Linkin Park: Mike Shinoda (vocals, programming, samples); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, bass, background vocals); Rob Bourdon (drums, background vocals); Joseph Hahn (turntables, programming).

This Los Angeles, California, USA-based outfit earned the rather dubious distinction of becoming nu metal's first pin-ups. Originally known as Xero, the band was formed in 1996 by Mike Shinoda (b. 11 February 1977, USA; MC/vocals), Brad Delson (b. 1 December 1977; guitar), Rob Bourdon (b. 20 January 1979, USA; drums), Phoenix (bass) and DJ Joseph Hahn (b. 15 March 1977, USA). Minus the departing Phoenix, the band was joined by lead singer Chester Bennington (b. 20 March 1976, Phoenix, Arizona, USA) and changed their name to Hybrid Theory, but for legal reasons swiftly adopted the Linkin Park moniker. Their new title arose from a deliberate spelling variation of the Santa Monica landmark, Lincoln Park. The band immediately created an impact on the Los Angeles club scene, and was swiftly offered a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records . They subsequently entered the studio with producer Don Gilmore to work on their debut album. [Hybrid Theory] introduces a highly eclectic fusion of metal, hip-hop, industrial and pop styles which is striking even by the standards of pioneers such as Korn and Limp Bizkit . Aided by the heavy radio rotation of "One Step Closer" the album debuted in the US Top 20 in November 2000. By this time, founding member Phoenix had returned to the line-up. The band's popularity grew steadily over the next two years, with Hybrid Theory reaching the US Top 5 and the track "In The End" climbing to number 2 on the singles chart. Although not as strong as the debut Meteora made an impressive start with sales of over 1 million upon release in the USA.