Template:Infobox single "One Step Closer" is the second track on the album Hybrid Theory. It was the album's first single and Linkin Park's first single overall. The single was released on September 28, 2000 and immediately was picked up by rock radio, getting massive airplay and getting Linkin Park nationwide recognition. It has gone on to become one of Linkin Park's biggest songs ever.
Just after Linkin Park went to Europe for the first time in early January 2001, the band released the single there on January 15, 2001 with their first two true b-sides, "My December" and Mike's remix of "High Voltage" (commonly referred to as the "Reprise Version"). Mike and Chester mentioned both songs as being b-sides to "One Step Closer" at their headlining show at London's Docklands Arena that September.
Background
In a ShoutWeb interview in October 2000, Mike said, "Yes, "Plaster" was the working title. "One Step Closer" was maybe a little bit more descriptive. I actually wrote that and a bunch of people went "uh... I don't know". Even I went "ugh" and I thought for a minute that it wasn't a good idea to write that song and it sounded kind of bad but then we just went full speed ahead and said screw it. So far it's become one of the more memorable parts of the album. We're happy that people have something like that to hold on to as far as remembering. The song is generally about being at the end of your rope. It's very descriptive and I think that's why people gravitate towards it. It's a very self-descriptive song and it's easy to understand and probably very easy to relate to."[1]
Brad in a Yahoo chat on hob.com on November 30, 2000 said, "The response to "One Step Closer" has been really overwhelming in a good way. We hear stories all the time of people who seem to have been really moved by the song, and in that regard I think it was an excellent choice for us to meet the world. Even better would be for people to actually get our full record - because even though "OSC" is a really solid singular track, if people listen to the entire record they will get an idea of what we're trying to do musically and creatively. And that's just starting to happen. We're just starting to get feedback from people who have heard the whole thing."[2]
Rolling Stone talked with Chester in April 2002 about the song. He stated, "It is hard for me to say which tracks on this record are the most powerful as my opinion was so off on the last one. I would never have thought One Step Closer would have been as big as it was. I didn’t even want that on the album! I thought it was weak in comparison to Crawling, In the End, Pushing Me Away, and Points of Authority. Those were the songs that I thought had set the standard for the [first] album, and viewed One Step Closer as underneath that bar. I thought that song was ignorant in a certain way." He later echoed this statements at the 2006 Club Tattoo Anniversary Party, when he said (somewhat drunkenly) that he thought "One Step Closer" and "In The End" were "piles of shit" and should not have made it on Hybrid Theory.[3]
About the song's composition, Mike told Kerrang! on January 16, 2008, "This was written in my apartment. The music came together quickly but the lyrics took a few tries. I wrote 'Shut Up' as a rough example for Chester to scream and we kept that lyric. I remember thinking that was a great calling-card song. It said, 'Hello, we are going to crush you.'"
Producer Don Gilmore recalled when they recorded the bridge, "Back then, I would build kind of a little cube for the singers, to take the standing waves out of the room when the microphone was very dry and dead-sounding, almost like a little fort or enclosure for him to be inside. And they were working on "One Step Closer" -- the song was written in the studio -- they were working on the riff and they were writing the lyrics and those were flowing out nicely. And then it was time to sing. And Chester sings the whole song, but then we have the bridge, the breakdown in the middle of the song -- the "Shut up when I'm talking to you" part -- and there was a lot of going back and forth, and they couldn't really find what they wanted to say. There were different lyrics written, we were saying maybe it could be a musical section, and then Mike and Chester came in with this and Chester went out and sang it and it was just overpowering. He knocked the walls down in the little fort. When he sang it, he just literally destroyed the whole thing and almost broke the microphone. He was just out of his mind. And the rest is history."[4]
Chester told KROQ's Kevin and Bean on September 7, 2010, "There are definitely moments on every record where at the end I go "why... did I... do that?", you know? Crawling was that one for me on Hybrid Theory. One Step Closer would hurt but it was easier to sing, and on this one Blackout was that song and I was just sitting going "I don't know what I'm gonna to do to get through this one track every single night", you know? And now I'm gonna have to do all 3 of those freaking songs in the set every single day."
