The Meteora-ic Rise of Linkin Park's 'Numb'

Formed back in 1996 in California as rap-rock band XERO, Linkin Park went through massive changes to become the band we know today. Original singer Mark Wakefield left the band in 1999 when record labels began noticing the group - but felt he wasn’t a strong enough vocalist to truly push the band forward.  Mark was soon replaced with Chester Bennington, a singer from Arizona who had just left his band Grey Daze.The Chemistry between Xero and Chester was much better; the Hybrid of sounds between rapper and vocalist Mike Shinoda’s Rap influences and Chester’s hard rock background inspired the band to change their name to Hybrid Theory. Hybrid Theory *the band* self-released Hybrid Theory *the EP*  in 1999, and although initially still struggling to court a major label to sign with- they were signed to Warner Brothers records on the third time of trying. Warner Brothers was still quite skeptical of Hybrid Theory - they asked the band to change their name so that people wouldn’t confuse them with a Welsh band called ‘Hybrid’ and even suggested they demote or fire Mike Shinoda and refocus their efforts to creating a more traditional rock record with Chester as the sole frontman. The band took the label’s first piece of advice - They officially re-christened themselves as Linkin Park, but they refused the second directive - the ‘Hybrid’ in Hybrid theory was important to Bennington and Shinoda and they carried on with both vocalists playing a crucial part in the band. Not only was the album a success, it was the MOST successful album of 2001, and included hit after hit after hit, with singles Crawling, One Step Closer, and In the End topping charts worldwide.  Pressure was now incredibly high for Linkin Park - they went from being a band that very few people believed into the biggest band in the world. They knew that in order to avoid the 'second album slump', they'd need to make a really great record. Recorded all throughout 2002, and released in March 2003, Linkin Park’s second effort entitled Meteora gave Linkin Park fans what they wanted and then some. This is the story of the third and most recognizable single, with words from MIke Shinoda and Joseph Hahn from the time.