Complete List Of Linkin Park Band Members

Feature Photo: Kristina Servant, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Linkin Park began in Southern California in 1996 under the name Xero. Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon formed the original core, with Mark Wakefield, Joe Hahn, and Dave “Phoenix” Farrell joining during the band’s early development. After Wakefield left, Chester Bennington joined in 1999, and the group soon evolved from Xero to Hybrid Theory before settling on the name Linkin Park. Their combination of alternative rock, metal, hip-hop, electronic music, and emotionally direct songwriting became one of the defining sounds of the early 2000s.

The band’s 2000 debut album, Hybrid Theory, became one of the best-selling debut albums in rock history, followed by major releases including Meteora (2003), Minutes to Midnight (2007), A Thousand Suns (2010), and One More Light (2017). Linkin Park paused after Chester Bennington’s death in 2017. The band returned publicly on September 5, 2024, with longtime members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, and Joe Hahn joined by co-lead vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain. Their eighth studio album, From Zero, arrived in November 2024 and began a new chapter in the band’s history.

Brad Delson remains an official member and active studio contributor but chose not to return to regular touring, with Alex Feder handling guitar onstage. Founding drummer Rob Bourdon also did not take part in the 2024 return after gradually distancing himself from the band during the years following 2017. The current studio lineup consists of Shinoda, Delson, Farrell, Hahn, Armstrong, and Brittain, while Feder has become an important part of the modern touring lineup.

Mike Shinoda

Mike Shinoda is a co-founder of Linkin Park and one of the band’s principal vocalists, songwriters, musicians, and producers. He began Xero with Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon in 1996, bringing together his interests in hip-hop, rock, sampling, keyboards, and visual art. Shinoda’s rapping became a defining part of Hybrid Theory and Meteora, while his singing and multi-instrumental work became increasingly prominent on later albums. His production and songwriting have remained central to Linkin Park’s creative direction across every era.

Outside Linkin Park, Shinoda launched Fort Minor and released The Rising Tied in 2005. After Chester Bennington’s death, he released the deeply personal solo album Post Traumatic in 2018. Shinoda helped lead Linkin Park’s creative return and shares lead-vocal duties with Emily Armstrong on From Zero. He remains one of the central figures in the band’s current lineup.

Brad Delson

Brad Delson is a co-founder and lead guitarist of Linkin Park. He formed Xero with Mike Shinoda and Rob Bourdon in 1996 and helped build the heavy guitar foundation that became central to the band’s early sound. Delson’s playing on Hybrid Theory and Meteora favored tightly constructed riffs that worked alongside Shinoda’s programming, Joe Hahn’s sampling, and Chester Bennington’s vocals. He later became increasingly involved in production, songwriting, and the band’s broader creative and business direction.

Delson remains an official Linkin Park member and participated extensively in the creation of From Zero. When the band returned in 2024, however, he announced that he would not join the regular touring lineup because he felt most fulfilled working behind the scenes, in the studio, and on the creative development of the live show. Delson personally supported Alex Feder taking his place onstage. His decision changed his touring role but did not end his membership in Linkin Park.

Joe Hahn

Joe Hahn, also known as Mr. Hahn, joined Xero during the band’s formative years after meeting Mike Shinoda while studying art. His turntables, sampling, programming, synthesizers, and sound design became essential to Linkin Park’s mixture of rock, hip-hop, and electronic music. Hahn’s work is especially prominent throughout Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and A Thousand Suns, where samples and electronic textures play major roles in the arrangements. He has remained part of every major era of the band.

Hahn has also directed many Linkin Park music videos and contributed heavily to the band’s visual identity. He returned with Shinoda, Delson, and Farrell for the creative sessions that eventually became From Zero. Hahn remains the band’s DJ, turntablist, programmer, and one of its longest-serving creative members.

Dave “Phoenix” Farrell

Dave “Phoenix” Farrell joined the early Xero lineup after meeting Brad Delson at UCLA. He played bass on the band’s 1997 Xero demo but later stepped away to honor touring commitments with his other band, Tasty Snax. Because Farrell was absent during much of the period leading to Hybrid Theory, he did not perform the album’s principal bass parts, which were handled by Brad Delson and temporary contributors including Scott Koziol and Ian Hornbeck. Farrell returned to Linkin Park in 2000 and became the band’s permanent bassist.

