Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition) is the upcoming 20th anniversary celebratory release in October 2020 of Linkin Park's debut album Hybrid Theory, which was released on October 24, 2000 through Warner Bros. Records.
Background
In preparation for the 20th anniversary of Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park asked LP Underground members to send them material to be used in the celebration. An e-mail sent to the fan club on March 5, 2020 reads: "LP Street Soldiers, This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of HYBRID THEORY. We have some very special things planned throughout the year and want you to be a part of it. We’re looking for photos, videos, ticket stubs, merch, flyers, souvenirs and anything else you collected from the early days of the band in the late 90’s through the HYBRID THEORY era of 2000-2002. Some great examples include (but are not limited to) live concert footage and photos, pictures of band members and signed goodies from LPU meet and greets. All you have to do is click here and you will be taken to an upload site and asked to grant rights to Warner Records to use the content. Please upload by March 16, 2020."[1]
On March 24, 2020, Joe, Dave and Mike went live on YouTube to react to a previously unreleased live concert footage from 2001 recorded at the Canes Bar and Grill in San Diego.[2] The entire show was later uploaded to YouTube without the commentaries.[3]
Mike Shinoda was live on YouTube on April 1st and, in celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, he created an instrumental in the style of Hybrid Theory which was later released to LPU members.[4] He wrote, "Today I felt like making a Hybrid Theory / Meteora-inspired instrumental demo, and I wanted to give the final product to you in the LPU."
During another one of Mike Shinoda's streams, on April 13, he was questioned about the possibility of more LP Underground releases in the future to which he answered, "This year is the Hybrid Theory 20th anniversary so we are putting a lot of love into that. It'd be silly to like... we've released so many Hybrid Theory demos that I don't know that we have much more to do that with after the 20th anniversary release."[5] On the 23rd, he accidentally showed a Dropbox folder named "Masters For Review" with 12 files of Hybrid Theory demos, 10 of which had their names visible. They were "Dialate", "PB Edit 2020", "She Couldn't", "Could Have Been", "Reading My Eyes", "Rhinestone", "Esaul", "Stick N Move", "Carousel" and "Points of Authority".[6]
Mike Shinoda was a guest on the AWOLNATION Instagram Live on May 6th and mentioned that Linkin Park would be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hybrid Theory with a release. "This year is the 20 year anniversary of Hybrid Theory. And we are doing a release for it and a celebration for it with the band and the fans. All of us have had to go back and watch stuff from that era. It is the cringiest stuff... I can't believe the things we were saying between songs. I was like "who is this guy?" Chester was talking like a wrestler, it was insane. I remember talking to Chester four or five years ago and we would argue about who was the most embarrassing person. But at the time, that was the shit. That's what we did."[7] On May 19, the band started selling Hybrid Theory inspired face masks to benefit COVID-19 relief.[8] On the 22nd, One Step Closer themed merch was added to Linkin Park's official store. They wrote, "In celebration of Hybrid Theory's 20th anniversary, we will be commemorating the album’s iconic singles with capsule collection releases throughout the year. First Up: One Step Closer".[9]
In late June, a leaked list of upcoming Funko POP! releases listed Hybrid Theory under "Pop! Albums: Linkin Park".[10] Pre-orders started in early August.[11]
Amidst promotion of his Dropped Frames albums in late July, Mike started teasing the Hybrid Theory anniversary. He told ABC News, "With the 20th anniversary celebration, I expect it to be pretty big. Not big in terms of numbers or sales or whatever. I just expect it...to feel good and be important to those of us who care about the record. It is the equivalent of having a big birthday. I wanna have a big party for it."[12] During a Kerrang! Face-To-Face interview, he revealed Linkin Park had been working closely with key people from throughout the band's history to celebrate the album's 20 years. "We’ve done our best to go to a lot of people who are family, in a sense, and say, ‘What do you think we should do? What would be a good celebration of Hybrid Theory?’ and try our best to do a bunch of those ideas."[13]
Jeff Blue, the band's A&R executive during the recording of Hybrid Theory, launched a pre-order for his book One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park, set for a December 8, 2020 release. The description reads: "This against-all-odds story chronicles the early days of Linkin Park, from their first demo and Whisky a Go Go performance as Xero, through their tireless efforts to perfect their iconic sound and the discovery of Chester Bennington. Jeff Blue was there when no one else believed—first as their publisher, then as their A&R guy. This is his memoir of that incredible journey."[14]
Marketing Campaign
On August 7, Linkin Park launched a new 2000's computer themed website on linkinpark.com. The band's first post asked, "Anyone know anything about 20 year old computers?"[15] The website was updated daily to reveal more information about the Hybrid Theory project, involving emails to and from band members and hidden clues placed across the site.[16][17] On each update, the band gave clues through social media on how to find the new content on the site.[18][19][20][21] By August 10, it had revealed the full tracklist Mike had leaked on in April on Twitch, with the last two demos being "Crawling" and "Super Xero". The site also included low quality or blurred pictures of early ideas for the Hybrid Theory cover art; the Hybrid Theory photoshoot in Pittsburgh; and Xero and Hybrid Theory (band) show flyers submitted by LPLive. The August 11 update was considered a bombshell by fans - it confirmed rumours that the "In Yourself Jam" played during the Rock Am Ring 2001 show is part of the long-awaited demo "Pictureboard".[22][23]
On August 12, Linkin Park confirmed an announcement coming for #HybridTheory20 on August 13 with an email from Joe on the website saying, "Hey guys I think we're all set. Let's drop the announcement tomorrow at 7am PST via WebMeeting."[24]
Composition
The release of Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition) is composed of at least one demo CD featuring older Linkin Park demos.
