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One Step Closer (Linkin Park song)

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"One Step Closer"
Song
B-side"My December"
"High Voltage"

"One Step Closer" is the debut single by the nu metal band Linkin Park released in 2001 and the second track of their debut album, Hybrid Theory.

Song

The original title for the song was "Plaster". The band say they created "One Step Closer" while struggling on "Runaway", the sixth track from Hybrid Theory. The single was released in 2001, achieving notable success in Australia, but moderate success in the UK and U.S.

There is a remix of "One Step Closer" on LP's remix album Reanimation (2002), titled "1Stp Klosr", done by The Humble Brothers and Korn's lead singer, Jonathan Davis. This remix was preceded by its "demo version" of the remix (included as an easter egg on Linkin Park's DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival) and a radio edit version of that demo. Furthermore, Collision Course (2004) features a mash-up of the original song with "Points of Authority" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems".

"One Step Closer" features Mike Shinoda rapping a few lines during the chorus, under Bennington saying "Everything you say to me" and "And I'm about to break".

Until 2007, Linkin Park has closed every concert to date with it, excluding Live 8 and their live performance at Summer Sonic. From 2003 onwards, when "One Step Closer" is played live, it is extended. Like "With You", this song is always played live with parts from the version on "Reanimation"; after the second chorus, before the bridge, the band builds up hype for Bennington's "Shut up!" refrain by playing Jonathan Davis' verse on the "reanimated" version, where Bennington does the singing; he then says "Blood is pouring" four times and then does the "Shut up!" part. On occasion, Shinoda sings "Blood is pouring" under Bennington's screaming during this part, as is done by Jonathan Davis on the remix. This is half-done on the performance at 2004's Rock AM Ring (in that Shinoda only sings the part during the second half of the bridge) and fully done during a performance during 2003's Projekt Revolution tour, which was recorded and included on the "Faint" 2 single and is available as a bonus track for Reanimation when purchased on iTunes. On the single cover, it is called '"One Step Closer" (Reanimated Live)'. During the 2005 lives in Japan, the Reanimation bridge was played with the main riff of the song. In the first shows of 2007 onwards, One Step Closer is played as the opening song.

Prior to "Reanimation", during the 2001 MTV VMA's, when Linkin Park performed "One Step Closer", they had The X-Ecutioners do an extended break before the bridge. This part was somewhat similar to the atmosphere on the remix, with synth parts and faint vocal parts being scratched.

Collaborations

Over the years, the band has collaborated on the live version of One Step Closer with many different artists, some of these include:[1]

Video

Joe Hahn of Linkin Park came up with the concept for the video. The original version of the video was supposedly meant to be live footage of the band with fans (similar to their music video for Faint).

The video was shot in Los Angeles 63 feet under ground in an abandoned LA subway tunnel, that is adjacent to an abandoned V.A. hospital. In this video, the bass is played by Scott Koziol, who temporarily joined the band before Dave Farrell's comeback.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Billboard Hot 100 75
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 5
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
UK Singles Chart 24
Australian Singles Chart 4
Germany Singles Chart 32
Italy Singles Chart 46

Track listing

  1. "One Step Closer"
  2. "My December"
  3. "High Voltage" (2000 Reprise)

(2&3 also appear on the Japanese release of Hybrid Theory and Frat Party at the Pankake Festival DVD)

Bonus

  1. "One Step Closer" (CD-ROM Music Video)

In pop culture

Trivia

  • During earlier Linkin Park shows, Mike Shinoda only raps this song; however, in Live Earth and Rock am Ring 2007, Mike can be seen playing the guitar. Mike continued to play guitar on the song in all of their shows from the Minutes to Midnight era onwards.
  • The video for One Step Closer is the only one released by Linkin Park to contain an intro before the song that isn't in the CD edition.
  • Stand-in bassist Scott Koziol can be seen in two shots of the video.
  • Linkin Park's original logo (back when their name was Hybrid Theory) can be seen on Joe Hahn's turntables.
  • Chester is wearing two different shirts in the video.
  • Mike is wearing two pairs of Ecko jeans in the video, one blue pair and one black pair. You can see Mike with Red Hair.
  • Chester has said this is his least favorite Linkin Park song. [2]
  • This is the shortest song on Hybrid Theory, which is ironic since its remix, 1stp Klosr, is the longest song on Reanimation.
  • During Linkin Park's new shows, the reanimation introduction has been replaced with a new intro which is a combination of the Reanimation intro and that of the original, the extended bridge has also been removed.
  • During the 2006 Summer Sonic, the extended bridge had been shortened.
  • The existence of the One Step Closer demo, known as "Plaster", has been a rumor amongst many since it was revealed. A recording finally became available to public on February 11, 2008, in both MP3 and perfect CD quality through Linkin Park fansites[2].

Notes and references

  1. ^ One Step Closer collaborations
  2. ^ [1]"Plaster"
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