Like most rock bands of the past 15 years or so, post-hardcore newcomers I Prevail have been immeasurably influenced by Linkin Park. As the Michigan band release their debut LP, Lifelines, we catch up with vocalist Brian Burkheiser for his essential picks from the Californian six-piece that changed everything.
Crawling (2000)
“There’s a lotta different influences I take when writing for our music and whatnot, but if I had to choose one of my favourite bands, it’d probably be Linkin Park. They really influenced my writing style and the band’s writing style, and they’re a band most of us are fans of. Chester Bennington’s voice on Crawling is just phenomenal.”
In the End (2000)
“In the End is one that’s really special for me, because it was probably the first Linkin Park song I ever heard. I’m actually 23, so I got into Linkin Park a little later than everyone else. But In the End was one that definitely hit me pretty hard.”
One Step Closer (2000)
“This is a huge one from Hybrid Theory, too. I think I just heard it on the radio one day, by chance; that song, for me, is a real hard hitter and has some really cool dynamics.”
- Linkin Park: How We Made Hybrid Theory
- The A-Z Of Linkin Park
- Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda: The 10 Albums That Changed My Life
- Linkin Park Quiz
Papercut (2000)
“The intro to this song is actually one of my favourite parts of any Linkin Park track.”
Faint (2003)
“If we’re taking it away from Hybrid Theory, we’ll probably go to Meteora with Faint. I’m a big fan of the synth elements in this song, and that’s something that I Prevail use in our music. We were definitely influenced by Faint and music from that realm.”
Numb (2003)
“Obviously it’s one of the bigger hits from Meteora, so I have to put that on the list! A great song.”
Breaking the Habit (2003)
“Again, I just love Chester’s voice here. I think that tone and grit he’s got is something I really enjoy, and having him singing against Mike Shinoda on the rapping end of it just brings this really cool element to the song; it just makes it really vocally dynamic.”
Somewhere I Belong (2003)
“I think I’ll have Somewhere I Belong… that was on Meteora, right? I haven’t gone through my Linkin Park discography lately so I’m just trying to brush up here, but I’ll throw that onto the list!”
Bleed it Out (2007)
“Bleed It Out just sums up that Linkin Park sound and I think it’s one of the songs that really resonated with me when I was younger.”
Shadow of the Day (2007)
“Minutes to Midnight is probably my second-favourite Linkin Park album. This has got so many great songs on it: Given Up, Bleed it Out, What I’ve Done… but I think I’ll pick Shadow of the Day. This is just such a different Linkin Park song. It has such a different vibe, but something I enjoy about my favourite bands – especially Linkin Park – is that they can go from playing these really heavy, aggressive songs to bringing it down and pulling in different elements and dynamics from the band, and Shadow of the Day is a song that does this and really lets Chester’s voice shine.”
