Hybrid Theory 8-Track Demo

Background

This 8-track demo CD was discovered in June 2009 when it was auctioned on eBay. According to the seller, the CD dates from 1998 and was the first demo with Chester Bennington in the band, which was given by the manager of the band to an high executive of Warner Bros. Records. This information is wrong for many reasons: Chester joined the band in 1999, Linkin Park signed their first contract with Warner in November 1999, and "She Couldn't" samples the song "B-Boy Document '99" by The High & Mighty which was released in the summer of 1999. That puts this demo CD in the timeframe between the release of the Hybrid Theory EP and the 9-track demo CD, which still makes it some of the earliest demo material from the band.

Writing and Recording

The version of "Untitled" on this CD was recorded after the version on the LP Underground 11 CD. According to Mike, his original beat for the song was scrapped and they had Rob record a new one right before they went into the studio.

"SuperXero" is different from "By Myself" from the 2-track demo CD, but it's the same as the version on the 9-track CD.

"Points And Authority" came from a demo called "Oh No", which was released in the LP Underground X: Demos CD. The version on this CD is the same as the version on the 9-track CD, because of this it's believed it was recorded after the demo version on the LP Underground 12 CD (which is similar to this one but still different).

"Crawling" was originated from a demo called "Blue".

"She Couldn't" goes against a lot of stereotypes regarding early Hybrid Theory/Linkin Park material. The song clocks in at over 5 minutes in length, and features an extended instrumental breakdown. It's also one of the softest songs the band has produced, particularly from this era. This is also an extremely rare case of a Linkin Park song sampling music from another artist (which may be part of the reason it was scrapped so early on the process).

"Carousel" and "Part Of Me" are both different from the Hybrid Theory EP versions, featuring different vocal parts, including some different lyrics.

"And One" had it's audio channels switched and is identical to its counterpart on the 9-track demo CD.

Composition

This CD offers some insight into where Hybrid Theory was as a band at this point, still a year or so away from the release of their debut album.

The quality of the songs in general isn't good. The last 3 tracks in particular are hindered by a lot of static.

Track Listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Untitled		3:52
2	SuperXero		3:16
3	Points And Authority		2:51
4	Crawling		3:51
5	She Couldn't		5:26
6	Carousel		3:00
7	Part Of Me		3:45
8	And One		4:29