2003

2007

2008

Reviews 2008

2008-08-01T22:35:00.006+01:00

MEN Arena
By Scott Zverblis

LINKIN Park were once cruelly labelled as a nu-metal band and grouped unfairly, with the likes of Limp Bizkit, P.O.D and Papa Roach but have quite rightly left these pretenders in their wake.

The band are now in their eighth year and their popularity is showing no signs of waning - their sold-out show at the M.E.N. Arena on Sunday night certainly proved that.

Silhouetted, ghost-like behind a giant white sheet - Linkin Park's ultra-cool guitarist, Brad Delson opened the show with a couple of hard-hitting riffs. The curtain dropped and rest of the band ran onstage, picked up their instruments and quickly launched into forthcoming single, Given Up.

Afterwards, Linkin Park's heavily tattooed singer, Chester Bennington announces that tonight's gig was being filmed for the single's music video. The audience screams in delight - excited at the thought of being video stars. There's a close connection between Linkin Park and their fans, with plenty of in-between song banter from Chester and his rapping co-pilot Mike Shinoda. This is definitely one of their greatest strengths. The duo certainly knows how to work a crowd - who didn't stop moshing for one minute.

Energetic

How could they stop, with the band unleashing one energetic pop-metal track to another - old and new songs including, Somewhere I Belong, In The End, Faint and Crawling. Recent singles Shadow Of The Day and What I've Done are both incredibly catchy songs and seem to be the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night, with the hyperactive band breaking into an on-stage freak-out. Other highlights of the night included a touching, yet slightly predictable and clichéd illuminated mobile phone in the air moment during My December and Delson's blistering guitar solo during a hard-hitting performance of Points Of Authority. Linkin Park played songs that spanned their career to date, including the songs that got them started and got fans hooked in the first place.

Linkin Park Manchester M.E.N. Arena
Sunday January 27, 2008
Live Review
With the release of their third full studio album, 'Minutes To Midnight', American quintet Linkin Parkhave looked to shake off the nu-metal tag which dragged down the likes of Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach. Featuring less rapping from Mike Shinoda, it signalled their intention to break previous boundaries and be established as a respected rock group.

Shrouding the stage in curtains ups anticipation, so when they finally drop to reveal the band with a minimal setup, it's somewhat of a surprise. Regardless of this, 'Given Up' is a guitar-heavy and energetic way to get the crowd going and what follows is a good blend of old hits, new songs and the odd surprise. 'Somewhere I Belong' is epic, while the thumping 'No More Sorrow' reveals a gigantic light screen to aid visual enjoyment of the show. During a snippet of X-Ecutioners collaboration 'It's Goin' Down' Shinoda breaks off in laughter before declaring 'you guys fucked me up, that never happens!' referring to the energy of the crowd, before launching into 'Points Of Authority'. They replicate their studio sound with ease and this is particularly impressive from co-vocalist Chester Bennington who powerfully executes the growls and screams on numbers such as the awesome 'Numb'. During a stripped-down section he also shows he is as adept at a softer approach, making old b-side 'My December' a highlight of the evening.

After indulging in some cheerleading with their respective sides of the arena, the vocalists then give the perfect example of how their styles compliment one another on a well-received 'In The End', which signals a flurry of their bigger hits. The simple riff of debut track 'One Step Closer' is as thrilling as when it first hit airwaves, evident by the thousands of pumping fists on bouncing audience members, while the first encore is ended by 'What I've Done' which has quickly found favour with Linkin Park's followers, judging by the huge applause it is afforded. Returning for a final time, they then roll out two of their most up-tempo tracks, 'Bleed It Out' and 'Faint', whose energy is fantastic way to end a show. As with the previous 90 minutes, they are note and beat perfect, leaving the only gripe being the omission of 'Papercut', but it is forgivable given the enjoyable entertainment that has been on show.

Alex Lai

Lisa Verrico at the O2 Arena, London

If young rock acts are struggling to sell albums, someone forgot to tell Linkin Park. Seven years since their debut, Hybrid Theory, won a Grammy, the Californian sextet have shifted more than 50 million copies of just three studio albums, including Minutes to Midnight last year, which topped the charts in 16 countries, including Britain. Variously labelled rock-rap, nu-metal and rock-pop, Linkin Park proved to be a bit of all three at a riotous London show that barely paused for breath and often felt like a competition between band and fans as to which could make more noise. From the moment Linkin Park appeared, silhouetted behind a white curtain, the O2 floor was a mass of bobbing heads. When the curtain dropped, a mix of fists and camera phones shot into the air, where they stayed for the next 90 minutes. The crop-haired, black-clad, tattooed singer Chester Bennington immediately revealed how he stays so skinny - he bounced around like a ping-pong ball, pausing only to leap onto a box at the front of the stage before he was off again. Bennington's vocal default setting is scream, but with as much pop as hard rock in the guitar riffs, subtle electronics and catchy choruses, the sound never came close to genuine aggression. Indeed, when they performed Minutes to Midnight's schmaltzy slowie Valentine's Day, the spectre of Nickelback loomed large. With Rick Rubin at its helm, the latest album edged away from the rock-rap hybrid with which Linkin Park first made their mark - a wise move, since the older songs sounded distinctly dated. The crowd might have lapped up Faint, clapped through Somewhere I Belong and chanted every line of Points of Authority - all driven by Mike Shinoda's raps and backed by hip-hop beats - but the hymnal Hands Held High, where Shinoda switched to singing, had a fresher, punchier impact, while the night's highlight was a blend of two new tracks - Wake and Given Up - that boasted an apocalyptic intro, juggernaut guitars and a dash of fun, Sex Pistols punk. If Linkin Park truly want to toughen up, however, Bennington will have to ditch his daft chat. “Leave it to London to build the biggest, baddest venue on the face of the Earth,” he yelled, surveying a sterile arena that looks like a big high school sports hall. And, when he jumped into the crowd, he took two bodyguards with him and stayed behind the barriers. Big softie.

Live : Linkin Park @ O2 Arena
By Amanda Greenwood

Linkin Park and the O2 Arena suit each other: modern, experimental, and both entered the world in the new millenia. After support Julien-K dropped out, and a disappointing set from Biffy Clyro (although 'Machines' was beautiful), Linkin Park storm on the stage with 'What I've Done', and you just know this is going to be a good show.

The hits keep coming from all three albums with passionate and amazing delivery, especially during the slower songs and ends with the stomping 'Bleed it Out'. There is even a small rendition of Rihannas' 'Umbrella'!

The encore brings a stunning piano version of 'My December', followed by the brilliant 'Breaking the Habit', the audience and band showing no sign of stopping. The band leaves the stage after huge applause but the lights don't come back on.

After a long, long wait some of the crowd have left (Fools!) and eventually Linkin Park return with 'A Place in my Head' and finally finish with 'One Step Closer'. With the crowd screaming more than ever, everyone climbing out of their seats; an amazing show from an amazing band.

Rating : 4/5

Linkin Park The O2 Arena
29 January 2008
Review by Katie Spain

I’m not the tallest of critters but I feel like a giraffe on stilts when my new gig buddy and I find our seats on the fourth level of the O2 Arena. Will we see the roaring fury of Linkin Park from way back here? Luckily, we needn’t worry. The show is a spectacle from wherever you’re sitting and Chester Bennington’s voice packs such a punch we feel it where it hurts. Fan-bloody-tastic. But I’m ahead of myself. The vibe before the gig is electric too. The restaurants aren’t packed but the line-ups for beer are longer than I’ve ever seen them at this venue. You could say this says a lot about Linkin Park fans. I just think they know it’s going to be hot in that mosh pit. Steam rises from the sweat bath before us; never before have I seen such a pulsating mass. I gave a nod of respect to the moshers at Simple Plan’s gig earlier this week but they were babies in a play pen compared to this lot.

From the moment the lights dim, the fans are beside themselves. The monstrous stage explodes beneath a wall of flashing white spotlights and the masses reach a state of hysteria when their heroes are revealed from behind a towering curtain. Oh my… the fun is about to begin.

