Linkin Park as Xero and Hybrid Theory
You've probably heard the news by now that Linkin Park are releasing a new studio album in November, featuring new singer Emily Armstrong (formerly of Dead Sara, replacing the late Chester Bennington) and new drummer Colin Brittain (replacing Rob Bourdon). The band has already begun touring in support of the album. The album's title is From Zero, and according to the band's official website:
"Before Linkin Park, our first band name was Xero. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking."
Xero was the early name used by Linkin Park when the band first formed in 1996. The early lineup included original singer Mark Wakefield, along with Linkin Park emcee Mike Shinoda, drummer Rob Bourdon, DJ Joe Hahn, guitarist Brad Delson and bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell. This early version of the band recorded a short demo tape which was circulated among friends and relatives. After Bennington joined the band in 1999, their name was changed to Hybrid Theory (later the title of Linkin Park's mega-selling debut album from 2000), and they recorded a promotional demo CD with the same name. The tracks from both of these early demos were made commercially available on the 20th Anniversary Edition of Linkin Park's debut album Hybrid Theory in 2020.
The four-song Xero demo cassette demonstrated a prototype of Linkin Park's nu metal (including an early version of "Forgotten", then titled "Rhinestone"), with a bit more emphasis on the hip-hop part of their hybrid equation. Mike Shinoda's rapping sounds much like what was soon to come, although lyrically he mostly just seems to be bragging here about how great he thought he was at it. But original vocalist Mark Wakefield unfortunately comes across as a pallid forerunner to Bennington. Wakefield played the same basic role in the band, providing contrast from Shinoda's hip-hop delivery, but he alternately seemed like a pale imitator of Tom Morello and Layne Staley, failing to achieve the same vocal power or emotional effect that Bennington later would. To be fair, it is possible that fuller production might have helped Wakefield come on stronger than he does on the demo. But as it stands, the Xero demo merely seems to show Linkin Park in their undeveloped infancy.
The Hybrid Theory demo from 1999 was a promo CD of which 1,000 copies were made; a remixed and remastered version was later made available to Linkin Park's fan club Linkin Park Underground in 2001. This EP shows the band further along in their early development, especially since Bennington (who had previously been a member of the indie band Grey Daze) was then on board to replace the ousted Wakefield. In fact, the opening track "Carousel" very nearly sounds like a fully-formed Linkin Park track, with Shinoda rapping the stanzas about drug addiction and its effects on a relationship, and Bennington growling the intense chorus. The same goes for the closing track "Part Of Me", which foreshadows later songs such as "Figure.09" and "A Place For My Head". The track "And One" sounds almost as fully developed, with Bennington singing most of the saddened stanzas as well as the angry chorus. Bennington gets less of a showcase on the other three tracks, which are mostly dominated by Shinoda. "Step Up" is another Xero-like example of Shinoda telling the listener how much he knows about being a true hip-hop MC, but it makes good use of technology, and apparently has this to say about the titular hybrid theory: "Rappin' over rock doesn't make you a pioneer, 'Cause rock and hip-hop have collaborated for years". Speaking of technology, there are some surprisingly futuristic electronica effects used in the forefront during "High Voltage" (no relation to the AC/DC song) and the 40-second oddity "Technique". Also, there is a hidden instrumental track at the CD's end, often referred to as "Ambient" to describe its sound. The Hybrid Theory demo EP is an interesting snapshot of Linkin Park when they were just about to explode into the mainstream. Still, anyone who heard this recording in 1999 probably had no reason to expect that this alt-metal band was on the verge of creating one of the top-selling debut albums of the next quarter-century -- namely, the Hybrid Theory album.
Xero "Xero" (Cassette, no label or number) 1997
Track Listing:
1. Rhinestone
2. Reading My Eyes
3. Fuse
4. Stick N' Move
Hybrid Theory "Hybrid Theory" EP (Mix Media, no number) 1999
Track Listing:
1. Carousel
2. Technique (Short)
3. Step Up
4. And One
5. High Voltage
6. Part Of Me *
* -- there is a hidden bonus track at the end of Track 6, sometimes referred to as "Ambient"
"Before Linkin Park, our first band name was Xero. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking."