Release
Pre-orders started on August 13, 2020. Since Amazon sets its own prices, the packages were sold there for significantly less than on official Warner Bros. Records and Linkin Park stores.[25]
Fans who pre-ordered any of the Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition) packages from the Warner Music Australasia store had a chance to win 1 of 60 limited edition Hybrid Theory artworks.[26]
Track Listing
Disc 1: Hybrid Theory Vinyl
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Papercut | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | 3:04 |
| 2 | One Step Closer | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 2:35 |
| 3 | With You | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, King John Robert, Shinoda, Simpson Michael | 3:23 |
| 4 | Points Of Authority | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:20 |
| 5 | Crawling | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:29 |
| 6 | Runaway | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield Mark | 3:03 |
| 7 | By Myself | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:09 |
| 8 | In The End | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:36 |
| 9 | A Place For My Head | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell David Michael, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | 3:04 |
| 10 | Forgotten | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | 3:14 |
| 11 | Cure For The Itch | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 2:37 |
| 12 | Pushing Me Away | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:11 |
Disc 2: Reanimation Vinyl
Disc 3: Hybrid Theory EP Vinyl
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carousel | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | 3:02 |
| 2 | Technique (Short) | Hahn, Shinoda | 0:39 |
| 3 | Step Up | Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:54 |
| 4 | And One | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 4:29 |
| 5 | High Voltage | Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 3:29 |
| 6 | Part Of Me | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | 12:44 |
Disc 4: Hybrid Theory CD
Disc 5: Reanimation CD
Disc 6: B-Side Rarities
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally Released | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Step Closer (Rock Mix) | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | "One Step Closer" US Single | 2:37 |
| 2 | It's Goin' Down (feat. Mike Shinoda and Mr. Hahn) - By The X-Ecutioners | Aguilar Rob, Bailey Keith, Hahn, Joiner Alvin, Jones Melvin, Shinoda, Williams Anthony | Built From Scratch | 4:09 |
| 3 | Papercut (Live From the BBC) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "Crawling" Single | 3:07 |
| 4 | In The End (Live BBC Radio One) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "In The End" Single 1 | 3:25 |
| 5 | Points Of Authority (Live BBC Radio One) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "Papercut" Single | 3:24 |
| 6 | High Voltage | Bennington, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "One Step Closer" UK Single | 3:44 |
| 7 | Step Up (1999 Demo) | Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "In The End" Single 2 | 3:54 |
| 8 | My December | Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | The Real Slim Santa | 4:21 |
| 9 | A Place For My Head (Live At Docklands Arena, London) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell David Michael, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield Mark | "In The End" Single 2 | 3:10 |
| 10 | Points Of Authority (Live At Docklands Arena, London) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "In The End" Single 1 | 3:29 |
| 11 | Papercut (Live At Docklands Arena, London) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "Papercut" Single | 3:12 |
| 12 | Buy Myself (Marilyn Manson Remix) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | "Pts.Of.Athrty" Single | 4:27 |
Disc 7: LPU Rarities
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally Released | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In The End (Demo) | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | LP Underground Eleven | 3:48 |
| 2 | Dedicated (1999 Demo) | Bennington , Delson , Hahn , Shinoda | LP Underground 2.0 | 3:11 |