The next hour-and-a-half is a blur. Some of it has to do with the booze we’ve guzzled, but mostly it’s the sheer force of the spectacle we’re witnessing. The sextet prowl the stage with more energy than your average puppy. We get a mix of electro, nu-metal, guitar riffs, rap and even a bit of banter. The latter hardly seems necessary – these Californians have adoration on their side.

Not many artists can perfect the difficult art of melodic roaring. Bennington has it down to a tee. Our insides shudder along with every word. This is the way a concert was meant to be. The band has sold over fifty million copies of their three studio albums and the punters know every last word.

‘Faint’, ‘Somewhere I Belong’, ‘Points of Authority’ and ‘Hands Held High’ all make an appearance. New tracks – ‘Wake’ and ‘Given Up’ prove that in the eyes of the fans, the new is even better than the old. ‘Numb’ receives the expected mass sing-along and the shining cameraphones sway to the beat. Don’t people do lighters anymore? The security guard does his best to force rising bums back to their seats.

We leave with new friends by our side and smiles on our sweaty dials. The biggest smiles however, come from the people in general admission. The frontman’s impromptu jaunt through the barriers provided some up-close-and personal action for a lucky few. Then again, maybe I’m mistaking the smiles for barrier-bruised grimaces of pain.

Live: Projekt Revolution @ Milton Keynes National Bowl - 29 June 2008

The fifth Projekt Revolution tour saw Jay-Z joining Linkin Park live onstage for one night only.

Danny Montana was in Milton Keynes to witness some stadium-sized extravagance.

Linkin Park are the biggest-selling band of this century. That is a fact. No other artist has sold more records than the Californian nu-metal band. This is why, just like other superstars like Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth and Slayer, they’re able to host their own global tour.

New Pennsylvanian electronic rock act InnerPartySystem impressed early on while dour New York alt.rockers The Bravery are barely worth mentioning. St Albans hardcore/trance fusion experts Enter Shikari however, were the first act to really let rip and whip the crowd up properly.

Pioneering funksters N*E*R*D were as droll and sexy as ever with their socially-charged lyrics and experimental tunes while plugged-in Aussie drum ‘n’ bass mainstreamers Pendulum ploughed out all the hits from their recent breakthrough album, In Silico.

The day after being the first hip hop artist to headline Glastonbury Festival, Jay Z wowed the crowds with a stellar solo set which sampled AC/DC and The Prodigy amongst others. With the massive screen behind him used to maximum effect, Shawn Corey Carter proved once again that he can do it all on his own. Jay-Z doesn’t need anyone’s help.

It’s time for Linkin Park take to the throne. Projekt Revolution is their baby. As early as 2002 they felt they were established enough to form a money-spinning, high profile arena tour across the US. In 2008, they had enough worldwide status to bring the tour to Europe. This baby’s not just eating solids now – it’s devouring them.

Jumping straight in with 'One Step Closer' was a bold move but they knew that they had more than enough material to fill their 90-minute headline slot, and they did.

Chester Bennington was on firey form while Mike Shinoda did his best to continue the hip hop-based shenanigans. However, he did look far more comfortable when reciting more familiar lyrics or when sitting behind his piano.

The appearance of Jay-Z during ‘Numb/Encore’ and 'Jigga What/Faint' was a wonderful showcase of how their Collision Course project works outside of the studio and gave a real sense of occasion to a fast-emptying MK Bowl.

It’s a safe bet that after the success of an expanded Projekt Revolution, we’re going to see them again.

Reviews 2003

2008-08-01T22:26:00.012+01:00

Nottingham Rock City
03/03/2003
In the rock world "awesome" is a pretty overused word. But in this instance it perfectly sums up a class concert.

Nigel Bell

Maybe it was the BBC being ultra health and safety cautious (this was an exclusive Radio 1 gig) but there seemed to be more room in Rock City than normal.Good news for the assembled fans - more room to jump and better vision all round - bad news for the many fans who wished they could have been there.And boy did they miss a classic. There might be a perception Nu Metal is on the wane but it's in healthy hands with Linkin Park. It might not be very trendy but this was a seriously polished performance with great sound made all the better by the fact it was in the cosy surroundings of Rock City and not some big arena. Of course Linkin Park are different from most other combos. For a start they have a duel vocal attack - tattooed Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda.Then there's DJ Joseph Hahn offering samples and scratches to delight.But ultimately they have energy and once they realised the crowd was hero-worshipping them the grins appeared and everyone enjoyed themselves."The energy we've felt from you people has been burnt in our minds for eternity," was just one of a host of class quotes from Chester.This was the kind of gig people will claim to have been at although they were probably listening at home to the Beeb.From Hahn's first scratch a sea of devil's horns was held aloft. By the end of the first track the first body surfer had been pulled free (by the encore we were talking relay surfing). "We might have to take you all on tour with us," came Chester's response to the singalong crowd.There were occasions (albeit briefly) when you thought East 17 were on stage (well, there are vague rap similarities). It made you wonder what Brian Harvey could have achieved with a bit of heavy guitar but let's not dwell on that. Given this was a showcase for the forthcoming album, Meteora, the band must have been pleased with the way the audience responded.And the crowd will be counting down the days until its release at the end of March. "You guys gave me goosebumps tonight. You're making me all emotional." Aw bless. So much so that by the encore Chester was throwing himself into the crowd and revealing a bit more of his backside than was truly necessary. They were gone in just over an hour but they'd left a lasting impression. The radio recording was good but you really had to be there.

5/5

Linkin Park Live
Date: 05/03/2003
Venue: London Brixton Academy
by Chris Nettleton

I have discovered the Oasis of metal.

With a stage set that resembled Kiss circa 'Destroyer' gone all rusty, with an industrial looking drum riser , DJ tower and four little industrial looking boxes for the bass player, guitarist and twin vocalists to stand upon, presumably because they have some height complex, tonight Linkin Park really didn't look like they were ever breaking out into a sweat. When Chester Bennington jumped off his box it looked perfectly planned and perfectly professional... When Mike Shinoda was on the mic rapping or getting audience feedback he was having a great time, for sure, but don't you want a sense of tension from a metal band? In a recording studio, it's best to play bass or guitar powerchords fairly gently and let the distorted sound you've worked so hard to find do its work, since digging and wanging the guitar like billy-O often pulls the strings sharp and sounds messy. Of course, when it comes to live.... When it came to live, where I expected digging, wanging and thrashing, I saw the 'Park stroking chords like Swiss Tony strokes his Jag....

...and so far this all sounds like a really bad show, right?.... but the thing is... Linkin Park sounded incredible, and when you're faced with the whole of a totally packed-out Brixton Academy loudly singing every word of every song from 'Hybrid Theory', the mass euphoria of it all is more infectious than flu... and as the smile floods my face, about ten feet away, in one of those alcoves they have down in the stalls in the 'Academy, I spy an off-duty Gary Numan sitting against a wall, melancholically crooning those words to the ceiling....because even the famous and successful are not immune to those songs sounding that good.... and there lies my comparison with Oasis, another relatively dull live act whose huge wall of sound and wall of singalong bowled over many an unsuspecting cynic.

The new Linkin Park songs? .... well they're not really any different from the old, no real progression, just more tunes, and with the undoubted airplay, give it a year and I guess everyone will know all the words to all of those chorus's too. I wonder.... will they too get progressively bigger until they start infighting and become more famous for the celebrity girlfriends they've made pregnant and the tabloid headlines than the actual music they play??

Footnote: I was curious to see that, where I'd expected a teeny audience, befitting the age of the band members, I actually saw that most people were predominantly 20-30... more parallels with Oasis???

The Apollo
15/03/2003
By Carol Hodgef
Almost two years ago to the day, 15-year-old Charles Williams opened fire on his classmates. The aftermath saw the death of two teenage boys and almost 20 gunshot injuries. As is the fashion in the US, a band had to blamed for this child's actions. In this particular case, Marilyn Manson and Nirvana were bypassed, and the finger of blame pointed to Linkin Park. In their defence at the time, singer Chester Bennington said: "We're definitely dealing with really dark themes. But I think that's what's positive. When I was growing up, I'd sit in my room and listen to music and I'd feel like, 'Hey, I'm not alone, I can relate to these groups that are feeling this way, and they'd make me feel OK.' Or feel like I want to get daddy's gun and blast my classmates brains out of their skulls, it would seem. Hence, I expected the Apollo to be crammed with greasy haired, po-faced, drowned-in-black-and-oversized-denim 14 year olds, raging against their wicked parents who won't let them stay at the rock club til 3 in the morning.