Xero was the early name used by Linkin Park when the band first formed in 1996. The early lineup included original singer Mark Wakefield, along with Linkin Park emcee Mike Shinoda, drummer Rob Bourdon, DJ Joe Hahn, guitarist Brad Delson and bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell. This early version of the band recorded a short demo tape which was circulated among friends and relatives. After Bennington joined the band in 1999, their name was changed to Hybrid Theory (later the title of Linkin Park's mega-selling debut album from 2000), and they recorded a promotional demo CD with the same name. The tracks from both of these early demos were made commercially available on the 20th Anniversary Edition of Linkin Park's debut album Hybrid Theory in 2020.
The four-song Xero demo cassette demonstrated a prototype of Linkin Park's nu metal (including an early version of "Forgotten", then titled "Rhinestone"), with a bit more emphasis on the hip-hop part of their hybrid equation. Mike Shinoda's rapping sounds much like what was soon to come, although lyrically he mostly just seems to be bragging here about how great he thought he was at it. But original vocalist Mark Wakefield unfortunately comes across as a pallid forerunner to Bennington. Wakefield played the same basic role in the band, providing contrast from Shinoda's hip-hop delivery, but he alternately seemed like a pale imitator of Tom Morello and Layne Staley, failing to achieve the same vocal power or emotional effect that Bennington later would. To be fair, it is possible that fuller production might have helped Wakefield come on stronger than he does on the demo. But as it stands, the Xero demo merely seems to show Linkin Park in their undeveloped infancy.
The Hybrid Theory demo from 1999 was a promo CD of which 1,000 copies were made; a remixed and remastered version was later made available to Linkin Park's fan club Linkin Park Underground in 2001. This EP shows the band further along in their early development, especially since Bennington (who had previously been a member of the indie band Grey Daze) was then on board to replace the ousted Wakefield. In fact, the opening track "Carousel" very nearly sounds like a fully-formed Linkin Park track, with Shinoda rapping the stanzas about drug addiction and its effects on a relationship, and Bennington growling the intense chorus. The same goes for the closing track "Part Of Me", which foreshadows later songs such as "Figure.09" and "A Place For My Head". The track "And One" sounds almost as fully developed, with Bennington singing most of the saddened stanzas as well as the angry chorus. Bennington gets less of a showcase on the other three tracks, which are mostly dominated by Shinoda. "Step Up" is another Xero-like example of Shinoda telling the listener how much he knows about being a true hip-hop MC, but it makes good use of technology, and apparently has this to say about the titular hybrid theory: "Rappin' over rock doesn't make you a pioneer, 'Cause rock and hip-hop have collaborated for years". Speaking of technology, there are some surprisingly futuristic electronica effects used in the forefront during "High Voltage" (no relation to the AC/DC song) and the 40-second oddity "Technique". Also, there is a hidden instrumental track at the CD's end, often referred to as "Ambient" to describe its sound. The Hybrid Theory demo EP is an interesting snapshot of Linkin Park when they were just about to explode into the mainstream. Still, anyone who heard this recording in 1999 probably had no reason to expect that this alt-metal band was on the verge of creating one of the top-selling debut albums of the next quarter-century -- namely, the Hybrid Theory album.
Xero "Xero" (Cassette, no label or number) 1997
Track Listing:
1. Rhinestone
2. Reading My Eyes
3. Fuse
4. Stick N' Move
Hybrid Theory "Hybrid Theory" EP (Mix Media, no number) 1999
Track Listing:
1. Carousel
2. Technique (Short)
3. Step Up
4. And One
5. High Voltage
6. Part Of Me *
* -- there is a hidden bonus track at the end of Track 6, sometimes referred to as "Ambient"
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