Linkin Park, leaders of the nu-metal scene at the time, are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their second album, Meteora. On this occasion, leader Mike Shinoda digs into his memories.
It’s already been 20 years since Meteora! How did you feel when planning this reissue?
I’m glad to be able to celebrate this anniversary with those who were there at the time. I loved diving back into the parts that everyone already knew, as well as certain things that were previously unknown to the general public.
Let’s talk about these new releases.
We liked a lot of the demo, but we were focused on what it should be like Meteora. In the context of global works, these titles did not fit. So we threw out “Lost.” We already had “Numb” and we didn’t want two songs with the same aesthetic. I thought about using it as a B-side, but I couldn’t do that.
How did you react when you found them?
“Lost” sounded just like I remembered. Regarding “Fighting Myself,” it had a perfect rap verse and Chester (Bennington)’s vocals, and I don’t remember it being this sophisticated. I didn’t have to mess with anything, just mix and master to get the best sound. We weren’t trying to modernize anything. These works are sufficient on their own. That said, we may eventually add new material to some of the other tracks, but it’s not closed down.
Let’s talk about how you felt at that time.
When we went into the studio we were a little stressed, but most of all we were very mature and knew what we wanted. We were already thinking long term. Therefore, with Hybrid He wanted to bring new ideas and new colors into the musical palette, including things he hadn’t done with Theory. So we created our own sample. These can be heard at the beginning of “Somewhere I Belong,” “Lying From You,” and “Faint.” “Nobody’s Listening” had a rap song, “Session” had a more electro song, and “Breaking The Habit” had no screaming or big guitars. This will give you a hint about the direction to follow later.
Check out our interview with Mike Shinoda. linkin park The full text is published in WECB l’Hebdo n°118 and available in our online store.