Refreshingly, I was greeted by a hugely varied crowd, ranging from said 14 year olds, up to middle aged punk types, to mumsy mums nipping to the bar to reveal a troupe of primary school kids, staring miserably at the legs of the people in front.

Standing near the back of the crowd (I was asked to move by several mums, so their miniscule children could see the legs of the people in front of me), I realised what a surreal night this was going to be.

Linkin Park appeared in an explosion of green searchlights, and I was numbed with boredom instantly. They didn't even acknowledge the crowd until about 20 minutes into the set, at which point Chester Bennington asked us: "Who f***ing came to f***ing see us when we f***ing played here with the f***ing Deftones?" to the giggling delight of the primary school contingent. Yawn.

It has to be said, Linkin Park are the most uninspiring, nu-metal-by-numbers 'band' I have ever seen. Perhaps this was partly due to the sound system, which gave the effect of a CD playing, about half a mile away. But, largely, I think it was the band.

Churning out one new song after another, they seemed to lose most of the crowd, but the 'hits' (especially 'Crawling' and 'One Step Closer') re-animated the general mood, and provided a rather pleasant sing-along atmosphere.

Mostly,however, Linkin Park oozed boredom and stilted routine, rather than the raw passion their videos and recordings suggest. Their attitude was so laissez-fair, I could almost hear them mutter "Let's just get it over with, and save our energy for the next gig".

Guitarist Brad Delson said, in relation to the Williams shooting of March 2001: "There's a misconception that angry music is going to make someone angry. I think it's cathartic, and I think that a lot of kids who do have problems, they can relate to the lyrics." I must be getting old.

Linkin Park : London Brixton Academy
Ooof
Mar 26, 2003

Those against Linkin Park say they're more brand than band. Wicked whispers that they were engineered by a svengali looking to corner the pop-metal market dogged their early career. Detractors say they've cynically co-opted the angst of middle-America's teenagers and sold it back to them as a basis for the megalomanical aspirations of 14 million selling Linkin Park Inc.. Even the name of their frontman raises sinister eyebrows - would you trust someone called Chester Bennington?

On the eve of Linkin Park's return with new LP 'Meteora', pop music and pop metal has moved on. Today, Christina and Justin rule the charts. '4-real' pop-rockers like Avril Lavigne and Busted clog up the top 10. Comebacks from Papa Roach and Korn last year totally underwhelmed, while Limp Bizkit's new single sounds more like some bitter Chris Morris pastiche than the record that'll re-invigorate the genre.

Linkin Park are better placed than most of their peers, mind, mainly because they've solved their biggest problem - how do you follow up a multi-million selling debut LP? - in typically sensible Linkin style. By making a new one that's virtually indistinguishable.

Apart from 'Faint' (which sounds like something by '80s synth overlords Depeche Mode) the rap-rock furniture of new tracks like 'Don't Stay', and flyer single 'Somewhere I Belong' have the same unobtrusive turntablism, enormodome sensibilities and Jerry Bruckheimer aesthetics as 'Hybrid Theory' standards like 'Crawlin' and 'One Step Closer'. Only frontman Bennington's intensity (his face looks like a man at war with his colon) betrays the band's super sleek veneer. But even he's prone to saying things like "I just wanna give every one of
you out there a hug". Ooof.

Tonight Linkin Park give few indications that they'll save nu-metal or that they even want to. But there's enough here to suggest that having barely tinkered with the formula that made them such a globally successful brand first time around, the Linkin corporation can expect a few more mighty pay days yet.

Michael Lane

Carling Weekend : Reading, Main Stage Friday
Linkin Park, Blink-182, The Darkness and more...

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington says he is so excited he wants to shit. Considering the problems he has had with his innards of late, this sounds more like a threat than a call to arms. With Linkin Park, it's all or nothing. And 50,000 fans, lighting fires and singing along to every word, welcome every single note. The stage looks great - an accident of light and graffiti spray; they run and they shout and as the dust settles it makes perfect sense. It's formulaic, of course, but it's a fine nu-metal formula that has not dated.

Paul/McNameeImran Ahmed

Linkin Park at the MEN Arena
21.11.2003
by Alex Davies
Rating:10/10

Rock crowds these days are very similar to the pop crowd, except with spikier hair and baggier pants. As I looked around the MEN Arena, packed, quite literally, to the rafters, it amazed me the number of families that had made the journey. Waist high children running around screaming, a mother putting in her three year old son's ear plugs directly in front of me. I half expected her to get out a cooler bag and serve out sandwiches to her siblings.What has rock music come to?!

Linkin Park SECC, Glasgow
by Paul Connolly

THE first thing that strikes you as Linkin Park take the stage at the aircraft hangar that is the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre is the exceptionally wide demographic of the crowd. It ranges from 5 to 55. Toddlers are held aloft by older brothers as their dads make the ubiquitous horned metal gesture. It’s not just testosterone either. There are gaggles of adolescent girls making lots of noise too. And not just pierced, black-garbed, black-haired rebels either, though they do account for a percentage of the 6,000 crowd gathered to see one of the world’s biggest bands. Many of the female contingent would look more at home at a Blue concert, with their white halter neck tops, neat coiffures and tight jeans. Linkin Park shouldn’t work; they don’t sound as though they could appeal to such a broad church. On record their rap-verse-anthemic-chorus schtick sounds a little weary, having spent too many years in the service of Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit et al. The albums — the 14-million-selling Hybrid Theory 2001) and the recently released Meteora — are so energetically buffed that they possess as much edge as a snooker ball and the songs really do sound all the same.

Once this Californian six-piece launch into their 90-minute, 19-song set their appeal becomes a little more apparent, although you still can’t help but feel that this is a band prepared in the Laboratory of Rock. Take the two lead singers, Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington. Shinoda, prowling the stage in his baseball cap and throwing faux hip-hop shapes, is the aggressive rapper, coming across like Fred Durst’s slightly anaemic younger brother who has, you know, issues. He is there for the angsty males who would love to tell someone in authority to “f*** off” but are worried they might get detention.

Bennington, meanwhile, with his softer look and Justin Timberlakesque croon, most certainly accounts for the female element. In essence, then, Linkin Park are nu-metal’s boy band and, as such, should stink. That they don’t is down to some seriously good tunes that really take flight when live. Lying for You may be awash with fake anger, but it’s also packed with hooks and possesses a mighty lung-bursting chorus, while Breaking the Habit dodges metal entirely and opts for a wander into Boys of Summer-era Don Henley territory. So — New Kids on the Rock or mighty metal contenders? Linkin Park are neither, really, but they are a jolly night out.

Reviews 2001

2008-08-01T00:11:00.004+01:00

The boy band, nu metal style
Linkin Park/Deftones
Manchester Apollo
Rating **
Monday March 26 2001
By Dave Simpson

We are in the grip of an epidemic. The spread of nu metal has resulted in an outbreak of bad tattoos and mutant hair. The audience at Manchester Apollo looks like the cast of Bad Girls (and that's just the boys), only more miserable.

The US outfit Linkin Park are nu metal's first boy band. These five eager young men would be squeaky clean if one of them didn't have a mohican. With their unnervingly predictable blend of Limp Bizkit and Eminem, they are almost entirely nondescript. However, someone has obviously decided that, never mind the fashionably doom-laden lyrics ("So insecure. Wooargh!") and the uniformly hideous clothing, nu metal needs some dance steps. Thus, the Park go through their best choreographed moves while the girl next to me takes photographs. Some people scream. So do I.

For kings of nu metal, the Deftones are surprisingly old. Gnarled in appearance, they sound like Black Sabbath fronted by a vagrant. I rather like them, compared with Linkin Park. Unfortunately - or encouragingly, depending on your preferences - the Deftones's anvil-heavy anthems are undermined by Moreno's tendency to perform with his trousers falling down. He sings about corpses. I visualise white Y-fronts.