And finally, Chester's interview with Kerrang! on January 29, 2011 had the following comments, "When we were recording it, (producer) Don Gilmore was really drilling me and Mike (Shinoda) about lyrics, and it had gotten to the point where we had rewritten some songs 30 times! I remember walking into the control room, handing Don the lyrics and he grabbed them, passed them in front of his face without even looking, handed them back to me, and told me to do it again. I lost my fucking mind, thinking, 'This guy's a fucking maniac!' But that kind of inspired the lyrics - 'I cannot take this anymore/I'm saying everything I've said before/ All these words make no sense,' and the chorus, 'Everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge.' - it all came from that frustration. So I guess in the end he inspired me the way he wanted to."[5]
On the original promotional CD for "One Step Closer", only Brad Delson, Chester Bennington, Joe Hahn and Mike Shinoda are credited for the song, excluding Rob Bourdon. Scott Koziol, the band's touring bass player, recorded bass for its studio version.
Demos
For years, rumors online were circulating about the band having a demo for the song entitled "Plaster". On February 11, 2008, LPLive, LPA and a few other fansites debuted the first known demo of the song, indeed called "Plaster". It was mixed by David Kahne and labeled mix 1 of 4 on the CD along with a note that said "June 2, 2000, NOT FINAL MIX, NOT MASTERED".
Mike saw the post and responded at length on his blog:
"a few weeks ago, one of our top LP fan sites, LP association, posted an old demo version of one step closer, back when it was still called “plaster.” they did a piece on the article which seemed to be searching for facts and trying to figure out the authenticity of the recording. i heard it, and i thought i’d try to help out.
the track found on their link is actually a rough of the song in its final stages, after we had finished all the recording, but before a final mix. we were trying to decide who should mix the album, and we had our hearts set on andy wallace. our A&R guy’s boss at WB was david kahne.
according to our A&R guy at the time: david was one of the people who wasn’t 100% impressed with our band and our sound, and wanted to take a crack at mixing this song in order to improve things (and obviously try to convince us to let him mix the record). this may or may not be true, but that’s what we were told. obviously, david did a good job (the lpassociation mp3 is his mix)…but we decided to stick with our gut and go with andy. we had a feeling that andy, who mixed nirvana’s “nevermind,” would be a better fit for us.
some of the differences you can hear between “plaster” and the final album mix (by andy wallace)…
the main things that i remember sticking out to me when i first heard it was that david’s mix made the verses sound thick (because of the low end) and therefore the choruses lost a little bit of their punch.
some samples also stood out. the camera shutter-ish samples you hear in david’s mix are actually in the final andy wallace mix as well, but they’re mixed quieter (and thinner, i think). we liked them quieter in andy’s mix because they put more emphasis on the groove of rob’s drums.
finally, a deciding factor for brad and i against david’s mix was the edit to the “shut up” stuff–putting it in the intro. it made it sound like a remix, and ruined the surprise of the “shut up” coming in during the bridge (our thought was: if you’ve already heard that vocal part, the bridge packs less of a punch. it ruined the climax). that made me feel like we didn’t really see eye-to-eye on this mix, so although the mix was good overall, we chose to have andy mix the song and album.
in david’s interview with lpassociaton, he is (understandably) fuzzy about the details of our relationship back then. maybe it’s because he was dealing with many bands, while we, on the other hand, were only dealing with one album, and one label. hopefully i can help out by putting some details out there. david wasn’t involved with us when mark was in the band–he may have heard of us, but he didn’t work on our stuff. he did, however, get involved a bit once we were in the studio, by hearding demos and giving feedback–the same thing many label people and A&R folks do.
as you’ve heard, though, much of the feedback we got from the label at that time didn’t line up with the album we wanted to make or the band we wanted to be, so we chose to follow our own path.
