Linkin Park guitarist/vocalist Mike Shinoda says that the band didn't "identify with" the "toxic masculinity" and "tough-guy shit" that dominated nu-metal at the turn of the century.
Shinoda made the comments while speaking to Vulture ahead of the release of the 20th anniversary edition of Linkin Park's second full-length Meteora. While reflecting on the band's early years, Shinoda pointed out that they always felt distanced from the scene they were supposed to be associated with. "We were more introspective, what we didn’t like about what was going on in the scene was that it was very frat rock. It was toxic masculinity. We didn’t know the term yet. We just didn’t like how everything was about tough-guy shit, and we didn’t identify with tough-guy shit. So nobody wanted to sign us because we didn’t fit. They couldn’t see us onstage."
"So nobody wanted to sign us because we didn’t fit. They couldn’t see us onstage. Somebody said to me, “If you guys were to open up a show with Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit, you’d get beat up.” It was a joke, right? But probably true, at least for me. I would’ve gotten beat up. Chester wouldn’t have gotten beat up. He’d fuck somebody up, too.
Responding to a comment from the interviewer about the sudden impact of Hybrid Theory singles One Step Closer and Crawling and the deep connection they forged between the band and their fans, Shinoda reveals that was always the intention of their music.
"I think that was the point. It was always the point. While I loved and I grew up on very macho hip-hop, I was also, at that phase in my life, finishing college, more in tune with a more complex palette of subject matter in what I was listening to. I wanted to put that into my songs, like bands like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails did. I was listening to a lot of U2. None of those are, like, “Hey, I’m going to kick your ass” songs. Those are all, “Oh, I got ass my kicked. This isn’t fair or this feels bad or maybe it’s my fault.” We weren’t hearing those emotions as much in music that was out there. And when we did hear it, I liked what I was hearing. I should give groups like Deftones and Korn more credit. They were doing that. I liked how Jonathan Davis was just an open book putting all of his most fucked-up stuff right out there in the lyrics."
Meteora expanded upon the connection and catharsis, with singles Numb, Somewhere I Belong and Breaking The Habit examples of the emotional intensity they were able to convey. Similar intensity can be heard on the newly released track Fighting Myself.
The second previously unheard gem to be lifted from the forthcoming 20th Anniversary Edition of Meteora (Meteora 20) Fighting Myself follows the worldwide smash Lost in previewing the highly anticipated Meteora 20 collection. Fighting Myself features the iconic vocal combo of Shinoda and late vocalist Chester Bennington.
Shinoda's rapped verses set the scene for Bennington to punch out a powerful, evocative chorus. The way Bennington drives home the emotion of the primary hook ("Falling from grace/I watch it all come apart/Knowing I could've changed it all from the start/ fighting myself, I always lose/fighting myself I always lose' )with every anguished note is yet another example of why he is and forever will be heralded as an icon of the genre. Shinoda knew the hard-hitting instrumental for Fighting Myself was awaiting discovery but was surprised to uncover vocal stems of himself and Chester Bennington. He then gave the multitrack a deft mix and the song in its final form emerged as what Shinoda calls “a definitive Linkin Park track.”
The Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition will drop on April 7th. Celebrating two decades of the multiplatinum landmark album, the Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition will be available in various configurations, including a Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set, Deluxe Vinyl Box Set, Deluxe 3-CD, and Digital Download, all of which are available for pre-order from Maniacs here. Shinoda recently uploaded an unboxing video of the holy grail of the configurations, the Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set, providing a sneak peek at all that the collection has to offer those lucky enough to snap one up.
A must-have for collectors, the Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set boasts six additional unreleased songs, plus demos, b-sides, live shows, and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage on five LPs [Meteora (1 LP), Live in Texas (2 LP) – for the first time on vinyl –, and the previously unreleased Live in Nottingham 2003 (2 LP)], four CDs [Meteora (1 CD), LPU Rarities 2.0 (1 CD), Live Rarities 2003-2004 (1 CD), and Lost Demos (1 CD)], and three DVDs, including four previously unreleased concerts [The Making of Meteora/The Art of Meteora/Work In Progress (1 DVD), Veterans Stadium (2003), Live in Seoul (2003) (1DVD), and Live In Manila (2004), Live in Denver – Projekt Revolution 2004 (1 DVD). It also includes a 40-page book, 36” x 24” poster, litho, sticker sheet, stencil, and hi-res download card.
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