10 Band Members That Are Way More Important Than You Think

10. Brad Delson - Linkin Park

For a metal band, Linkin Park aren’t really known for their massive guitar chops. If you listen to songs like Numb or What I’ve Done, the guitar has a much more muted role and often takes a back seat to either the keyboards or the vocals. Just because Brad Delson doesn’t play a lot doesn’t mean he’s a mediocre player by any stretch.

As much as Delson might like to play around with different long chords, his parts create a bed for the rest of the band to spread out. If he were to have played a chunky riff in the middle of a song like In the End, it wouldn’t have worked, instead choosing to drone on chords to give the melody a secure leg to stand on. Where Delson really shines is in his harmonic work, sounding like high tech bells on songs like One Step Closer and going from a muted sound to absolutely exploding on A Place For My Head.

In the back half of Linkin Park’s career, Delson even played a big role in bringing the guitar back into the mix, from the pseudo shredding solo that he does on In Pieces off of Minutes to Midnight to flying off the handle all over The Hunting Party, where he manages to outshine Tom Morello on the same album. Whereas Linkin Park might be the pop version of nu metal, Delson never forgot the key aspect of good rock and roll: SERVE THE SONG.