Are They Metal?: Linkin Park

Linkin Park are a band that took the nu-metal world by storm with the release of the band's debut album Hybrid Theory in 2000. Lead by the album's hits "One Step Closer", "Crawling" and the mega-hit "In The End". The album would eventually go twelve times platinum, making it one of the best-selling debuts since Guns and Roses' Appetite For Destruction. Continuing that success, the band would follow that up with Meteora in 2003. Another commercial success and featured popular live staples from the band, "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong". The band would shift musical direction with their third album Minutes To Midnight, into a more alternative/hard rock sound. The band would release four more albums, the last being One More Light in 2017, which would have a dark cloud hang over it after vocalist Chester Bennington would take his own life two month's after the album's release. Following his passing, the band would go on hiatus.

In 2024, Linkin Park would return with new drummer Colin Brittain and Dead Sara vocalist Emily Armstrong. Performing for the first time in a livestream performance. During the stream, the band premiered a new song "The Emptiness Machine". They also announced a new album From Zero, which will be coming out November 15th, along with the band returning to touring. With the return of the band, comes a question that many fans ask about them. Are they still metal? Are they rock? Are they alternative? Today, I will listen to the band's music and decide for myself. Asking the important question: Are They Metal?

Hybrid Theory is soaked in nu-metal aesthetics and characteristics. From the rapping of Mike Shinoda to the agonizing, throat shredding screams of Bennington. That album is one of the quintessential, possibly definitive records of the genre. Possibly putting them in the Big 4 of nu-metal, along other legendary acts like Korn, Limp Bizkit and Deftones. The record was complex and diverse. It had the brooding, nu-metal attitude with "One Step Closer" and "Crawling". It had the radio hooks of "In The End" and it had the techno, hip-hop fusion on "Papercut". An eclectic record that I considered a gateway record for many people to get into metal music, which it was for me when the record came out.  

They would mature on the next album Meteora. Showing a more polished record, while still maintaining the edge of Hybrid Theory. More radio friendly access and more retrospective and in-depth lyrics from Bennington. Songs like "Breaking The Habit" really leaned into the techno-heavy direction and less metal, while other songs like "Faint" and "Somewhere I Belong" continued the fusion of the nu-metal/alternative sound the band nailed on this album at the time.

The band's third album Minutes To Midnight was a musical shift in the band's sound. Leaning more heavily into the alternative/hard rock sound compared to the nu-metal heaviness of their first two albums. Songs like "Given Up" and "Bleed It Out" still showcase Bennington delivering gritty, harsh, glass shattering screams of their nu-metal era. While also carrying more refrained, simplistic songs like "Shadow of The Day". Minutes To Midnight would be the dividing line for the fans on if they would continue following the band or if they would still stick to the first two albums. The band began more experimentation on 2010's A Thousand Suns. Including more elements of electronica, industrial, art rock and pop. 2012's Living Things would continue that experimentation and received positive reviews from critics.

On 2014's The Hunting Party, the band returned to their nu-metal roots, but to many, it was not the full nu-metal sound they wanted. It still had the hard rock & experimental elements all over it. The band would follow that up with one more album, 2017's One More Light. Being the final album with Bennington, the album leaned more into the pop rock and electropop sound. With the album's title track, not only being the last single off the album, but would hit so much harder listening to it knowing what would happen to Bennington later that year.

Now, the answer to the question that this whole series is based on, are they metal? Is Linkin Park still a metal band? In my opinion, no they are not. The band's first two records are straight up nu-metal with a more poppy, radio friendly vibe to it. Minutes To Midnight truly was the last of the nu-metal era for the band. After that record, they drifted into the more experimental rock waters. They basically followed in Radiohead's footsteps. Radiohead's first two album were more alternative and grunge-like, before the band officially transitioned into the OK Computer, synth/techno heavy sound that the band would continue to follow for the future. In my opinion, A Thousand Suns is Linkin Park's OK Computer. They did try to bring back nu-metal on The Hunting Party, but it just wasn't right or not the way we expected it to sound. With the new 2024 single "The Emptiness Machine", it is just a continuation of their last album. After listening to the new song, my response to the band's comeback song is just.....meh, to be blunt. It seems lackluster, not having the same pop and angst. Being more washed out, simplistic and lacking that oomph or edge that I think a lot of fans were expecting. We won't officially know until more music comes out or the new album officially comes out, but for this series, after the first three albums, Linkin Park are not metal anymore. And to some people, that's life. Many bands mature and just can't write those kind of songs anymore. In the Twisted Sister episode of Behind The Music, Dee Snider said when they were writing their follow up album Come Out and Play:

So, when I finally came to write Come Out and Play, I was rich. I was famous. I was sitting by a pool with five cars and two boats. I was not hungry. I wasn't angry. What am I gonna write about?

I think with Linkin Park, they said what they wanted to say in those first three records and they were ready to move on from that phase. They wanted to change their sound, change direction, change lyrical subjects. They wanted to evolve. At the end of the day, that's what some musicians do, regardless of what the fans think or want. Linkin Park chose rock over metal and they are not a metal band anymore.

Do you agree with my assumption? Do you think Linkin Park is metal or not? Let us know in the comments on our social media pages what you think. You can also let us know what other bands/artists we should tackle in this series.