The first time Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda of Agoura Hills, California, recalls feeling “starstruck” was when his band opened for System of a Down years ago.
Both Linkin Park and System of a Down have solidified their status as the two largest bands to emerge from the heavy metal scenes of the 1990s and 2000s, respectively. In 1998, System of a Down made their studio album debut, while in 2000, Linkin Park released their debut album, Hybrid Theory.
When asked to discuss his “Firsts,” Shinoda mentioned his first concert and the first occasion he ever felt “starstruck” in an interview with NME.
Regarding the latter, Shinoda talks candidly about an occasion when Linkin Park served as System of a Down’s opening act and says he was “impressed” by the group. About that specific period in time, Shinoda discloses the following:
“It was very minimal, it wasn’t like a full-on ‘I can’t talk, I am completely overwhelmed’, it was that we played our first show with a local band that had just got signed called System Of A Down.”
He added, “And I was like ‘These guys are so cool and they just got signed at like a major record deal.’ We opened for them and I met a couple of the guys and thought they were the coolest. I think they are just barely older than us but I was so impressed, I mean besides, they’re incredible so of course I was impressed.”
Check out Mike Shinoda’s NME piece where he discusses his “Firsts” below.
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