As the set progresses, becoming more atmospheric - almost Gary Numan, and more ballady than metal - I wonder if perhaps there is something more to this than a mass-marketed soundtrack to cosmetic rebellion. In front of me, two teenage boys shake their heads so wildly they seem to be reaching a state of existential ecstasy. It is a wonderful, powerful moment. Then they stop to do their hair.

Linkin Park : London Brixton Academy
Jun 5, 2001

The line between pop and nu-metal blurs further, as Linkin Park hit London...

It's easy to see nu-metal as a reaction against the dominance of manufactured pop music. But really, it's not that simple any more. At least, not with Linkin Park on the scene.

These well-scrubbed Californians have been compared to the Backstreet Boys, and it's not hard to see why. For tonight, their set is clinical and efficient beyond a boyband's wildest dreams. They start with album tracks and finish with crowd-pleasers - and in between, we get an unfaltering series of huge, anthemic choruses, each one echoed by the predominantly teenage audience. In the spotlight, rapper Mike Shinoda plays the affable court jester to Chester Bennington's hunched psychopath. In the shadows, backing tapes ensure that we don't have to suffer any bum notes.

But while it may be stage-managed with an unnerving attention to detail, this is also a top night out. Linkin Park, you see, have written a bunch of songs that assimilate much of the best American angst-rock of the last decade. 'One Step Closer' boasts a petulant slogan to rival Rage Against The Machine: "Shut up when I'm talking to you", roars Bennington, over and over, in a primal howl. 'Crawling' mimics the white-knuckle rage of prime Alice In Chains, while 'A Place For My Head' and 'Points Of Authority' take their cue from Faith No More's 'Angel Dust': they never quite shake off their pop sensibilities though, no matter how angry they get.

Ultimately, tonight proves that while nu-metal bands are as unashamedly populist as the teenpoppers they affect to despise, their brand of teenage angst is at least preferable to the bloated excesses that characterised American rock of the late '90s (think Nine Inch Nails or Smashing Pumpkins). The boundary between nu-metal and manufactured pop is blurring. But on tonight's evidence, that might not be such a bad thing.

Niall O'Keefe

Linkin Park : Manchester Apollo
Sep 25, 2001

The time is now, the kids are alright, but Linkin Park's spirit is somewhere else entirely...

The day after this gig, the Linkin Park tour moves to the 15,000 capacity London Arena, indelibly date-stamping their arrival at The Big Time. Their album, 'Hybrid Theory' has sold 400,000 copies in the UK alone and their imminent single, 'In The End', should be their first top ten hit.

One look at the Manchester Apollo audience and it's obvious why Linkin Park's audience is expanding so rapidly - they're so young they're practically still being born. There are literally girls of six waving their arms unsteadily to 'Crawling' from their perch on their dads' shoulders (the dads are wearing Deftones t-shirts). A couple of ten-year-olds swamped in baggy jeans and hoodies pipe "thanks!" as their uncle passes them Cokes from the bar. In fact, the pre-pubescent contingent is so massive that NME finds ourselves wishing that Linkin Park's Chester Bennington wouldn't swear so much between songs - young ears!

It seems that Linkin Park are the metal equivalent of the trainer bra. And there is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with that - pop is for, after all, The Kids. But it doesn't make for a very thrilling night out. While there's no doubting the effect Linkin Park's slick rap-metal roadshow is having on large parts of the audience - there are girls, eyes closed, singing along to every word, absolutely transported - it seem every bit as antiseptic as a traditional teen pop show.

And that's not to drag out the ridiculous argument/conspiracy theory that Linkin Park are too young and pretty to make Real Men's music and therefore must have been constructed by some wicked svengali. It's just to point out that Joseph Hahn, the DJ, is embarrassingly surplus to any requirements other than fashion; that the bassist, Phoenix, and guitarist Brad Delson are so resolutely ignored by the spotlight that they might as well not be onstage at all; and that when Chester Bennington claims that "Manchester is the best fucking place on the whole fucking tour" you don't believe a bloody word of it.

There are upsides to this more yout' friendly approach - no-one is in danger of getting killed in the moshpit, thanks to Chester impressing on the crowd the call-and-response chant "If they fall - pick them up!" There's also something very sweet about the crowd putting their hands up when Chester enquires "anyone heard that before?" after 'A Place For My Head'.

And Linkin Park are tight alright - thanks to craftily used samples, every song sounds almost exactly like the record. 'Points' is a glossy stormer which almost provokes some genuine mayhem, the Depeche Mode-alike 'Step Up' proves their vesatility, and in 'Crawling', 'Pushing Me Away', 'Paper Cut' and the final 'One Step Closer'Linkin Park have songs encrusted with devilishly clever details yet charged with undeniable power - you only need to hear the crowd bellowing 'SO INSECURE!!!!' before the chorus of 'Crawling' to realise that. And Chester is the metal Justin Timberlake - he even does the human beatbox thing like *NSYNC at the end of 'Pop'! Which is another good thing.

Yet for all their ruthless professionalism, the band seem distracted (this is, it must be said, only four days after the World Trade Center attack). Even when they're joined onstage by Wes Scantlin from a Puddle Of Mudd at the climax, the show never really takes off. The time is now, the kids are alright, but Linkin Park's spirit is somewhere else entirely.

Alex Needham

Brad Delson

2008-04-03T02:54:00.019+01:00

Place In The Band: Guitars (also A&R for Machine Shop records)

Brad has a background in business as he graduated from UCLA in 1999, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a specialization in Business and Administration, he uses his knowledge to oversee the business side of Linkin Park and Machine Shop Records.

He is known for wearing oversized earphones onstage which Mike customises for him and his sarcastic humour.

Brad's first instrument was the trumpet, but then he moved to guitars.

Brad also does a lot of charity work and founded the Delson Scholarship Fund at UCLA and he also supports Little Kids Rock (www.littlekidsrock.org) which give music instruments to kids.

Brads LPN Profile

Stuff Brad Likes:
Music
Bob Marley
Dido
Death Cab For Cutie
Duran Duran
Guns N Roses
Incubus
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
Pink Floyd
Radiohead
Sam Cooke
Sunny Day Real Estate
Taproot
The Dave Matthews Band
The Deftones
The Editors
The National
The Roots
Tokyo Police Club
U2
Yo-Yo Ma
Weezer

Television Shows
Damages
Project Runway
Seinfeld
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons

Movies
Eastern Promises
Hard Rain
Once
Ratatouille
Stardust
3:10 to Yuma

Chester Bennington

2008-04-03T02:52:00.026+01:00

Place In The Band: Vocals and guitar on stage

Chester currently has a side project in the works, Dead By Sunrise, which along with himself consists of Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck from Orgy. He is also part of cover band Bucket of Weenies, whose covers includes Oasis's Wonderwall and The Cure's Boys Don't Cry. Chester has also filled in vocals for Camp Freddy.

Chester also has his own fashion line, Ve'cel with which he aims to provide people with artistic and edgy looking clothing. He also designed clothes for Replicant Clothing. Chester is a fan of tattoos and has many on his arms, legs, chest and back, Chester co-owns the tattoo chain with Sean Dowdell (ex-Grey Daze member), Club Tattoo, which hosts an annual Club Tattoo party's during which Chester usually performs.

Chester also likes to draw and paint, some of his art can be seen in the Projekt Revolution Unseen artbook in which he drew pictures of his dogs. In addition Chester has a cameo role in the film Crank starring Jason Stathaml and is a fan of the Phoenix Cardinals.

Chester's LPN Profile

Stuff Chester Likes:
Music
Al Green
Alice In Chains
David Bowie
Depeche Mode
Dramarama
Cheez
Chris Cornell
Chris Isaak
Coheed and Cambria
Elvis
Eminem
Foo Fighters
Foreigner
Fugazi
Green Day
Guns 'n' Roses
Jeff Buckley
Julien-K
Led Zeppelin
Loverboy
Madonna
Metallica
Michael Jackson
Ministry Of Theives
Misfits
Motley Crue
My Chemical Romance
Oasis
Orgy
Pennywise
Queens of the Stone Age
Rise Against
Rush
Slick Rick
Stone Temple Pilots
Sugarhill Gang
The Beatles
The Cure

Television Shows
Gay Robot
MTV
South Park
Spongebob Square Pants
The Simpsons
The Sopranos

Movies
Transformers

Mike Shinoda

2008-04-03T01:32:00.034+01:00

Place In The Band: Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Production, Art

As well as Linkin Park records (Mike actually got a co-producing credit on Minutes To Midnight) Mike has also produced tracks for Styles of Beyond, Lupe Fiasco and more. Mike also remixed Depeche Mode's Enjoy The Silence, which was released in 2004.

