Read this: Every song on Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, ranked from worst to best
Reflecting on One Step Closer last year with Kerrang!, Mike Shinoda explained of the band’s influences and how they played into the music: “I always told people, ‘Don’t try to put the nu-metal flag in my hands, because I won’t hold it.’ Our intention going into the record wasn’t to be part of a scene. We didn’t know any of those other bands; we liked some of it, and we hated some of it. We were just trying to mash up a lot of really disparate elements that we personally loved as a group. So when people asked, ‘What bands do you listen to?’, the stock answer would be The Roots, Portishead, Aphex Twin and Deftones. But if you search deeper you get Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Public Enemy, Rage Against The Machine, DJ Shadow…”
Watch Linkin Park performing One Step Closer on Late Night With Conan O'Brien below: