Mike Shinoda Discusses Linkin Park, Chester Bennington, 20th Anniversary Retrospective Release

At first, Mike Shinoda, co-founder of the immensely popular band, Linkin Park, didn’t want to go back to the past. He didn’t want to revisit the early demos, relive the old memories. Why look back? On October 24th, 2000, Linkin Park released its debut LP, Hybrid Theory, which, it turns out, was more like a debut greatest hits record, featuring songs like “One Step Closer,” “Papercut” and “In The End.” But, thanks to some lifelong friends and collaborators, Shinoda was convinced more recently to unearth the lost material. Now, twenty years later, on October 9th, 2020, the band, led by Shinoda, released a 20th anniversary retrospective package of their seminal album that features alternate song takes, forgotten lyrics and decades-old video footage of the group, which their leagues of fans will assuredly continue to enjoy and devour.