Mike also has a hip hop project under the name Fort Minor, he released Fort Minor's first album "The Rising Tied" in November 2005 (more information on Fort Minor).

Mikes other passion is art (he graduated from the Pasadena College of Art and Design in 1997 , with Bachelor of Arts in Design and Illustration), Mike hosted his first art show in 2006, entitled Diamonds Hearts Spades Clubs, and his second entitled "Glorious Excess (Born)" under the theme of ""vanitas"...and pop culture, Japanese imagery, street culture...many things." which opened on the 12th of July 2008 at the Japanese American Museum in California, the conclusion to Glorious Excess, named Glorious Excess (Dies) will open in January 2009. Mike also incorporates his art into Linkin Park cd covers, web design, logos and tshirts for Linkin Park and Music for Relief. Mike has also designed 2 shoes with DC Shoe USA, as part of their remix series.

Mike also blogs regularly on mikeshinoda.com (and formerly on the Fort Minor myspace page), he tends to blog about the band, music and youtube clips.

Mike is a big fan of Xbox, and was invited to play Halo 3 (his favourite game) before its release, Mike has also mentioned in interviews that he used to have Nintendos, and that he enjoys snowboarding.

Mike also does a lot of charity work and founded the Michael K. Shinoda Endowed Scholarship, offering scholarships for Pasadena Art Centre, and has also donated to the Japanese American Museum which hosted Glorious Excess (Born) and (Dies).

Mike's LPN Profile

Stuff Mike Likes:

Music
Anthrax
Apathy
A Perfect Circle
Aphex Twin
A Tribe Called Quest
Beastie Boys
Billy Idol
Black Eyed Peas
Black Moon
Blahzay Blahzay
Boogie Down Productions
Celph Titled
Chris Cornell
Cypress Hill
Death Cab For Cutie
Dido
Disturbed
Eminem
Far
Fugazi
Gang of Four
Guns 'n' Roses
Helmet
Heltah Skeltah
House Of Pain
(old) Ice Cube
Incubus
Jay Z
Jeff Buckley
Jimi Hendrix
Juelz Santana
Jurassic 5
Katrina and The Waves
Killing Joke
Kittie
Led Zeppelin
LMNO
Lupe Fiasco
Madonna
Metallica
Method Man
MIA
Michael Jackson
Ministry
Ministry Of Thieves
Motley Crue
Nine Inch Nails
Northern State
NWA
Oingo Boingo
Outkast
Pennywise
Portishead
Public Enemy
Quicksand
Rage Against The Machine
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Man
Refused
Rise Against
Run DMC (& Aerosmith)
Scars on Broadway
Smashing Pumpkins
Sneaker Pimps
Soundgarden
Stone Temple Pilots
Styles of Beyond
Sunny Day Real Estate
System Of A Down
Taproot
Tears For Fears
The Cure
The Deftones
The Jackson 5
The Misfits
The Pharcyde
The Police
The Roots
The Who
Thrice
U2
Vampire Weekend
Violent Femmes
Wu-Tang Clan

Television Shows
Entourage
Family Guy
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Gay Robot
Laurel and Hardy Cartoon
Lost
Saturday Night Live
The Natural Geography Channel
The Simpsons
Tom and Jerry
What's Happening

Movies
All We Are Saying
Anchorman
Full Metal Jacket
Pirates Of The Caribbean
The Dark Knight
The Sixth Sense
Transformers
Zoolander

Art
Craola
Jeremy Fish
Damien Hurst
Kris Kuksi
Antony Micallef
Mark Ryden
Corey Sandelius
Greg Simkins
The Decapitator

Joe Hahn

2008-04-02T17:14:00.019+01:00

Place In The Band: Turntables/Samples, Video Director

Joe has directed the videos for In The End, Somewhere I Belong, From The Inside, Numb, Breaking The Habit, What I've Done ,Bleed It Out, Shadow of The Day, Leave Out All The Rest as well as the videos made for Reanimation. Also Joe has directed videos for Story of The Year, Xzibit and more.

Joe went to art school but dropped out to pursue his interests in directing, and ended up working on Sphere and Phantoms designing monsters. Joe's first film, The Seed was released in March 2008 on itunes. He has also bought the rights to the screen play for King Rat.

Joe also has an interest in fashion and has a clothing store, Suru, in LA. Joe has a extensive collection of vinyl toys, and he also likes to play Xbox, and reads tonnes of comics and watches loads of movies.

Joe's LPN Profile

Stuff Joe Likes:

Music
Foo Fighters
Metallica
Rage Against The Machine

Television Shows
Robotech
The Simpsons

Movies
Transformers

Rob Bourdon

2008-04-02T17:13:00.015+01:00

Place In The Band: Drums

As well as the drums Rob also plays piano. In the band he is on the "touring committee" with Chester, meaning they organise bands to go on tour with and the tour schedule. His recreational hobbies include surfing and playing Xbox.

Rob's LPN Profile

Stuff Rob Likes:

Music
Aerosmith
Chris Cornell
Earth Wind and Fire
Faith No More
Incubus
James Brown
Family Stone
Frank Sinatra
Metallica
Nirvana
Sly and The Family Stone
The Dave Matthews Band
The Police
Tower of Power

Phoenix

2008-04-02T17:11:00.019+01:00

Place In The Band: Bass (and backup vocals in the live show)

As well as the bass Phoenix also plays the guitar, cello, and violin. Phoenix also enjoys playing guitar hero/ xbox, and Wii (wii tennis), snowboarding and hitting balls in the batting cages. Phoenix is also a huge football fan, and supports England through the world cup and Manchester United (because their games are shown in the US), he also supports the American football team, The Patriots.

Phoenix's LPN Profile

Stuff Phoenix Likes:

Music
Bob Marley
Harrod & Funck
Hughes & Wagner
Metallica
Sarah McLachlan
The Beatles
The Deftones
The Roots
Weezer

Television Shows
The Simpsons

Movies
Braveheart
Harry Potter

Discography

2008-01-01T23:28:00.001Z

Contact Us

2008-01-01T22:51:00.006Z

LPUK Message Boards

2008-01-01T21:15:00.006Z

The Rules *Please Read Before Posting/Joining*

Treat all members with respect to do not flame, insult, threaten or mock members, even if done in a joking manner.
Do not disrespect the LPUK staff.
Do not create signatures or threads that may change the formatting of the boards or threads.
Do not post or make signatures containing graphic sexual content or any other material that others may deem offensive.
Do not post Linkin Park Street Team competition links, they may be posted in your signatures however.
Do not make threads about the band member's personal lives.
Do not make continuous repeat posts.
Do not make threads on topics for which threads already exist.
Post topics in the closest appropriate forum.
Post in English.
If you have any questions regarding the rules, feel free to contact a moderator/admin.

Breaking the rules will result in warning points being given out; persistent breaking of the rules will lead to being banned from the boards.

Click here to enter the boards.

LPUK Gallery

2008-01-01T21:13:00.009Z

Click to launch the gallery

With thanks to LPHQ for their contribution to the gallery.

The photos have been found online and do not belong to LPUK, if you own a photo and want it to be removed please contact us.

Projekt Revolution

2008-01-01T21:02:00.013Z

Projekt Revolution is Linkin Park's festival that is held most years and is headlined by the band. The tour's goal has been to provide fans with a concert experience with bands of different sounds and genres. Projekt Revolution started as a US tour in 2002, and has grown considerably since, it has moved from a winter tour to a summer tour and in 2004 a second stage, the Revolution Stage, was added, and in 2008 the tour was taken internationally to England and Germany for the first time although with different acts than the US Projekt Revolution.

As with other tours that the band embark on they try to make Projekt Revolution a green tour by running the buses on bio-diesel, donating $1 from each ticket to charity, donating left over food to shelters and setting up Music For Relief booths which sell Music For Relief merchandise and provide information on green house gases.

