Released: November 18, 2002

Songwriter: Mr. Hahn Dave Farrell Chester Bennington Rob Bourdon Mike Shinoda Brad Delson

Producer: Linkin Park

[Intro: Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda]
Our 12,500 closest friends in London are here, tonight
Making this such a beautiful sight to see
We're gonna play a- We're pleased
We're gonna play a b-side for you
Something that's not on the album
It made it onto the b-side of One Step Closer here, in the UK
Check it out, it's High Voltage

[Verse 1: Mike Shinoda]
I've been diggin' into crates, ever since I was living in space
Before the rat race, before monkeys had human traits
I mastered numerology and big bang theology
Performed lobotomies with telekinetic psychology

Invented the mic so I could start blessing it
Chin-checking kids to make my point like an impressionist
Many men have tried to shake us
But I twist mic cords in double helixes and show you what I'm made of

I buckle knees like leg braces
Cast a spell of instrumentalness on all of these MC's who hate us
(So you can try on) Leave you without a shoulder to cry on
From now to infinity, let icons be bygones

I firebomb, ghostly notes haunt this
I tried threats, but moved on to a promise
I stomp shit, with or without an accomplice
Run the gauntlet with whoever that wants this

[Chorus: Mike Shinoda & Chester Bennington]
(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

[Verse 2: Mike Shinoda]
(Akira) I put a kick in the backbones of clones with microphones
Never satisfy my rhyme jones
Spraying bright day over what you might say
My blood type's Krylon, technicolor type A

On highways, bright with road rage
Pages of wind in cages of tin that bounce all around
(Surround sound) Devouring the scene
Subliminal gangrene paintings, overall the same thing

Sing-song karaoke copy bullshit
Break bones verbally with sticks-and-stone tactics
Fourth dimension combat convention
Write rhymes at ease while the track stands at attention

Meant to put you away, with a pencil pistol official
Sixteen-line, the rhyme missile
While you risk your all, I pick out all your flaws
Spittin' rah blah blah blah, you can say you saw

[Chorus: Mike Shinoda & Chester Bennington]
(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

[Interlude: Chester Bennington]
Sometimes...
Sometimes...

[Bridge: Chester Bennington]
Sometimes, I feel like a prophet
Misunderstood, under the gun like a new disease
Sometimes, I feel like a prophet
Misunderstood, under the gun like a new disease

[Chorus: Mike Shinoda & Chester Bennington]
(It's high voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Yo everybody, put 'em up like this!

(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

(High voltage) This is the unforgettable sound
(High voltage) Bringing you up and taking you down
(High voltage) Coming at you from every side
(High voltage) Making the rhythm and rhyme collide

[Outro: Mike Shinoda & Chester Bennington]
Ladies and gentlemen!
Thank you guys very much!
Dilated peoples in the house!
Dilated peoples, ladies and gentlemen
Much respect

Linkin Park

Hybrid Theory isn’t just the title of Linkin Park’s chart-topping debut album, but a career mission statement.

From day one, the same six players (lead vocalist Chester Bennington, drummer/percussionist Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave ‘Phoenix’ Farrell, DJ/Programmer Joe Hahn, and keyboardist, guitarist, and co-lead vocals Mike Shinoda) built the band by fusing all their favorite styles of music into one unmistakable signature sound. With each album, Linkin Park defiantly challenges themselves and their fans by blasting into new musical territory. After setting the template for rock that incorporated hip-hop influences with Hybrid Theory and Meteora, they shifted gears completely and defied expectations with the polychromatic Minutes to Midnight, and again with the esoteric A Thousand Suns, before melding a piece of them all into 2012’s LIVING THINGS. With their 2014 release and heaviest offering in years, The Hunting Party, Linkin Park manage to capture their ever-innovative spirit with a hunger seldom seen in bands on their seventh album. One More Light (2017) is an interesting personal album, filled with a lot of emotion.

Unfortunately, on July 20, 2017, Chester unexpectedly died by suicide, shocking and saddening both fans and his own band members alike.

more tracks from the album

Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)