10 Greatest Rock Instrumentals

For as much success as Linkin Park were seeing in the early 2000's, many nu metalheads were skeptical of the band's more polished sound. Whereas bands like Korn also felt tortured, the melodic hooks from these guys from California made it feel like a gentler offering for the angry adolescents of the world. Even if the band was under fire for writing hits, no industry plant could have imagined releasing something like "Cure For the Itch."

At the very end of the band's breakthrough release Hybrid Theory, DJ Joe Hahn uses this one track to absolutely cut loose. As opposed to other samplers, this song feels like a true sonic journey rather than just an excuse to provide musical ambiance. The way Hahn mixes different scratch beats with ethereal soundscapes also fits perfectly with the Linkin Park aesthetic of machine vs. man.

While most nu metal bands were using DJs as just a bit of set decoration to gives themselves hip hop credibility, Linkin Park had the good fortune of having a DJ that was an artist in every sense of the word. Though some nu metal may sound a bit dated in retrospect, the different loops on display here are some of the most impressive the genre has to offer.