the good and bad news about “plaster” is that i can’t think of another, earlier demo of the song that would really exist. the only step before this one probably wouldn’t have included any lyrics, but all the instrumental tracks would essentially be the same. as we wrote the song, we immediately recorded it, so that is to say there is only one recording; the first notes of the demo were in the same protools file that the song was finished in. there are no “live” demos, nor “garage recordings” of the song. so this version of “plaster” might be the earliest version out there."[6]
He later did another post, saying "one edit to my previous post: the “plaster” demo was available on lpfuse, the linkin park live guide, and the linkin park projekt, as well as lpassociation. just wanted to give all the sites their credit…these are not sites run / operated by the band, they’re great fan sites who try to collect and distribute current fan info about the band."[7]
Contrary to what Mike said, an even earlier version of "Plaster" was released on September 14, 2012 on LPAssociation, courtesy of member Ginger. The song is on a 6 track demo from May 8, 2000 and was sold on eBay due to the 99X Atlanta closure. The notes on that release about "Plaster" say, "Different mix to the David Kahne remix. Camera shutter is almost completely muted, and it does not include the 'remixed' Shut Up intro found in the previously released Plaster. Very similar to the album version, with a different vocal take for Chester's 'just like before'. Some scratches are missing."[8]
A version of "Plaster" was also reportedly posted on StreetWise's website prior to the release of Hybrid Theory, providing incredible amounts of publicity to the band.[9]
An early mix of "One Step Closer" was used in the TV show ECW as Nova's theme song from August to November 2000.[10] The mixing on this version is very similar to David Kahne's mix of "Plaster", with the beefed-up drum track, louder bass, and more emphasized samples, but it lacks the bridge vocal samples in the intro. It can be found in the album ECW: Anarchy Rocks, which was released on March 20, 2001. The track contains an introduction to the next song on the album.
Tracklist
CD Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Step Closer | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | 2:39 |
| 2 | My December | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 4:21 |
| 3 | High Voltage | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:45 |
| 4 | One Step Closer (Music Video) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 2:55 |
Vinyl Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Step Closer | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 2:39 |
| 2 | My December | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 4:21 |
Music Video
Live Video
On September 5, 2000, at their show at The Roxy in Hollywood, CA, Linkin Park shot a live video for "One Step Closer".
"Linkin Park will be recording their show at the Roxy in Los Angeles on September 5th and will possibly using some of the live footage from it in the forthcoming video for their current single, "One Step Closer." The track is the first single from the group's upcoming debut album "Hybrid Theory" which was produced by Don Gilmore and will see a release on October 24th through Warner Bros."
The video was filmed by Speedway Films with 3 cameras. The crew from the shoot was:[11]
- Atom Rothlein - CoDirector/Editor/Camera Operator
- Brian Dee - CoDirector/Camera Operator
- Jennifer Mackenzie - Producer
- George Reasner - Camera Operator
Although the band decided not to use this live footage, the live video was featured on MTV.com and it soon became available for download at early Linkin Park fan sites. It would, however, disappear from the internet and become uncirculated until August 2013, when LPLive released the full show.
Brad broke a string during "One Step Closer".
Music Video
The record label gave the band the liberty to do whatever they wanted for their first music video. Joe came up with a concept for it, described by Mike as an "escapist action movie video". In the video, you can see Scott Koziol, a bassist that was with the band for a short period of time while Phoenix was still touring with The Snax.
Gregory Dark, who directed the video, used to be an adult film director.[12][13]
From an interview with ShoutWeb in October 2000, Mike said, "Yeah, I got red hair. The video is very green and very dark. It was shot in Los Angeles in an underground, abandoned subway tunnel that is adjacent to an abandoned V.A. hospital. It's an extremely scary place to hang out and shoot a video. The air was very thick and filled with minerals and dust and dirt. It's very hard to breathe down there. But we endured. We had a lot of fun. Somebody just told me that they heard that most bands don't have a good time shooting their video or they don't like their first video. I think we had a blast. Our DJ and I went to art school together. I graduated with a major in illustration at the Arts Center in Pasadena. He left after his first year to go do special effects in the film industry so when it came time to do the video, he was right there with the idea for the treatment for the video. He knew who he thought we should look into for directors. We hooked up with Gregory Dark who is amazing. Joe and Gregory hit it off. Gregory is an extremely experienced and talented individual and really helped us achieve our goals as far as a first video goes. Our budget wasn't so huge. It was our first try at being in front of a camera in that way. We had a lot of fun. It came out great. Joe did a great job. Gregory and everybody in the crew kicked ass. It was awesome. You'll see. It's very dark but it's really colorful at the same time. We have floating monks. I'm serious. We have floating monks. We have awesome artwork in the background by some friends of ours from school. Just in general, we were really happy with it." Speaking to fans, he added, ""One Step Closer" was just for fun. It was an escapist action movie video."[14]
One of the actors on the video was the double of Lawrence Fishburne in Matrix.[15]
The band made a special intro for the video that thanks street teamers for all of their hard work. This version was put on DVD and sent to the street teamers.[16]
Experiment Version
An alternative version of the "One Step Closer" music video was aired in Germany after the release of the film Das Experiment, which contains "One Step Closer" in its soundtrack. This version is very similar to the original video but it also includes scenes from the film.
