Teens react to Linkin Park

Whatever you think about Linkin Park, there’s no denying that they are one of the biggest bands to ever come from our world. Their debut album Hybrid Theory is one of the highest selling albums of all time, and that is down (in no small part) to legions of angsty teens losing their collective shit to Crawling and One Step Closer.

But that was seventeen years ago. What do the teenagers of today think about Linkin Park?

Starting with the band’s controversial new song Heavy, barely any of the teens are able to identify the fact it’s LP. Some of them are digging it, like fools, but can’t believe it’s the same band that brought us Faint and With You.

And then the Hybrid Theory era begins…

Firstly, shout out to Ethan who is absolutely loving it, trying his best not to emulate Mike and Chester’s nu-metal headbang/bounce. But he’s not the only one, everyone is into the music – from In The End to Breaking The Habit to What I’ve Done, or ‘the song from Transformers’ as they know it.

Comments like “This is on every 2000 playlist I have”, “It’s very 2000s with the cheap graphics” and “All their songs are classics” are thrown around without any sense of irony. It’s interesting that different generations of young people can relate to the nu-metal behemoths, but a tune is a tune. And if you’ve never thrown down to Numb in your local rock club then you’re denying yourself one of life’s greatest drunken moments.

What did you think of Linkin Park when you were a teenager?

The 25 best Linkin Park songs

Linkin Park play The Bandmate Game

The 10 best Linkin Park songs, by I Prevail’s Brian Burkheiser

Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.