LINKIN PARK‘s debut album, “Hybrid Theory”, was officially certified 12 times platinum on September 11 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of 12 million copies.
The RIAA developed its gold and platinum awards program in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard by which to measure the commercial success of a sound recording. The program trademarked the gold record and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements.
Presently, the RIAA awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for 1 million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold.
In the streaming age, each permanent digital album or physical album sale count as 1 unit for certification purposes, 10 permanent track downloads from the album count as 1 unit for certification purposes, and 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album count as 1 unit. For songs, 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams count as 1 unit for certification purposes.
A 20th-anniverary reissue of “Hybrid Theory” will be made available on October 9 via Warner Records. The set comes in multiple physical and digital formats, including a super deluxe box set, super deluxe vinyl box set and deluxe CD that all come with the original “Hybrid Theory” as well as the “B-Side Rarities” with 12 previously released tracks from the album era.
“It’s incredible to think it’s been 20 years since ‘Hybrid Theory’ was released,” says the band. “All gratitude to our fans who made this epic journey we started 20 years ago possible. We dedicate our music to you. We rededicate our ‘Hybrid Theory’ to you.”
The limited-edition super deluxe box set will consist of five CDs, three DVDs, three vinyl records, an 80-page illustrated book featuring previously unseen photos, a replica tour laminate and a poster of late frontman Chester Bennington, and three lithographs of new art by Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn and “Hybrid Theory” art director and reissue art director Frank Maddocks. The vinyl box set will feature “Hybrid Theory”, “Reanimation” and “B-side Rarities” on vinyl.
One of the never-before-heard demos, “She Couldn’t”, can be streamed below.
Super deluxe box set:
5 CDs
01. Hybrid Theory
02. Reanimation
03. B-Side Rarities
04. LPU Rarities
05. Forgotten Demos
3 DVDs
01. Frat Party At The Pankake Festival
02. Live Projekt Revolution 2002 (never-before-released)
03. Live At The Fillmore 2001 // Live At Rock Am Ring 2001
3 LPs
01. Hybrid Theory
02. Reanimation
03. Hybrid Theory EP
Extras:
* 80-page book featuring contributions from the band and previously unseen photos
* Cassette reproduction of original 2-track street team sampler
* 18×24 Poster of Chester Bennington
* 3 Lithographs featuring new art by Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, and Frank Maddocks
* Replica tour laminate
Super deluxe vinyl set:
3 LPs
01. Hybrid Theory
02. Reanimation
03. B-Side Rarities
Side A
01. One Step Closer (Rock Mix)
02. It’s Goin’ Down
03. Papercut (Live from the BBC)
04. In The End (Live BBC Radio One)
05. Points Of Authority (Live BBC Radio One)
06. High Voltage
Side B
07. Step Up (1999 Demo)
08. My December
09. A Place For My Head (Live at Docklands Arena, London)
10. Points Of Authority (Live at Docklands Arena, London)
11. Papercut (Live at Docklands Arena, London)
12. Buy Myself Remix (Marilyn Manson)
Deluxe CD:
2 CDS
01. Hybrid Theory
02. B-Side Rarities
Digital:
All audio tracks on the album will be available to stream or download.
“Hybrid Theory” — the band’s original name before it was changed to LINKIN PARK for legal reasons — was issued in October 2000 and was a breakout success for the group, which had formed in 1996 and had played the Los Angeles club scene for several years. The album yielded four massive hit singles — “One Step Closer”, “Crawling”, “Papercut” and “In The End” — while going on to sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.
LINKIN PARK singer Chester Bennington and Shinoda spoke to The Pulse Of Radio a while back about some of the challenges of making their debut album.
“We walked into every song with a fresh, you know, outlook on it and we focused equal amounts of energy on every song,” Bennington said. “And that at times was quite interesting, and also difficult at the same time. So we really learned how to push ourselves to new levels, and that was an accomplishment.”
“Our biggest obstacle was putting something together that we felt was strong from beginning to end and doing our best to give each song its proper attention,” Shinoda added.
Bennington was found dead in his Los Angeles-area home on July 20, 2017 after hanging himself. LINKIN PARK headlined an all-star tribute concert for Bennington in October 2017 in Los Angeles but has not announced any future plans for recording or touring.