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Step Closer | One Step Closer
MTV: The Return Of The Rock - Volume 2 Dracula 2000 Kerrang! The Album Big Shiny Tunes 6 |
2:35 | 2000 | September 28, 2000 | |
| One Step Closer (Rock Mix) | One Step Closer (USA Radio CD) | 2:36 | 2000 | September 28, 2000 |
|
| One Step Closer | ECW Extreme Music Volume 2: Anarchy Rocks | 2:51 | 2000 | March 20, 2001 |
|
| Plaster | Hybrid Theory 6-Track Demo | 2:45 | 2000 |
| |
| Plaster (David Kahne Mix 1 Of 4) | Plaster (David Kahne Mix 1 Of 4) | 2:46 | 2000 |
| |
| Plaster | Studio Finals 5/7/00 | 2:42 | 2000 |
|
Remix
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1stp Klosr | Reanimation | 5:46 | 2001 | July 30, 2002 |
|
| One Step Closer (Humble Brothers Remix) | Frat Party At The Pankake Festival
"One Step Closer" Humble Brothers Remixes "Reanimation" Internal Demo |
6:13 | 2001 | November 20, 2001 |
|
| One Step Closer (Humble Brothers Remix) (FM Radio) | "One Step Closer" Humble Brothers Remixes
"Reanimation" Internal Demo |
3:12 | 2001 |
| |
| Points Of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer | Collision Course | 4:55 | 2004 | November 30, 2004 |
|
| Points Of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer | Collision Course (Clean) | 4:55 | 2004 | November 30, 2004 | |
| 99 Steps Klosr (Explicit) | Linkin Park/Jay-Z Mix | 3:52 | 2004 | Summer 2004 |
|
| 99 Steps Klosr (Edited) | Linkin Park/Jay-Z Mix | 3:52 | 2004 | Summer 2004 |
|
| One Step Closer (Intro) (8 Bit Rebellion Version) | 8-Bit Rebellion! Ringtones | 0:30 | 2010 | April 17, 2010 |
|
| One Step Closer (Chorus) (8 Bit Rebellion Version) | 8-Bit Rebellion! Ringtones | 0:32 | 2010 | April 17, 2010 |
|
| One Step Closer (8-Bit) | 8-Bit Rebellion! | 2:39 | 2010 | April 26, 2010 |
|
Live
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Step Closer | Crawling (DVD) | 0:30 | January 11, 2001 | 2001 |
|
| One Step Closer | The Family Values 2001 Tour | 3:51 | November 17, 2001 | May 7, 2002 |
|
| In The End / One Step Closer (Live) | World Premiere Of Meteora: Wiltern 3-24-03 | 9:21 | March 03, 2003 |
| |
| One Step Closer (Reanimated Live) | Faint
Reanimation (iTunes) Meteora (Tour Edition Cassette) |
3:43 | March 17, 2003 | June 9, 2003 |
|
| One Step Closer | Live In Texas (Street Team Promo CD) | 4:13 | August 02, 2003 | November 18, 2003 |
|
| One Step Closer (featuring Jonathan Davis) (Live) | LP Underground 4.0 | 3:57 | July 18, 2004 | November 22, 2004 |
|
| Points Of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer | Collision Course | July 18, 2004 | November 30, 2004 |
| |
| One Step Closer (07/30/09 LP Live Shanghai) | Minutes To Midnight (Asian Tour Edition) | 3:44 | November 18, 2007 | November 21, 2007 |
|
| One Step Closer | LP Underground 7.0 | 3:41 | August 21, 2007 | December 5, 2007 |
|
| One Step Closer (29/01/08 LP Live London 2) | Minutes To Midnight (EU Tour Edition) | 4:10 | January 29, 2008 | December 12, 2007 |
|
| One Step Closer | Road To Revolution: Live At Milton Keynes | 4:07 | June 29, 2008 | November 21, 2008 |
|
| One Step Closer (Live From Frankfurt, 2008) | Hybrid Theory - Live Around The World | 4:13 | January 20, 2008 | May 31, 2012 | |
| One Step Closer | Live At Admiralspalast Berlin, Germany | June 05, 2012 | March 29, 2013 |
| |
| One Step Closer | Live In Monterrey | September 12, 2012 | June 13, 2014 |
| |
| One Step Closer (Live At Download Festival 2014) | Hybrid Theory - Live At Download Festival 2014 | 3:12 | June 14, 2014 | August 12, 2014 |
|
Live
"One Step Closer" is a live staple for Linkin Park setlists. While its exact debut is unknown, the first known performance of the song was on July 22, 2000 on the band's first tour ever. However, it is almost certain that it was performed at the Linkin Park and Hybrid Theory shows before that. The song has appeared in almost every Linkin Park setlist since 2000 (only considering full shows), with it rarely being dropped here and there, (Madrid 2010 being an example).
