Hybrid Theory: 4 Years Later

On this date in 2000, Linkin Park's astonishing debut album 'Hybrid Theory' was released. The album seamlessly blended hip-hop, rock, and electronica like no other band had ever done before. Frontmen Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda threw out a two-pronged attack of melodies, screams, and raps interlaced with the crunching guitars of Brad Delson, psychadelic scratches of turntablist Joseph Hahn, and rapid drumming of Rob Bourdon. Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, who was a previous member and long-time friend of the band , rejoined the group on tour to help re-create Brad Delson's bass riffs. Mixed in with the great musicianship was relatable and emotional lyrics which made the album a complete, flawless success.

With the aid of their first single, "One Step Closer"; a massive teen anthem hit, the album made a left-field appearance at #16 on the Billboard albums charts in it's first week. The single was so huge that it took just four weeks for the album to hit gold, signifying half-a-million units sold. Just over five weeks later, 'Hybrid Theory' was certified platinum by the RIAA, meaning that one million copies of the album had been sold. Everyone in Linkin Park was shocked by the unexpected success of 'Hybrid Theory', for they had endured months upon months of rejection by record labels while searching for a recording contract. The band had gone from rags to riches, an almost overnight success.

Linkin Park then released "Crawling" in May of 2001 and the single helped propel the album to double platinum status by June 8th. Two and half months later on August 24th, 'Hybrid Theory' hit triple-platinum, then quadruple-platinum two months afterwards on the album's one-year anniversary of release. "Papercut" was released in June to European and Asian markets and greatly helped 'Hybrid Theory's worldwide album sales.

"In The End" was released in November 2001 and immediately became an unbeatable force on radio airwaves. Many fans consider "In The End" to be Linkin Park's most successful single to date. Under "In The End"s assault on radio airwaves, 'Hybrid Theory' went five-times platinum on December 6th, six-times platinum on January 8th, 2002, seven-times platinum three weeks later on January 31st, and eight-times platinum on April 30th. The single went on to become the third highest played song on US radio in 2002 with nearly 400,000 spins on the airwaves. So far, eight million copies of 'Hybrid Theory' have been sold in the US.

To this date, an estimated fifteen million copies of 'Hybrid Theory' have been sold worldwide. The album still stays strong on the Billboard Pop Catalog charts, recently reaching it's two hundred and eighth week on the charts, it's four year anniversary. We'd like to congratulate Linkin Park on such a successful album, even four years after it's release.

 

Well, i stuck on the album and listened to it for old times sake.