Projekt Revolution Lineups

Projekt Revolution 2002 (29 January - 24 February 2002)

Linkin Park
Cypress Hill
Adema
DJ Z-Trip

Projekt Revolution 2003 (09 April - 26 April 2003)

Linkin Park
Mudvayne
Xzibit
Blindside

Projekt Revolution 2004 (23 July 2004 - 05 September 2004)

Main Stage
Linkin Park
Korn
Snoop Dogg
The Used
Less Than Jake

Revolution Stage
Ghostface Killah
Funeral For A Friend
Downset
M.O.P
Mike V. and The Rats
Instruction
No Warning
Autopilot Off

Projekt Revolution 2007 (25 July 2007 - 03 September 2007)

Main Stage
Linkin Park
My Chemical Romance
Taking Back Sunday
HIM
Placebo
Julien-K

Revolution Stage
Mindless Self Indulgence
Saosin
The Bled
Styles Of Beyond
Madina Lake

Projekt Revolution 2008 Muchen, Germany (21 June 2008)

Linkin Park
HIM
N*E*R*D
The Used
The Blackout

Projekt Revolution 2008, Berlin, Germany (27 June 2008)

Linkin Park
HIM
N*E*R*D

Projekt Revolution 2008, Dusseldorf, Germany (28 June 2008)

Linkin Park
HIM
N*E*R*D
The Used
The Bravery
InnerPartySystem

Projekt Revolution 2008, Milton Keynes, UK (29 June 2008)

Linkin Park
Jay-Z
Pendulum
N*E*R*D
Enter Shikari
The Bravery
InnerPartySystem

Projekt Revolution 2008, US Tour (16 July 2008 - 24 August 2008)

Main Stage
Linkin Park
Chris Cornell
The Bravery
Ashes Divide
Street Drum Corps
(Busta Rhymes also featured on a few dates of the tour but had to leave early due to "business matters")

Revolution Stage
Atreyu
10 Years
Hawthorne Heights
Armor For Sleep

The LPUK Team

2008-01-01T20:30:00.017Z

Zara19
Zara is a 20 year old 2nd year Psychology student at Nottingham Trent University. No that doesn't mean she can read your mind. She splits her time between Nottingham and Leicester, and has seen Linkin Park play live on 6 occasions since 2003. In her spare time she likes to take naps and raise kittens.

LPU Profile // Gig Blog // Youtube Channel

La La Laura
Laura is 17 and resides in the south west of England and is currently completing her final year of A-levels (business, English and media). She has seen Linkin Park three times and wants more linkin goodness. Apart from LP Laura enjoys drinking cider and Keith Murray's face (not the vase or rapper).

LPU Profile // Gig Blog // Youtube Channel

Rob_Wilson
^^Exactly what it says on the tin. He is 18, and lives in north-east England. He is completing his second year of A-levels (biology, chemistry and physics). He has seen LP twice but feels another 10 shows wouldn't go amiss. Apart from Linkin Park...yes there is an apart from, Rob is a 1st Dan in wado-Ryu karate and fought for England in the World Championships in 2005. Contrary to popular belief he doesn't make cards, neither has he been a contestant on Countdown.

LPU Profile

Scott360

LPU Profile

Also a huge thank you to Scott for the lovely site header.

UK Tour Dates

2008-01-01T18:13:00.009Z

11.01.2001 Goldsmith College, London
22.03.2001 SECC Arena, Glasgow (supporting the Deftones)
23.03.2001 Manchester Apollo (supporting the Deftones)
24.03.2001 Top Of The Pops BBC Studios, London
24.03.2001 London Docklands Arena (supporting the Deftones)
25.03.2001 Manchester Apollo (supporting the Deftones)
04.06.2001 Brixton Academy
15.09.2001 Manchester Apollo
16.09.2001 London Docklands Arena

03.03.2003 Nottingham Rock City
05.03.2003 Brixton Academy
06.03.2003 Top of The Pops BBC Studio, London
07.03.2003 Manchester Apollo
08.03.2003 Headliners Studio, London
20.08.2003 RDS Arena, Dublin
21.08.2003 Royal Lancaster Hotel (Kerrang Awards)
22.08.2003 Carling Festival: Reading (Festival Headliner)
23.08.2003 Carling Festival: Leeds (Festival Headliner)
20.11.2003 SECC Arena, Glasgow
21.11.2003 MEN Arena
22.11.2003 Wembley Arena
24.11.2003 Birmingham NIA
25.11.2003 Cardiff Arena

03.06.2004 Download Festival: Glasgow (Festival Headliner)
05.06.2004 Download Festival: Donington Park (Festival Headliner)

03.05.2007 London Astoria
09.06.2007 Download Festival: Donnington (Festival Headliner)

24.01.2008 Nottingham Arena
25.01.2008 Sheffield Arena
27.01.2008 MEN Arena
28.01.2008 02 Arena
29.01.2008 02 Arena
22.06.2008 RDS, Dublin
29.06.2008 Projekt Revolution UK: Milton Keynes (Festival Co-Headliner With Jay Z)

01.08.2009 Sonisphere Festival (Festival Headliner)

LPN Widget

2008-01-01T17:21:00.003Z

Magazine Scans

2008-01-01T05:39:00.010Z

(click to view albums and download the scans to read)

2008

Kerrang 1218 July 12 2008

Kerrang 1216 June 28 2008

Kerrang 1215 June 21 2008

Kerrang 1159 May 19 2008

Kerrang 1200 March 8 2008

Kerrang 1194 January 26 2008

2007

Kerrang Chester Interview 2007

Rock Sound August 2007

Big Cheese 88 June 2007

Kerrang 1158 May 12 2007

Kerrang MTM Track by Track 2007

Kerrang London Astoria Preview 2007

LPN Questions Answered

2008-01-01T02:54:00.004Z

Brad

Q: Hey Brad, do you play Guitar Hero (any one of them)? - TmanLPU
A: Yes, but I’m not as good as Chester or Mike.

Q: Brad, do you still play Trumpet? Why not add some Trumpet parts into the next record? - SassiLP
A: Not as good as I used to. Maybe on the next one.

Q: Brad, I'm an amateur guitarist. How did you get so good and what helped you come up with your songs? - fenderfreak123
A: I took guitar lessons for years, practiced a lot, taught guitar lessons, and listened to a lot of music!

Q: How do you feel when you first get on the stage? - pehrfy
A: Excited.

Q: What's your favorite TV show? - Chesters_Girl
A: The Shield, Project Runway, Damages

Q: What happened to the graffiti walls shown in the Meteora booklet? Are they kept in a special place? - comfortzone
A: They’re being preserved in a cryogenic chamber.

Q: What music are you listening to currently?
A: Sam Cooke, Editors, Yo-Yo Ma, Tokyo Police Club

Q: What are your favorite movies this year?
A: Once, Ratatouille, Eastern Promises, Stardust, 3:10 to Yuma

Q: How many guitars have you smashed? (If none, you should smash one now)
A: Fortunately, not too many. The guitars I play on stage are pretty special (and pretty expensive), so I try to treat them kindly! I have, however, destroyed a few in my time, some of which have been retired to various Hard Rock cafes.

Q: What type of guitar do have near your computer? (or near your tv/couch etc for sudden strokes of genius)
A: I keep an old-school hand-held recorder close for sudden bursts of inspiration. If I'm away from home, I'll call myself and leave ideas on my voicemail.

Q: What is your favorite guitar?
A: My red PRS, custom 24, soldier with wings

Chester

Q: With the way you sing, how do you sooth your throats? I myself am a singer and I am interested in how people get away with the pain and if there are any exercises that are helpful? - Abitchey
A: Lots of water and practice.

Q: If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be? - EduardoG
A: Me.

Q: How were you able to perform when you broke your wrist during the show? - Heatheroz
A: The pain of disappointing the fans is way worse than a broken wrist.

Q: Where did you learn to sing? - robstar
A: I learned by singing along to my favorite records.

Q: Which country would you like to tour most that you haven't been to yet? - maurader
A: Israel, South Africa, and Egypt.

Q: I always have the WORST case of writer's block. What do you do to get over writer's block? - Kaji5785
A: I switch to other creative things like drawing or painting and it seems to work.

