That puts this demo CD in the timeframe between the release of the Hybrid Theory EP and the 6-track demo CD, which still makes it some of the earliest demo material from the band. This information is wrong for many reasons: Chester joined the band in 1999, Linkin Park signed their first contract with Warner in November 1999, and "She Couldn't" samples the song "B-Boy Document '99" by The High & Mighty which was released in the summer of 1999. According to the seller, the CD dates from 1998 and was the first demo with Chester Bennington in the band, which was given by the band's manager to an high executive of Warner Bros. ↑ HOB.This 8-track demo CD was discovered in June 2009 when it was auctioned on eBay.↑ How One Of Linkin Park's Most Powerful Lyrics Happened By Accident - Kerrang!, October 06, 2020.↑ HOB.com: Linkin Park Text Interview recorded, November 30, 2000.↑ Interview: Mike Shinoda Talks "Living Things," The State of Rock, and Linkin Park's Fan Base | Complex, September 27, 2012.↑ Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda on EDM, "A Light That Never Comes," and Their New Remix Album | Complex, September 26, 2013.↑ Digging Deep – A Conversation With Chester About Songwriting – Kevin Palmer, November 10, 2017.One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park. ↑ Chris Williams Rate-a-Record Sampler, by Linkin Park – iTunes, A to Z, December 30, 2014.↑ Linkin Park Catalog no Twitter: "Random troll image: :) ".↑ AUDIO: Previously Unreleased Hybrid Theory 6-Track Internal Demo CD (May 8th, 2000) | LP Association Forums, September 15, 2012.It contains the earliest known versions of what would become " One Step Closer", " Papercut", and " With You" as well as new versions of songs found on previous demos. This CD offers some insight into where Hybrid Theory was as a band at this point, still in the process of finishing their debut album. " Untitled" is identical to the version found on previous demo CDs.
The song was originally intended for the Dust Brothers album (hence why it was named after the duo), but once Jeff Blue had Mike and Chester work out a full demo, he liked it so much that he started putting it on demo CDs immediately, and then got permission to include the song on Hybrid Theory. While looking for a producer for their debut album, the band met John King and Mike Simpson in September or October 1999.
This exact same version would be later released for free download on Hybrid Theory's official website and included in the Forgotten Demos disc of Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition). The version of " Points Of Authority" on this CD already has a similar structure to the final version of the song, but it contains alternate rap lyrics. The band decided to use that line after Don Gilmore misheard "Fear is powerful". This is also the first known demo with the lyrics "Fear is how I fall" in the chorus. " Crawling" is different to its counterpart on the 8-track demo CD, with Mike's raps and whispers being absent throughout the whole song, making it the earliest known version of the song without the rap bridge. Incorporating elements of hip-hop, jungle and drum & bass in a organic way, it became one of the band's favorite songs. " Papercut" was a song that came together relatively quickly. He was quite intense with the band, making them rewrite many songs over and over again, so the lyrics were written as a way to vent their frustration. " Plaster" was written after Hybrid Theory started working with producer Don Gilmore and was partially inspired by him. The first song was "Plaster" without a bridge and the second song was a very rough beat and guitar demo of "Papercut." In the first week of March, Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson went to Jeff's office with a two track demo of new tracks they were working on. The band entered NRG Recording Studios with producer Don Gilmore on Maand the recording process for Hybrid Theory was scheduled for a month and a half. The May 8 version has a note indicating that Chris Williams from 99X (a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia) picked "Plaster" for his Rate-a-Record program, where he played new alternative rock tracks and asked his audience to call in and choose their favorite one. Both versions had the name "Hybrid Theory" printed both on the cover and on the CD, indicating they might have been made before the name change to Linkin Park. A second version of the CD dating from Apwas discovered by fan site LPCatalog in December 2016. A copy of the CD dating from was obtained by community member Ginger and made available for free download by fan site LPAssociation on September 15, 2012.