Chester Bennington gives an interview
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington responded to criticism from metal fans who consider Linkin Park a boy band with guitars:
“I find that funny (…) In my opinion, we kept metal alive. I met a kid a few days ago who told me, ‘You guys were the first rock band I ever heard.’ And I hear that all the time. We did a surprise show at Warped Tour in California in 2014 and a lot of other singers came on stage with us. They all came up and said, ‘My first album was by your band’ or ‘Your band is the reason I play music.’ It was perhaps the first time I felt that we are a band that people look at the same way I look at Deftones, Metallica, or Stone Temple Pilots.”
After Chester's testimony, Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda posted a series of tweets defending Chester and clarifying the issue.