Q: Who do you think are some of the best vocalists in the current music scene?
A: Ryan Shuck of Julien-K, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Chris Cornell, and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance.

Q: What was your favorite city to visit on this past Australia/NZ/Asia tour, and why?
A: Tokyo. Because it is so full of life and it’s the fashion capital of the world.

Q: What can you tell us about your solo project, Dead By Sunrise?
A: We rule! Our record is almost done and so far we’re really proud of all the songs.

Q: I love the new Club Tattoo designed Etnies Shoes! What gave you the idea for those?
A: Etnies is the original when it comes to street/skate shoes. We thought they would be the perfect fit for Club Tattoo.

Joe

Q:What do you guys do for fun on tour? - Craigie_T
A: We play naked twister smothered in mayo, gravy, and mustard.

Q: Have you ever seen a UFO or anything else strange? - CheGuevara
A: Yes. I see UFOs on occasion.

Q: Is there a website where I can see your art? - Jossi
A: No website for my art, but maybe later on. www.SURU-LA.com

Q: Where do you guys see yourselves in 15 years? - sabadiyo
A: In 15 years, I will be President of North Korea.

Q: What's your favorite car? - Lplova
A: I like the Yugo.

Mike

Q: Do you ever take paintings on tour with you to finish? - ILoveMyMikeShinoda
A: Sometimes, but I sketch more often.

Q: When you rap, do you ever freestyle before writing the actual lyrics? - Rayzer
A: I usually loop the beat and see what rhythms feel best on the track. Then I figure out words.

Q: Will you be doing more with Fort Minor sometime in the future? - WillSherwoodA
A: No plans, but I did some work on an upcoming Styles Of Beyond album. It's coming out soon.

Q: How was it being on MTV's "Punked"? - angel123
A: Did you ever pee your pants in preschool and everyone laughed at you? It's like that.

Q: Hey, Mike! Where do you get your inspiration for your art? - StealthSneak1
A: My new stuff is inspired by pop culture and rock/punk/hip hop excess. Nobody has seen the new stuff yet though - it's coming in July. More info to come on

Q: How do you warm up for gigs? - heyman112
A: Chill out, stretch, and figure out what I’m going to eat after we play. Tonight is Caesar salad and a steak.

Phoenix

Q: Does "No More Sorrow" reflect your opinion about today's politics around the world? What is your take on politics? - TudorBran
A: Yes and no… true false.

Q: Where do you guys get your inspiration? - doublefudge
A: From all the "Chicken Soup For The Soul" books.

Q: Will there be another remix album? - BOBXCORE
A:Definitely maybe.

Q: What's the most important thing to bring while on tour? - Nightshad3
A: Cholula or Tapatio (especially internationally!!!)

Q: What's the most embarrassing thing any of you have ever done onstage? - LP_Fan101
A: One time I played a wrong note.

Q: What is the secret to your success? - djjenkins
A: Rob Bourdon.

Q: What is one of your best memories while creating the Minutes to Midnight album?
A: The time we spent in the studio was amazing. Great creative experience!

Q: How do you think you have changed, personally and/or professionally, since your band has achieved success worldwide?
A: I think we’ve become more mature. I also think we treat each other better.

Q: Music for Relief is now concentrating on aiding California wildfire relief efforts as well as responding to the destruction caused by the recent cyclone in Bangladesh. Why did the organization choose to focus on these two particular natural disasters?
A: Music for Relief is an organization designed to help people in need. When we see a situation where we think we can help, we get involved.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to that people might be surprised to hear of?
A: I like classical music.

Q: If you weren't in a band what else do you think you would be doing? Any other careers that you aspired to as a kid?
A: I wanted to be a CIA hitman for a while – that was back before I adjusted into society.

Q: What are you looking forward to most on the upcoming European and US tour?
A: Seeing all our LPUers and fans worldwide.

Rob

Q: What's it like being in front of a ton of people when you're on stage? - black_phantom
A: Every night is a huge adrenaline rush when the show starts. It’s the best feeling.

Q: How long have you all known each other? - Bones850
A: I have known Brad, Mike, and Dave for 12 years. Chester for 10 years and Joe for 11 years.

Q: Hey guys, I'm from The Bahamas, where rock music is not popular at all. How does it feel to have fans from a variety of cultures worldwide? - SunShyneY2J
A: It's great, I wish we could do a show in the Bahamas!! Maybe one day!

Q: Hey Rob, how long did it take you to get where you are now on your drumming skills? - Blessed_Ignorance
A: Up till today. I started playing for fun when I was 12. The process of learning and improving never ends.

Q: I want to know what is the strangest thing that you have eaten on tour? - lilmiss_robinator
A: I stick to the basics. I am a pretty boring eater.

Q: If you had to pick another band to be in (other than Linkin Park!), which would you pick and why? - nicky808
A: I would be stoked if I was good enough to play drums with The Dave Matthews Band.

Q: Do you play any other instruments, and if yes, which ones? What made you choose the drums as your main instrument?
A: I also play the piano. I chose the drums after seeing Aerosmith play when I was in the 4th grade.

Q: Chris Cornell was the opening act for your Australia show. How was that? Did you meet any other opening bands/artists on tour that you liked?
A: I think Chris Cornell is extremely talented and it was an honor to play on the same stage. I’ve been listening to his music since I was in high school.

Q: What video games have you been playing recently? Which game can you usually trump everyone else in?
A: Halo 1 was my game. I have retired for now, but might start on Halo 3 soon.

Q: How does it feel performing overseas compared to performing in the U.S.?
A: Most of the shows overseas are a lot larger than U.S. shows.

Q: What other passions do you have besides music? Is there anything recent that you've been interested in (a new band, hobby, food, sport or activity)?
A: Surfing.

Q: Your drum solo during "Bleed It Out" live is incredible! How did you come up with it?
A: I actually never have really tried doing drum solos until the other guys asked me to do them. I just play whatever comes to mind at the time with a general idea of what to do based on previous solos.

Q: Do you have time to go sightseeing in your spare time on tour? What are some sights or landmarks that you've enjoyed visiting recently?
A: I really enjoyed the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

Machine Shop Records

2008-01-01T02:48:00.005Z

Machine Shop Records is a record label founded by Linkin Park, and is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Brad is the A&R for those on the label. With Machine Shop Records they aim to discover and support new artists, and prides itself on being an artist-driven label.

Bands Currently on Machine Shop Records:

Styles Of Beyond

Fort Minor

Music For Relief

2008-01-01T02:36:00.010Z

Music For Relief is the charity organisation founded by Linkin Park after being shocked by the tsumani tragedy as they had just been in South East Asia weeks before it struck, its aim is to deal with the prevention and aftermath of natural disasters.

(Taken from Music for Relief on Wikipedia)

Comprised of musicians and music industry professionals, Music For Relief seeks to bring the music community together under one blanket to maximize the efforts to create awareness and raise funds for those in need.

Established in 2005 to provide aid for those affected by the tsumami tragedy in South Asia, the idea for Music For Relief originated amongst the members of the band Linkin Park who wanted to do something to help the victims. The idea was that if they made a donation, and then asked their musician peers and their fans to make a donation as well, a huge impact could be made in assisting relief efforts. With this in mind they started reaching out to others in the music community to get involved and became the founders of Music For Relief.

Music For Relief has two immediate goals. The first goal is to respond to natural disasters as they occur to help victims recover and rebuild, with an emphasis on housing, education programs and resources. The organization also recognizes the environmental consequences of global warming, which have demonstrated the capability to accelerate and strengthen certain types of natural disasters. Therefore the second goal of Music For Relief is to help prevent and decrease future natural disasters by reducing greenhouse gasses, seeking renewable forms of energy and educating the public about climate change.

Long term, Music For Relief is committed to expand efforts to a global scale and have the resources to be able to mobilize the music community and music fans to help various causes throughout the world should the need arise.

The organization is donating $1 from every Projekt Revolution tour ticket sold to American Forests.

In the wake of the October 2007 California wildfires, Music For Relief made a donation of $50,000 to Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief International , which was matched by SanDisk for a total of $100,000 for the relief effort.

Music for Relief responded to Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh with an eBay auction and fundraising effort to raise money for the survivors. Proceeds from this initiative were donated to CARE’s recovery effort in Bangladesh.