The song has featured a numerous amount of guests throughout its live history. Throughout the Hybrid Theory and Meteora touring cycle, the lead vocalists from bands opening for Linkin Park often came out onstage to sing with Chester, especially during the bridge. Prominent guests for this occurrence include Aaron Lewis from Staind and Marky Chavez from Adema. In 2004, the song was extended, with the bridge featuring "1stp Klosr" from Reanimation. During the band's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, the X-Ecutioners came out and performed an extended bridge for the song. During Projekt Revolution 2004, Jonathan Davis from Korn came out to sing his part from that version of the song live. On Projekt Revolution 2008, the Street Drum Corps guested on the song, performing an extended intro in one set and an extended bridge in another.
"One Step Closer" closed every Linkin Park show until 2006 (barring Live 8 2005, where "Numb/Encore" closed the shortened set). In 2006, during the short Summer Sonic Festival tour in Japan, the band moved "One Step Closer" to the end of the main set, and "Breaking The Habit" closed the shows instead. In 2007, the band boldly decided to open with the song and it featured a brand new extended intro, entitled "Gunshot Intro #1" (a second alternative Gunshot Intro was performed in 2008). At these shows, "Faint" closed the show with a brand new extended outro. On Projekt Revolution 2007, the band started moving around the song in the setlist. While it did not return to it's esteemed closing spot, it moved around from opening the set (Set C) to opening the encore (Set A) to closing the main set (Set B). In Set A, the song did not feature the Gunshot Intro and instead was performed as the studio version. By the end of the tour, the band had created a "hybrid" set, entitled Set D, which had "One Step Closer" neither closing nor opening any part of the show for the first time in its live history; instead, it was the second-to-last song in the encore, right before "Faint". The final show of Projekt Revolution in Greenwood Village, Colorado had the band do a short jam to the riff of the song as Mike invited everyone on the tour onstage.
The song returned as closer in 2008 in Set T, along with a brand new extended outro that became a staple with the song. In Set R, the song retained its Gunshot Intro and opened up the encore, while Set S saw the song solely with its new outro to close the main set. The second European Summer Tour in 2008 saw "One Step Closer" see more movement in the sets: Set X featured a brand new Gunshot Intro ("Gunshot Intro #2") with the song opening the set (also the first instance where the song opened the show and had its extended outro), and both Set Y and Set Z had it close the show with its extended outro. Projekt Revolution 2008 saw the same general setlists being performed, except the song now featured extensions featuring the Street Drum Corps. In Set X, they performed a drum intro featuring their song "6th Street Bridge", and in Set Y they performed an extended bridge and ending to the song with the band. In the Projekt Revolution 2008 iteration of Set Z, "One Step Closer" did not close or open any part of the setlist. Instead, it was the second to last song performed in the main set (preceding "Faint"), featuring only its extended outro. For every performance of the song in 2009, the song closed every show. It was listed on a potential rehearsal setlist on June 16, 2009, where it was listed to have an extended intro. The band did not perform it as such on the following tour, however.
