![]() ![]() ![]() It proved too much for Wakefield, who left the group and was replaced, after much searching, by vocalist Chester Bennington. Bass guitarist Phoenix, also left around the same time, although he later rejoined the group after they found success. The band changed their name to “Hybrid Theory” and started to attract more attention, principally due to the vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington. However, even after they changed the band’s name one final time to Linkin Park, they still could not get that elusive record deal. Blue, then VP at Zomba had recommended Bennington to the group. Having moved on to Warner Bros Records, he was in an ideal place to assist the band in signing a record deal in 1999. The following year, the band released their debut album. “Hybrid Theory” was the culmination of five year’s writing and hard work and it paid off. ![]() It was a huge commercial success for the alternative rock group, selling almost five million copies in the first year of release, and became the best selling album of 2001. It also won the band a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song “Crawling.” Singles from the album also appeared in films Little Nicky, Valentine and Dracula 2000. The group took to the road, performing 320 concerts in little over a year, including Ozzfest and the Family Values Tour, as well as their own shows, which featured artists such as Snoop Dogg and Adema. With the return of Phoenix, the band released a remix album, “Reanimation” that included songs from “Hybrid Theory” as well as previously unreleased tracks. The album soared to the number two spot on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 250,000 copies in its first week of release. In between touring, the band managed to put together a new studio album, in the shape of “Meteora”, inspired by the region in Greece. The album featured the band’s nu metal and rapcore styles but also introduced new sounds and instruments, such as the Japanese flute, shakuhachi. When released in March 2003, “Meteora” went straight to the top of the album charts both the key US and UK markets. ![]() Within six months, the album had sold nearly three million.
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