The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bassist Dave Farrell, vocalist Emily Armstrong, and drummer Colin Brittain.

Linkin Park rose to international fame with their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory (2000), which became certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[7] After graduating from high school, the three began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, then called Xero.

Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda's makeshift bedroom studio in 1996, resulting in a four-track demo album, entitled Xero, released in November 1997.

[10][11] After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Chester Bennington, a vocalist from Arizona who was recommended by Jeff Blue in March 1999.

The band members began to work on new material amidst their saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus's studio.

[38] The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.

[43] The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another Projekt Revolution, which featured other bands and artists including Mudvayne, Blindside, and Xzibit.

[7] Additionally, Metallica invited Linkin Park to play at the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, which included well-known acts such as Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones.

The band promoted the album's release by forming their fourth Projekt Revolution tour in the United States which included many musical acts like My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo, and many others.

[147][148] Similar to Reanimation, the album features remixes of ten of the songs from Living Things, with contributions from other artists, such as Pusha T, Datsik, KillSonik, Bun B, Money Mark, and Rick Rubin.

'[158] The album includes musical contributions from rapper Rakim, Page Hamilton of Helmet, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, and Daron Malakian of System of a Down.

[171] On June 22, Linkin Park made an unscheduled headline appearance at the Vans Warped Tour, where they played with members of Issues, the Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, Yellowcard, Breathe Carolina, Finch, and Machine Gun Kelly.

"[188] In February 2017, Linkin Park released promotional videos on their social network accounts, which featured Shinoda and Bennington preparing new material for the album.

[204][205] On July 28, Shinoda announced that donations made to the band's Music for Relief charity would be redirected to the One More Light Fund, which had been set up in Bennington's memory.

[206] On August 4, when the band was initially scheduled to play on Good Morning America, Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell's twelve-year-old daughter Toni appeared with OneRepublic to perform "Hallelujah" as a tribute to Bennington (who was the godfather to her younger brother, Christopher) and her father.

[210] The band later confirmed that the concert, titled Linkin Park and Friends: Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington, would take place on October 27 at the Hollywood Bowl.

[221] On January 28, 2018, Shinoda replied to a tweet from a fan inquiring about his future with Linkin Park, writing, "I have every intention on continuing with LP, and the guys feel the same.

The band met Dead Sara vocalist Emily Armstrong in 2019, and began working on music with her shortly after, along with various other musicians, including drummer Colin Brittain.

[1][242][243] The band's decision to add Armstrong was met with some criticism due to her connections with the Church of Scientology and perceived support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

[245] Armstrong responded to the criticism via an Instagram story, stating that she had not been in contact with Masterson since attending his 2020 court appearance and that she condemned his crimes;[246][247] however, she did not clarify her status with Scientology.

[243] After Alex Feder performed in his place at the comeback event, Delson announced his decision to withdraw from touring to concentrate on the "behind the scenes" aspects of the band.

[263] In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, Linkin Park played at Club Nokia during the "Music for Relief: Concert for the Philippines" in Los Angeles, and raised donations for victims.

William Ruhlmann from AllMusic regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style,"[299] whereas Rolling Stone described their song "Breaking the Habit" as "risky, beautiful art".

[300] In Minutes to Midnight, the band experimented with their established sound and drew influences from a wider and more varied range of genres and styles, a process Los Angeles Times compares to a stage in U2's work.

On Linkin Park's third album, Minutes to Midnight, Shinoda sings lead vocals on "In Between", "Hands Held High", and on the B-side "No Roads Left".

[328] Linkin Park's influences include Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Machines of Loving Grace, Metallica, Refused, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Descendents, Misfits, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, N.W.A, Public Enemy, KRS-One, Boogie Down Productions, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, Strife, Helmet, and the Beatles.

[350] The New York Times' Jon Caramanica commented Linkin Park "brought the collision of hard rock and hip-hop to its commercial and aesthetic peak" at the beginning of the 2000s.

[351] Several rock and non-rock artists have cited Linkin Park as an influence, including Of Mice & Men,[352] One OK Rock,[353] Kutless,[354] My Heart to Fear,[355] Ill Niño,[356] Bishop Nehru,[357] From Ashes to New,[358] Bring Me the Horizon,[359] Spyair,[360] Hardy,[361] I Prevail,[362] Crossfaith,[363] AJ Tracey,[364] the Chainsmokers,[365] the Devil Wears Prada,[366] Steve Aoki,[367] Blackbear,[368] Halsey,[369] Amber Liu,[370] Machine Gun Kelly,[371] Billie Eilish,[372] Starset,[373] the Weeknd,[374] and You Me at Six.

[375] On August 20, 2020, their 20th anniversary, Linkin Park collaborated with virtual reality rhythm game Beat Saber to release 11 maps based on their songs.