"One Step Closer" closed the main set throughout 2010, featuring only its extended outro. The song saw quite a bit of movement throughout 2011. In Set A-1 and Set C-6, the song remained as closer of the main set. Both sets B-11 and B-13 had the song close the shows. Set C-5 saw it performed as the second-to-last song in the main set, preceding "Bleed It Out". For the summer tour, Set A had the song close the main set, and both Set B and Set C had it close the show. The setlists for the A Thousand Suns Asian Tour remained the same as the summer tour, except for the final show in Singapore, Singapore. For the first time ever, "One Step Closer" featured in the third spot in the setlist.
The band closed out with "One Step Closer" in most European festival performances of 2012 (barring Prostorock in Ukraine), and closed the main set in headlining performances. On the Honda Civic tour, the song closed the main set in Set A, and closed the show in both Set B and Set C. The setlists did not change for the rest of the Living Things World Tour, and "One Step Closer" remained in its select spot in the respective setlists. At the end of 2012, Chester and Mike performed the song with Camp Freddy at the Dell World presentation in Austin, Texas. This is the only time that Camp Freddy has performed the song, and the only time Chester and Mike has performed the song with another artist.
"One Step Closer" moved around quite a bit in the very beginning of 2014. At the Harman Infinity One Launch, the song was performed in the second position of the set for the first time, after "Faint" opened the show. The next show in Las Vegas, Nevada saw it close the show again. Then, at the Music For Relief Concert For The Philippines, the song opened the show, for the first time without any iteration of the "Gunshot Intro".
When The Hunting Party World Tour started, "One Step Closer" remained at a fixed position for the entire tour. Throughout 2014, the song was in the fifth position for the first time ever, closing out "Act I" in the setlists with its extended outro. The position changed slightly in Summer 2015, where it moved down to position three (as a result of the dropping of songs) in the shortened version of the U.S. Festival setlist, moved up to position four with the addition of "Rebellion" in the regular iteration of the U.S. Festival setlist, and stayed in the fourth position when "Points Of Authority" replaced "Rebellion" in the full version of the U.S. Festival setlist.
Variations
Last Updated: December 13, 2015
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | Falling Down Interlude | January 10, 2001 | June 4, 2001 |
| Intro | Falling Down Interlude Tease | June 8, 2001 | June 8, 2001 |
| Intro | Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" Guitar Tease | June 22, 2001 | June 22, 2001 |
| Intro | Reanimated Intro | June 6, 2004 | September 11, 2004 |
| Intro | Gunshot Intro #1 | April 28, 2007 | March 8, 2008 |
| Intro | Gunshot Intro #2 | June 5, 2008 | August 23, 2008 |
| Bridge | w/ X-Ecutioners | September 6, 2001 | September 6, 2001 |
| Bridge | Riff repeated as roadies came onstage | February 24, 2002 | February 24, 2002 |
| Bridge | Reanimated Bridge | February 23, 2003 | September 11, 2004 |
| Outro | Jam Outro | September 3, 2007 | September 3, 2007 |
| Outro | Bridge riff repeated with Chester screaming | January 16, 2008 | August 8, 2008 |
| Outro | Bridge riff repeated and Mike playing powerchords up the octave with Chester screaming | July 19, 2009 | November 7, 2015 |
Live Guests
Last Updated: December 26, 2015
- Aaron Lewis (Staind)
- B-Real (Cypress Hill)
- Benjamin Chandler (replacing Brad Delson)
- Chad Gray (Mudvayne)
- Christian Lindskog (Blindside)
- Dan Marsala (Story Of The Year)
- Davey Havok (AFI)
- DJ Z-Trip
- Douglas Robb (Hoobastank)
- Ice-T (Body Count)
- Jared Gomes (Hed PE)
- Jonathan Davis (Korn)
- Marky Chavez (Adema)
- Nate Barcalow (Finch)
- Redman
- Sonny Sandoval (P.O.D.)
- Street Drum Corps
- The X-Ecutioners
- Warren Willis (replacing Joe Hahn)
- Wes Scantlin (Puddle Of Mudd)
- Yohan (Pia)
Promotion
"One Step Closer" was released to US radio stations on September 28, 2000 as the first single from Hybrid Theory. Cassette tapes entitled Linkin Park Sampler, containing "One Step Closer" and "With You", were sent out to street team members via Streetwise and given away by radio stations, namely New York City's KROCK and San Francisco's Live 105, to promote the single as well as the band's upcoming debut album.
During the band's trip to Kansas City on December 11, 2000, Linkin Park went to a local rock radio station and awarded tickets to that night's sold-out show to the caller who best howled out the 'Shut up when I'm talking to you!' portion of "One Step Closer".[17]
The song was featured on the professional wrestling TV show ECW as well as in the ending credits to the 2000 film Dracula 2000, and in the German film Das Experiment.
The single was released internationally on January 15, 2001, with a CD single being released in Europe and Australia and a vinyl single being released in the UK. Linkin Park held a fan art contest on their website in 2001 where the band selected ten pieces to be exhibited on the site and the ten winners also received a special autographed 10" import vinyl single of "One Step Closer".[18][19]
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Rock Track | Nominated |
Personnel
Linkin Park
- Chester Bennington: vocals
- Rob Bourdon: drums, backing vocals
- Brad Delson: guitars, bass, backing vocals
- Joseph Hahn: records, sampling, backing vocals
- Mike Shinoda: emcee, vocals, beats, sampling
Additional Musicians
- Scott Koziol: bass
Production
- Don Gilmore: producer
- Jeff Blue: executive producer
- Andy Wallace: mixer
Lyrics
I cannot take this anymore
I'm saying everything I've said before
All these words they make no sense
I find bliss in ignorance
Less I hear the less you'll say
You'll find that out anyway
Just like before
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
I find the answers aren't so clear
Wish I could find a way to disappear
All these thoughts they make no sense
I find bliss in ignorance
Nothing seems to go away
Over and over again
Just like before
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
SHUT UP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU
SHUT UP / SHUT UP / SHUT UP
SHUT UP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU
SHUT UP / SHUT UP / SHUT UP
SHUT UP
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
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Shut up when I'm talking to you
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up when I'm talking to you
I cannot take this anymore
Saying everything I've said before
All these words they make no sense
I found bliss in ignorance
Less I hear the less you'll say
You'll find that out anyway
Just like before…
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
I find the answers aren't so clear
Wish I could find a way to disappear
All these thoughts they make no sense
I found bliss in ignorance
Nothing seems to go away
Over and over again
Just like before…
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
Shut up when I'm talking to you
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up when I'm talking to you
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
Gallery
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Single CD
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Australian single CD
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Original 2001 vinyl
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Record Store Day 2013 vinyl
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Promo CD
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US Radio CD
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One Step Closer / With You promo
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3-Song E.P.
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Linkin Park Sampler
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Linkin Park Sampler with KROCK sticker
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Linkin Park Sampler with Live 105 sticker
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Plaster
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Poster
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MTV: The Return Of The Rock Volume 2
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Monitor This! October/November 2000
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Dracula 2000
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Noize - Heavy Punk & Mixture
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ECW Extreme Music Volume 2: Anarchy Rocks
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Warner Music German sampler
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Kerrang! The Album
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Big Shiny Tunes 6
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The Family Values Tour 2001
In Other Media
- An early version of "One Step Closer" was used in the TV show ECW as Nova's theme song from August to November 2000.
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 2000 film Das Experiment.
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 2000 film Dracula 2000 and was included in its soundtrack album.
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 21st episode of Season 8 of the TV series ER, titled "On The Beach".
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 13rd episode of Season 11 of the TV series Hinter Gittern - Der Frauenknast, titled "Wege Ins Glück".
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 2008 videogame Rock Band 2.
- "One Step Closer" is featured in the 2008 videogame Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades.
- "One Step Closer" (in both studio and 8-bit versions) is featured in Linkin Park's 2010 videogame 8-Bit Rebellion!.
- "One Step Closer" is referenced in the 2011 book The Heart And The Fist by Eric Greitens, specifically the bridge section of the song.
- "One Step Closer" was released in 2015 as part of a DLC for the 2013 videogame Rocksmith 2014.