LP also donated $1/ticket from their recent 2007 Europe and UK tour and the winter 2008 U.S. and Canadian tour dates to Music for Relief for tree planting.

I urge you to visit www.musicforrelief.org and/or www.myspace.com/musicforrelief to get a Music For Relief banner for your web page go to http://www.musicforrelief.org/toolkit target="_blank"

The Band

2008-01-01T02:03:00.011Z

Linkin Park

2008-01-01T01:54:00.009Z

The beginning of the band started when Mike and Brad were friends at high school (aged 13), their friendship formed over their love for all kinds of music and for making music, also Brad taught Mike how to play guitar. Meanwhile Brad was also playing in bands with Rob. They moved on to university where Mike met Joe at the Pasadena Art centre, and Brad and Phoenix were roomates in UCLA.

After university they became more serious about their music which they were making in Mike's bedroom, they recruited Mark Wakefield for the vocals and formed the band Xero in 1996.

The band sent out demo's to everywhere but with no prevail, leading to Mark to leave the band and for Phoenix to rejoin his old band Tasty Snax. Leaving Xero in need of a singer.

In March 1999, Jeff Blue sent out a Xero demo tape to Chester Bennington who he knew was looking for a band, Chester missed his birthday party to put his vocals over the demo and played it down the phone to the band the next day. He then flew to LA from Arizona the day after to audition for the band, the band were impressed and recruited him as their new singer. They also changed the band name to Hybrid Theory.

While waiting for a label to catch on, the band wrote new music and practised, while playing shows where ever would let them play. They also released the Hybrid Theory EP in 1999; before changing their name to Linkin Park, after the Lincoln Park that Chester had to walk through to get to band rehearsal, so they could get a linkinpark.com domain name and for other legal reasons.

After being rejected by major labels numerous times (including Warner Bros 3 times) Jeff Blue again helped the band to get a record deal at Warner Bros in 1999.

The bands first album Hybrid Theory was release on 24th October 2000 and was the biggest selling album of 2001. Phoenix rejoined the band and they toured the album extensively including being invited on the Family Values tour and Ozzfest, they also released the Frat Party At The Pancake Festival dvd on the 20th November 2001.

In 2002 they embarked on the first Projekt Revolution tour and afterwards released Reanimation on the 30th of July, a reworking of tracks from Hybrid Theory and the Hybrid Theory EP, by the band themselves and other guests such as Jonathon Davies and Black Thought. Also Joe Hahn made videos for every song on the album, with the Pts.of.Athrty video being released as a single.

During the tours they set up a elaborate studio in the back of the bus to work on the follow up to Hybrid Theory; and after recording at NRG, Meteora was released on the 24th (25th-USA) of March 2003 after a small LPU tour. Leading up to the release of Meteora a new episode of LPTV (series 1) was released weekly depicting the making of the album.

Again they toured the album including joining Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour, during which at their stops in Texas Linkin Park's set was filmed for the live DVD and CD Live In Texas which was released on 18th of November 2003.

After 2 Projekt Revolution tours and a Meteora world tour the band went back into the studio to work with Jay-Z who invited them to work with him for MTV's Mash Up Series, they spent 3 days in the studio and played a live show for LPUers and Jay-Z fans at the Roxy, which was filmed and released with the album Collision Course, on the 30th of November 2004. They went on to win a Grammy award for best rap/sung collaboration in 2006.

Afterwards the band embarked on their fourth Projekt Revolution tour, after which they took a break, during which time Mike Shinoda released The Rising Tied under the name Fort Minor and toured the album over the world.

In 2006 the band returned to the studio this time with producer Rick Rubin to work on their third album, with the goal to move on from Hybrid Theory and Meteora and make something new. Minutes To Midnight was released on the 14th (15th - US) of May 2007.

Again the band toured all over the world in support of Minutes to Midnight, including European festivals a UK arena tour, and 2 Projekt Revolution tours, which featured the first Projekt Revolution dates outside of North America in Germany and England.

The Projekt Revolution date in Milton Keynes, UK, was recorded for the CD/DVD "Road to Revolution : Live in Milton Keynes" which was released on the 24th November 2008.

Currently the band are working on their 4th studio album, and aim to release it in 2009.

Fort Minor

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Fort Minor is Mike Shinoda's hip hop side project. The album "The Rising Tied" was released on the 21st (22nd-US) November 2005. Mike played almost every instrument on the album and produced it, with Jay Z as his executive producer, Brad also gave his input into the track listing. The album had a number of guests on each track, with Styles of Beyond being on 6 tracks.

Mike took Styles of Beyond on tour with him, as well as the drummer Beatdown. Holly Brook also made several appearances on tour with them, and Chester filled in her vocals on "Where'd You Go" at the Summer Sonic, Japan 2006 show.

In the UK the "Believe Me" single and video was released. In the US Petrified, Where'd You Go and Remember The Name was released. The "Where'd You Go" video had to be retired from TRL due to it's immense popularity and Mike picked up a VMA in 2006 for "Ringtone of The Year" for the track.

Mike also did the artwork himself for the album cover and 10 other pieces under the same theme which was then used for his art show, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, Clubs.

Prior to the release of The Rising Tied, the Fort Minor mixtape, DJ Green Latern Presents: Fort Minor: We Major was released (30th October, 2005), which included the popular Spraypaint and Inkpens (feat Lupe Fiasco), remixes of songs from The Rising Tied, and other tracks featuring Mike and Styles of Beyond rapping over rock tracks and beats. Again Mike produced and mixed the mixtape himself.

During Linkin Park live shows Mike puts a verse of Petrified, Dolla, Bloc Party or There They Go over the top of the Points of Authority intro.

Although there are no current plans for a follow up to The Rising Tied Mike has produced Styles of Beyond's new album, due to be released this year.

Fort Minor Tour Dates in the UK:

23.08.2005 Shepards Bush Empire (supporting The Roots)
26.08.2005 Carling Festival: Reading (Dance Stage)
14.11.2005 Mean Fiddler

UK Audio

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Milton Keynes PRUK -Audience Recording
Jay Z:
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4 - 99 Problems
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7
Track 8
Track 9
Track 10 - Public Service Announcement
Track 11 - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Track 12 - Jigga What
Track 13 - Izzo
Track 14
Track 15
Track 16
Track 17 - Show Me What You Got
Track 18
Track 19
Track 20
Track 21
Track 22
Track 23 - Big Pimpin'

Pendulum:
Intro
Showdown
Fasten Your Seatbelt
Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)
Propane Nightmares
Blood Sugar
Slam
Granite
Hold Your Colour

N*E*R*D:
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4 - Rockstar
Track 5
Track 6 - Lapdance
Track 7
Track 8 - Everyone Nose
Track 9

The Bravery:
Track 1 - Fearless
Track 2 - Believe
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5 - An Honest Mistake
Track 6
Track 7

22.06.2008 RDS, Dublin
24.01.2008 Nottingham Arena
25.01.2008 Sheffield Arena
27.01.2008 MEN Arena
28.01.2008 02 Arena
29.01.2008 02 Arena

07.03.2003 Manchester Apollo
22.08.2003 Carling Festival: Reading
03.03.2003 Nottingham Rock City (Radio Rip)

24.03.2001 London Docklands Arena
25.03.2001 Manchester Apollo

Links

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Linkin Park Links

Linkin Park Official
Linkin Park Underground
Linkin Park Street Team
Linkin Park's Youtube Channel
Linkin Park at Myspace
Linkin Park at Facebook

Music For Relief Links

Music For Relief
Music For Relief on Myspace
Music For Relief's Youtube Channel

Mike Shinoda Links

Mike's Blog and Art
Fort Minor Official
Fort Minor Militia
Fort Minor Street Team
Fort Minor at Myspace

Chester Bennington Links

Chester Bennington - Official Website
Chester on Twitter
Club Tattoo
Club Tattoo at Myspace
Ve'cel Clothing
Ve'cel Clothing at Myspace

Joe Hahn Links

Joe's Blog
Suru Store

Recommended Fansites

LP Times
LP Association
LPHQ
LP Projekt

LPUK On Youtube

2008-01-01T00:10:00.003Z

LPUK's Youtube UK Live Favourites