All the energy we put into that record just exploded on to the world!: How Chester Bennington remembered Linkin Parks breakthrough [Video]

Chester Bennington was furious. The singer paced back and forth in the lobby of NRG Recording, literally punching the studio walls in frustration.

It was in the early months of 2000, and producer Don Gilmore was convinced that the chorus on one of Linkin Park’s new songs wasn’t strong enough, and nothing Chester tried seemed to work, with the producer demanding take after take to the singer’s mounting irritation.

“I just wanted to punch that dude in the face,” Bennington recalled. “I was so pissed – nothing I did was good enough for him. I thought, ‘Man, everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge, and I’m about to break.’ And then I thought, ‘Wait, that might actually work!’

Chester had moved to LA from his native Arizona one year previously, following the …