Cover Versions
Deena Noroian (now Unruly Helga) recorded an acoustic cover of "One Step Closer" for her 2000 sophomore release No Alternative. Her cover was air played on radio stations throughout the United States and Canada.[20] The track is commonly mistaken for a No Doubt song.
Richard Cheese And Lounge Against The Machine recorded a lounge rendition of "One Step Closer" for their 2002 album Tuxicity.[21]
English metalcore band Asking Alexandria have sporadically performed the chorus of "One Step Closer" at their shows over the years.
Scottish metal act Yashin recorded a cover of "One Step Closer" which was released on their Runaway Train EP in 2012.[22] The track received an official music video which is available at the band's YouTube channel.[23]
On June 30, 2011, Asian American hip hop/EDM group Far East Movement performed at the annual Isle of MTV Festival in Malta. During the show, their track "So What?" was followed by a freestyle over Linkin Park's "One Step Closer".[24]
German electronic duo Solar Fake covered "One Step Closer" in their 2013 album Reasons To Kill. The cover was performed live regularly from 2013 to 2015.
American metalcore group Motionless In White performed "One Step Closer"[25] during their fall 2015 North American tour, Apollo X, which was co-headlined with The Devil Wears Prada.[26] They played the song again on July 21, 2017 at the Concrete Street Amphitheater in Corpus Christi, Texas, as a tribute to Chester Bennington.[27]
Other Uses
External Links
- One Step Closer (Music Video): LPTV | WBR | WMG | MTV | VK
- One Step Closer (Clarkston 2007) - Simply New | Simply New Vimeo | Marc Scarpa | NowWhat
- One Step Closer (Concert For The Philippines 2014) - AXS TV Concerts
- One Step Closer (Vans Warped Tour 2014) - VindicateMediaLLC
- One Step Closer (KROQ Red Bull Sound Space 2014) - LPTV
References
- ↑ Shoutweb Interview 2000 - Mike Shinoda Clan
- ↑ HOB.com: Linkin Park Text Interview recorded 11/30/2000, November 30, 2000
- ↑ Bucket Of Weenies - Club Tattoo 11th Anniversary 2006-04-22 - YouTube, January 02, 2014
- ↑ Linkin Park's 'Hybrid Theory' Producer Calls Working With Chester Bennington a 'Dream Come True' | Billboard, July 24, 2017
- ↑ Linkin Park Kerrang! | Tom Bryant - tom-bryant.com, January 23, 2008
- ↑ "plaster" « Mike Shinoda's Blog, February 20, 2008
- ↑ plaster correction « Mike Shinoda's Blog, February 21, 2008
- ↑ AUDIO: Previously Unreleased Hybrid Theory 6-Track Internal Demo CD (May 8th, 2000), September 15, 2012
- ↑ Linkin Park Band
- ↑ Mike Bucci - Pro Wrestling - Wikia
- ↑ Linkin Park Web, September 26, 2000
- ↑ pushmeaway.com
- ↑ Backatcha: Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Reminisces, February 18, 2014
- ↑ Linkin Park Central [home]
- ↑ PP Underground
- ↑ Linkin Park Web, October 06, 2000
- ↑ 008.jpg, November 18, 2010
- ↑ Linkin Park [news]
- ↑ Linkin Park [contest]
- ↑ No Alternative | Official Website of Unruly Helga
- ↑ RICHARD CHEESE - richardcheese.com - DISCOGRAPHY
- ↑ Runaway Train - EP by Yashin on Apple Music
- ↑ Yashin - One Step Closer (Linkin Park Cover) Official Video - YouTube, November 15, 2012
- ↑ Far East Movement Perform So What?/One Step Closer at Isle of MTV Festival | LP Association Forums, July 24, 2011
- ↑ Motionless in White - One Step Closer (Linkin Park cover) - YouTube, November 06, 2015
- ↑ The Devil Wears Prada And Motionless In White To Join Forces For 'Apollo X' Tour - Blabbermouth.net, September 08, 2015
- ↑ Motionless In White - One Step Closer (Linkin Park Cover Chester Bennington Tribute) LIVE 7/21/17 - YouTube, July 21, 2017
- ↑ FMM Volume One | LP Association Forums, June 27, 2014