| 3 | With You (Live At Docklands Arena, London) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, King John Robert, Shinoda, Simpson Michael | LP Underground 2.0 | 3:22 |
| 4 | High Voltage (Live At Docklands Arena, London) | Bennington, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | LP Underground 2.0 | |
| 5 | Points Of Authority (Demo) | LP Underground 12 | 3:00 | |
| 6 | Stick And Move ("Runaway" Demo 1998) | LP Underground 9: Demos | 0:55 | |
| 7 | Esaul ("A Place For My Head" Demo) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell David Michael, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield Mark | LP Underground Eleven | 3:06 |
| 8 | Oh No ("Points Of Authority" Demo) | LP Underground X: Demos | 2:04 | |
| 9 | Slip (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo) | Bennington , Bourdon , Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | LP Underground Eleven | 3:28 |
| 10 | Grr (1999 Demo) | LP Underground 15 | 0:26 | |
| 11 | So Far Away (Unreleased 1998) | LP Underground 12 | 2:50 | |
| 12 | Coal (Unreleased Demo 1997) | LP Underground X: Demos | 3:37 | |
| 13 | Forgotten (Demo) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | LP Underground 12 | 3:44 |
| 14 | Sad ("By Myself" Demo 1999) | LP Underground 9.0: Demos | 1:08 | |
| 15 | Hurry (1999 Demo) | LP Underground 15 | 0:31 | |
| 16 | Blue (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo) | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Shinoda | LP Underground Eleven | 3:27 |
| 17 | Chair (1999 "Part of Me" Demo) | LP Underground 15 | 0:30 | |
| 18 | Pts.Of.Athrty (Crystal Method Remix) | LP Underground 2.0 | 4:00 |
Disc 8: Forgotten Demos
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dialate (Xero Demo) | 3:24 | |
| 2 | Pictureboard | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | 4:01 |
| 3 | She Couldn't | Baker Brad, Bennington, Berger Milo, Bey Yasiin, Delson, Lewis Donnie, Meltzer Erik, Quinn Lance, Shinoda, Thomas Joe | 5:05 |
| 4 | Could Have Been | 4:37 | |
| 5 | Reading My Eyes (Xero Demo) | 2:59 | |
| 6 | Rhinestone (Xero Demo) | Delson, Hahn, Shinoda, Wakefield | 3:40 |
| 7 | Esaul (Xero Demo) | 3:07 | |
| 8 | Stick N Move (Demo) | 3:17 | |
| 9 | Carousel (Demo) | 2:58 | |
| 10 | Points Of Authority (Demo) | 3:20 | |
| 11 | Crawling (Demo) | 3:49 | |
| 12 | SuperXero (By Myself Demo) | Bennington, Delson, Shinoda | 3:18 |
Linkin Park Sampler
| Side | No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | One Step Closer | Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike | |
| A | 2 | With You | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, King John Robert, Shinoda, Simpson Michael | |
| B | 1 | One Step Closer | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda | |
| B | 2 | With You | Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, King, Shinoda, Simpson |
DVD 1: Frat Party At The Pankake Festival
| No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 1:51 |
| 2 | Papercut | Nathan "Karma" Cox and Mr. Hahn | 3:12 |
| 3 | Beginnings | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 5:24 |
| 4 | Points Of Authority | Nathan "Karma" Cox | 3:30 |
| 5 | The Live Show | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 3:17 |
| 6 | "Crawling" Video Shoot | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 1:21 |
| 7 | Crawling | The Brothers Strause | 3:35 |
| 8 | Touring | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 9:28 |
| 9 | Cure For The Itch | Brian Won and Mr. Hahn | 0:54 |
| 10 | The Band | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 7:56 |
| 11 | One Step Closer | Gregory Dark | 2:55 |
| 12 | The Future | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 2:43 |
| 13 | In The End | Nathan "Karma" Cox and Mr. Hahn | 3:36 |
| 14 | End | Bill Berg-Hillinger and Mr. Hahn | 0:16 |
DVD 2
| No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Projekt: Revolution 2002 | 57:40 | |
| 2 | The Sequel To The DVD With The Worst Name We've Ever Come Up With | 42:29 |
DVD 3
| No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fillmore 2001 | 52:44 | |
| 2 | Rock Am Ring 2001 | 53:55 |
Personnel
Production
- Produced by Don Gilmore
- Executive producer: Jeff Blue
- Recorded at NRG Recordings, North Hollywood, CA
- Engineered by Don Gilmore
- Additional engineering & Pro Tools: John Ewing Jr.
