20 Years of Linkin Park's Meteora Album... and Why I Still Can't Unwrap Their Last Album

If you're a fan of Linkin Park (or have just seen all the Transformers movies), you may know they're releasing old demos as well as a huge box set. You can stream the two new demos out now 'Lost' and 'Fighting Myself' on Spotify, YouTube, and pretty much anywhere with music. If interested, you can grab the anniversary box set the guys put together for us FOR ONLY $200!

YES, you read that right. This box set is massive, Mike Shinoda posted a video of everything in it, and literally, the vinyls ALONE would cost that much in today's money. But ig they're just excited to share this and want people to actually be able to afford it, which is so lovely of them. My family has already ordered one to share, and I cannot wait to sift through all the never before seen footage and demos. Quite literally- losing my mind.

Many of my IRL friends weren't even aware of this, so I'd like to share that Linkin Park was a really big part of my childhood. I grew up with pretty much all of their albums, but most distinctly remember Minutes to Midnight as it's what was usually in our car. My favorite songs as a kid were 'Leave Out All the Rest' and 'Breaking the Habit'. The ONLY films my dad would go see with us in theatres were the Transformers films (which if you haven't seen- go watch them- they aren't like,,, that great but they're good lol it's robots fighting with Linkin Park as the soundtrack what more could you want). As I got older and into heavier music, my love for Linkin Park only expanded.

I vividly remember being 15 and buying two copies of One More Light when it came out. I got one for my dad and one for me. I bought them with my mom at the store and figured since my dad couldn't open his until his birthday in July, I wouldn't open mine yet either.

So I didn't. My dad's birthday was only a couple of days before Chester's passing. I don't remember if my dad opened his album or not, but mine still remains wrapped in plastic in my old bedroom at my parent's house. To this day, I don't know if I can open it. I've heard the album on Spotify, but unwrapping that specific copy just feels wrong at this point. I would rather just buy another copy altogether. That plastic-wrapped copy feels like it belongs to that moment in time.

It has also been about 6 years since I've listened to Linkin Park. Which in a way is quite fun, because I get to rediscover all the songs I loved and find ones that I love more now. But, it was hard being a 15 yr old who had never lost an artist I actively loved. At the time, I'd been struggling with my own mental health and had been in therapy for years. They were the band that got me through so much and made me feel like it was possible for me to be okay. It was such a jarring moment in my life, and it became so much more difficult to listen to their music without literally having a breakdown.

To be 21 now and be able to listen to them again, at a time when we Linkin Park fans are also getting brand new music (that was recorded forever ago) with Chester's vocals, feels like such a blessing.

I don't know if this will be interesting for anyone to read, or if any of you have stories about your history with Linkin Park, but I hope it will encourage the appreciation of not only their music but music in general. Music brings us together, and there is a lot of it out there that I think is particularly special.

If you haven't listened to Linkin Park- highly recommend giving them a try. It might just change your life.

At the very least, I hope you all have some music that will forever feel like coming home :)

xoxo

Hannah Horror