From that point forward, Farrell became a constant presence in Linkin Park’s rhythm section and live performances. He appears throughout the band’s later studio catalog and has also contributed backing vocals and occasional additional instrumentation. Farrell was one of the four longtime members who began creating music together again before the 2024 return. He remains Linkin Park’s bassist in the current lineup.

Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington joined the group in 1999 after the departure of original vocalist Mark Wakefield. His combination of melodic singing, aggressive screaming, and emotional intensity immediately changed the possibilities of the band’s sound. Alongside Mike Shinoda, Bennington created the dual-vocal approach that became central to Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and the albums that followed. Songs such as “In the End,” “Crawling,” “Numb,” “Breaking the Habit,” and “What I’ve Done” helped make his voice one of the most recognizable in modern rock.

Bennington remained Linkin Park’s co-lead vocalist through One More Light in 2017. Outside the band, he fronted Dead by Sunrise and later performed with Stone Temple Pilots. His death on July 20, 2017, brought Linkin Park’s active career to a halt for seven years. His recordings remain a central part of the band’s identity and catalog.

Emily Armstrong

Emily Armstrong joined Linkin Park as co-lead vocalist in 2024 after years as the singer and guitarist for Dead Sara. Her addition was publicly revealed during Linkin Park’s September 5, 2024 performance, the band’s first live appearance in seven years. Armstrong’s voice brought a different character to the group while still allowing Linkin Park to move between melody, aggression, electronic textures, and heavy guitars. She shares vocal duties with Mike Shinoda throughout the band’s new era.

Armstrong appears on From Zero, including songs such as “The Emptiness Machine,” “Heavy Is the Crown,” “Over Each Other,” and “Two Faced.” She also contributed to the additional material issued with the 2025 deluxe edition, including “Up From the Bottom,” “Unshatter,” and “Let You Fade.” Armstrong remains Linkin Park’s co-lead vocalist in the current lineup.

Colin Brittain

Colin Brittain joined Linkin Park in 2024 as drummer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Before joining the band, he had built a career writing and producing for artists including Papa Roach, All Time Low, and A Day to Remember. Brittain began collaborating with Mike Shinoda and the other returning members during the sessions that eventually developed into From Zero. His arrival gave the band a new drummer after Rob Bourdon chose not to participate in the reunion.

Brittain plays drums in the current live lineup and contributes more broadly to Linkin Park’s studio work through guitar, bass, keyboards, production, and songwriting. His versatility helped make him part of the creative process rather than simply a replacement behind the drum kit. He remains Linkin Park’s drummer in the current lineup.

Rob Bourdon

Rob Bourdon was a co-founder and the original drummer of Linkin Park, forming Xero with Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson in 1996. His precise and powerful drumming became an essential part of the band’s rhythm section on Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and every Linkin Park studio album through One More Light. Bourdon’s playing was particularly effective in a band that frequently shifted between live drums, programmed beats, samples, and electronic production. He was also involved in the band’s business operations alongside other longtime members.

Bourdon did not simply leave Linkin Park at the moment the band paused in 2017. Mike Shinoda explained in 2024 that Bourdon gradually became less involved and had asked to put some distance between himself and the band several years before the comeback. He did not participate in the Hybrid Theory 20th-anniversary activities or the 2024 Papercuts campaign and was not part of the band’s September 2024 return. Colin Brittain became Linkin Park’s new drummer.

Mark Wakefield

Mark Wakefield was the original lead vocalist of Xero during Linkin Park’s earliest period. He sang on the band’s 1997 Xero demo, which included early versions of songs and ideas that later contributed to the group’s development. Wakefield performed alongside Mike Shinoda during the years when the band was still trying to secure a record deal. His departure in the late 1990s opened the search that eventually brought Chester Bennington into the group.

Wakefield did not appear on Linkin Park’s major-label studio albums, but his writing contributions remained connected to several early compositions. Recordings featuring his vocals later appeared in archival collections, including material issued with the Hybrid Theory 20th-anniversary edition. His role belongs to the formative Xero period that preceded the band’s breakthrough.

Alex Feder

Alex Feder is Linkin Park’s touring guitarist for the From Zero era. When Brad Delson decided to remain active with the band while stepping away from regular touring, Feder was chosen to perform Delson’s guitar parts onstage. He first appeared with the band during the September 5, 2024 comeback performance and continued with the From Zero touring lineup.

Feder’s position is a touring role rather than official replacement membership. Delson remains Linkin Park’s studio guitarist and an active creative member of the band. Feder’s job is to bring those parts to the stage while supporting the expanded live arrangements of both the classic catalog and the From Zero material.