Getting a record deal for Linkin Park was originally pretty difficult, thanks in part to the state of nü-metal at the time. According to Linkin Park multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Mike Shinoda in an interview with Vulture, labels didn't grasp the band's more heartfelt approach to their lyrics. Or as Shinoda put it, Linkin Park didn't "identify with [the] tough-guy shit" of the late '90s and that was a problem.
"Here's what I assume they thought: Our thing, the combination of elements, was too esoteric. We loved DJ Shadow, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Aphex Twin, and Portishead. I'm missing a ton … the Prodigy. With that stuff in the music, labels were like, 'Who's going to listen?" And then on top of it, 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. 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. [vocalist Chester Bennington] wouldn't have gotten beat up. He'd fuck somebody up, too."
To make things even worse, Bennington revealed in a 2017 interview with Alternative Nation that Warner Bros. actually tried to get Bennington to fire Shinoda and do a rock record with them by himself. So overall, getting Linkin Park signed wasn't the best time for the band.
Shinoda then touched on songs like "One Step Closer" and "Crawling," saying they were meant to touch on deeper emotions than just anger. Shinoda adds that he feels Deftones and Korn should get more credit than they do for influencing Linkin Park to write more sentimental lyrics, especially Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis.
"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."
Linkin Park will release the Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition on April 7. The anniversary edition features a handful of unreleased music from that era, including:
- Six additional unreleased songs, plus demos, b-sides, live shows, and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage on five LPs – Meteora, Live in Texas for the first time on vinyl, the previously unreleased Live in Nottingham 2003
- Four CDs – Meteora, LPU Rarities 2.0, Live Rarities 2003-2004, and Lost Demos
- Three DVDs, including four previously unreleased concerts – The Making of Meteora/The Art of Meteora/Work In Progress, Veterans Stadium (2003), Live in Seoul (2003), Live In Manila (2004), and Live in Denver – Projekt Revolution 2004.
- A 40-page book, 36” x 24” poster, litho, sticker sheet, stencil, and hi-res download card
There's also the Deluxe Vinyl Box Set featuring the aforementioned LPs and CDs, as well as various standalone configurations. Get 'em here.
