Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (Deluxe Edition) (2016) [Hi-Res]

'Hybrid Theory' is the debut album by American rock band Linkin Park, released on October 24, 2000 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was a huge commercial success, selling over 10 million units in the United States alone and peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 while also reaching high positions on other charts worldwide, despite receiving mixed reviews from publications. It has also sold 29 million copies worldwide as of 2009, including over 10 million in the U.S. which makes it the band's best-selling album, and one of the best selling albums of the decade.

Recorded at NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, California, and produced by Don Gilmore, the album's lyrical themes deal with problems lead vocalist Chester Bennington experienced during his adolescence, including drug abuse and the constant fighting and divorce of his parents. Hybrid Theory takes its title from the previous name of the band.

Four singles were released from the album: 'One Step Closer', 'Papercut', 'In the End', and the Grammy Award-winning 'Crawling', which along with 'In the End' was responsible for launching Linkin Park into mainstream popularity. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, Hybrid Theory was nominated for Best Rock Album.

Shinoda, who had worked as a graphic designer before becoming a professional musician, has stated that the band had looked through books for inspiration on how to present themselves for the first time. The result was a winged-soldier which he illustrated himself. According to Chester Bennington, the idea of the soldier with dragonfly wings was to describe the blending of hard and soft musical elements by the use of the jaded looks of the soldier and frail touches of the wings.[17] Throughout the cover features scrambled lyrics of the album's songs, though the lyrics to 'One Step Closer' are the most prominent. A different version of the soldier can be seen on some of the album's singles. Also the cover to 'Reanimation', a remix album to 'Hybrid Theory', features a robotic version of the soldier similar to the ones featured on Mobile Suit Gundam. Bennington also has a tattoo of the soldier on his left calf

'...Giving angst-ridden rock...an effective electronic spin....Throw in the contrasting vocal interplay of gruff rapper Mike Shinoda and crooner Chester Bellington, hooks you could land a whale with and Fred Durst-style earnestness and [the group] shine like the proverbial diamond in excrement...' (Q Magazine - 4 out of 5 stars).

Mike Shinoda, vocals, sampler
Chester Bennington, vocals
Brad Delson, guitar, background vocals
Rob Bourdon, drums, background vocals
Joseph Hahn, sampler, background vocals

Recording at NRG Recordings, North Hollywood, CA.

Q Magazine's '100 Greatest Albums Ever'