- Assistant Pro Tools: Mike Shinoda
- Assistant engineer: Matt Griffin
- Mixed at Soundtrack, NYC
- Engineer: Steve Sisco
- Mixed by Andy Wallace
- Mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering
- Digital editing: Brian "Big Bass" Gardner
Linkin Park is:
- 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
- Phoenix: bass
Additional Musicians
- Additional beats on "With You" by The Dust Brothers
- Ian Hornbeck - Bass on "Papercut", "A Place For My Head" and "Forgotten"
- Scott Koziol - Bass on "One Step Closer" and touring bass player
Management
- A&R: Jeff Blue
- A&R coordination: Natalie Preston & Ariana Murray
- Marketing director: Peter Standish
- Worldwide representation: Rob McDermott for The Firm with additional servitude by Ryan Demarti & Ryan Saullo
- Booking agent: Michael Arfin for Artist Group
- Legal: Danny Hayes for selverne, Mandelbaum and Mintz
- Business managers: Michael Oppenheim & Jonathan Schwartz for Gudvi, Chapnik & Oppenheim
Artwork
- Art direction + design: Flem aka Frank Maddocks
- Photography: James Minchin III
- Soldier drawing: Mike Shinoda
- Line art sketches + drawings: Joseph Hahn & Mike Shinoda
Gallery
-
Cover
-
Deluxe CD
-
Digital Download
-
Vinyl Box Set
-
Super Deluxe Box
-
Merch Collection
Trivia
External Links
References
- ↑ LPU - "Hybrid Theory" Era Submissions - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 05, 2020
- ↑ "Hybrid Theory" Celebration Live Stream - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 23, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Twitter: "We hope everyone enjoyed our live commentary on the 2001 Hybrid Theory show. Tune in every Monday and Thursday on @YouTube, as we release two songs from the setlist each day: https://t.co/1Cb2MzsNwn Up first: With You & Runaway #HybridTheory20 https://t.co/nZXaNYBbqc" / Twitter, April 06, 2020
- ↑ Mike's CoronaJam - Hybrid Theory-style demo - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, April 02, 2020
- ↑ Mike: "Looking For An Answer" Probably Won't Be Released - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, April 14, 2020
- ↑ [Is pictureboard actually being released in October? - Everything Linkin Park - Linkin Park Live], May 02, 2020
- ↑ Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Release - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, May 06, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Twitter: "New Hybrid Theory inspired face masks are now available in the Official Linkin Park Store: https://t.co/tgYZCsOucT Proceeds from these items benefit COVID-19 relief https://t.co/ZGSSComszK" / Twitter, May 19, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Twitter: "In celebration of Hybrid Theory's 20th anniversary, we will be commemorating the album’s iconic singles with capsule collection releases throughout the year. First Up: One Step Closer --> https://t.co/tgYZCsOucT https://t.co/7eAPch63nk" / Twitter, May 22, 2020
- ↑ There's probably going to be a Hybrid Theory funko pop coming : LinkinPark, June 30, 2020
- ↑ Funko Pop Linkin Park Hybrid Theory Pop! Album - Pop Album - #1
- ↑ Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda hoping to throw a "big party" for 'Hybrid Theory' 20th anniversary - Music News - ABC News Radio, July 27, 2020
- ↑ Mike Shinoda: Linkin Park Are "Planning Some Fun Stuff" For Hybrid Theory's 20th Anniversary — Kerrang!, July 30, 2020
- ↑ One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park: Blue, Jeff: 9781682619674: Amazon.com: Books
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “Anyone know anything about 20 year old computers?linkinpark.com”, August 07, 2020
- ↑ Linkin Park's Old Band Computer - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, August 07, 2020
- ↑ Megathread: Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Website : LinkinPark, August 07, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “You’ve got mail :) linkinpark.com”, August 08, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “Trying to get files off of our 20 year old band computer, but it’s running really slow today. Any tips to speed it up? Go to linkinpark.com…”, August 09, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “We’re finding some weird stuff on our old band computer. See for yourself at www.linkinpark.com”, August 10, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “Restarted the old computer and now waiting for the system to update. Let us know if you see anything new on www.linkinpark.com”, August 11, 2020
- ↑ Linkin Park Live on Twitter: "Excuse us for a second while we BLOW UP, but Linkin Park just dropped the biggest f*cking plot twist in our community's history... the long rumored "In Yourself" jam from Rock am Ring 2001? The band confirms it's "Pictureboard"! WHAT?!? How did they even... ?! https://t.co/xheeNg7Fox" / Twitter, August 11, 2020
- ↑ Adam Ruehmer on Twitter: "More accurately... June 3, 2001: The day you guys got Pictureboard (kinda)" / Twitter, August 11, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Twitter: "tomorrow. Linkinpark.com", August 12, 2020
- ↑ Adam Ruehmer on Twitter: "I have learned that Amazon sets their own prices so do with this information what you will" / Twitter
- ↑ Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition Super Deluxe Box Set | Linkin Park – Warner Music Australia Store, August 13, 2020