This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Machinae Supremacy is a Swedish/Finnish band that combines modern heavy metal, power metal and alternative rock with chiptunes. Self-defined as "SID metal", many of their songs use a SidStation that features the SID chip of the Commodore 64. They have released 32 original recordings for free download on their site, with approximately 100,000 downloads a month.[1][2]
Deus Ex Machinae, the band's first commercial album was released in 2004 through the independent (and now defunct) MbD Records UK. The band released their second studio album, Redeemer, in 2006, and a few more studio albums, with their latest album, Into the Night World, released in December 2016, independently.
Machinae Supremacy was formed in Luleå, Sweden during the summer of 2000 by Robert Stjärnström, Kahl Hellmer and Jonas Rörling. The name of the band had existed before this, but it was only a few months later the band decided on a specific style they wanted to pursue. Andreas Gerdin, a long-time friend of Rörling, joined on keyboards and Tobias Malm joined on drums. Together they recorded their first song, "Cryosleep."[3]
Defining an original style and being fans of the Commodore 64, they settled on using the SID chip from the machine in their music, later becoming known by the term "SID metal". They described their music as carrying a vibe of self-confidence, enlightenment and encouragement for people to take control of their own lives.[4][5]
The band saw the Internet as the best way to reach a wider audience, forgoing the traditional method of sending demos to record labels. In 2001 their official website was launched, boasting around nine freely available songs. They distributed their music through the free Vorbisaudio codec as well as MP3.
The band attempted to reach out to the Commodore 64 community in an attempt to gain a larger fan base. It was during this time "The Great Gianna Sisters" was released, a cover of the theme to Great Giana Sisters composed by Chris Hülsbeck. Releasing this song onto various Commodore 64 remix sites proved to be instrumental in the band's early success,[6] which was later increased by the follow-up, the Sidology series. Machinae Supremacy would go on to perform their first show abroad, at a nightclub in Soho during the Back in Time Live event.
During 2001, Stjärnström and Hellmer, together with friend Tomi Tauriainen formed the short-lived punk rock side-project, FLAK.[7] Intending to express a political side,[8] only three songs were released; parts of which would later go on to influence Machinae Supremacy songs.[9] From an interview with Stjärnström "FLAK is... aggression and pain! :] It's a band, but it's nothing serious, just a means of expression."[8]
In 2002, Tobias Malm left the band and was replaced by Tomas Nilsén, who is a long-time friend (and previous bandmate in Garden of Concrete[5]) of Stjärnström's. Over the next few years, they released 25 freely downloadable songs before they began work on their first studio album.
In May 2004, the band announced the release of their first commercial album Deus Ex Machinae through Music By Design Records Ltd. (MbD).[10] The album's first print of 1000 copies sold out within a year, leading to a second print being released in 2005.[11] Shortly after the release of reprint of Deus Ex Machinae, MbD ceased trading and the band were without a record label for the then-in-development second album. This album would not be released until 2006.
The band contributed to other projects that year; they worked on the soundtrack for the video game Jets'n'Guns by RakeInGrass software. The Jets'n'Guns Soundtrack was released for free in December 2004. In that year three of their songs were included in the In the Groove series of dancing games; "Hybrid", "Bouff" and "Cryosleep".
During 2005, the band's focus was directed towards finishing and finding a way to release their second album. "Ghost (Beneath The Surface)" was released, as an outtake from the album.. They collaborated with the German gaming magazine GameStar to produce and release two songs, "Loot Burn Rape Kill Repeat" on 25 June for a World of Warcraft special, and "Multiball" (a medley of themes from the Pinball Dreams series) on 20 November for a Battlefield 2 special.
Later that year, Hellmer moved away from Luleå and could no longer take part in the band. He was replaced by Johan Palovaara.
Early in 2006, on 9 January, the band was able to release "Sidology Episode II – Trinity", finally completing their "Sidology" series, as well as announce a sister production company Hubnester Industries, which would handle future soundtrack and commissioned work.[12]
On 18 March of that year they were able to independently release their second commercial album, Redeemer through their own merchandise web site and store using Hubnester Industries as their own record label.[13] Then on 27 September that year it was announced they had signed to Spinefarm Records[14] in a 4 album record deal and would remaster and re-release Redeemer to retail on 8 November.
In late 2006 the band, with Hubnester Industries, worked on the soundtrack to the now postponed PC game War Angels,[15] developed by Moonpod, and their third studio album.[16][17] On 27 November 2006, the band's lineup was changed with the hope of improving the quality of live performances, with Stjärnström's guitar role passing on to Gerdin, allowing Stjärnström to focus solely on vocals, and replacing the keyboard with pre-recorded samples.[18]
In 2007, it was confirmed that the band would produce their first music video for the song "Through The Looking Glass".[19] It was directed by Tomi Tauriainen, and shot by Torbjörn Lindbäck and was released after several delays later that year.[20][21]
On 9 October, shortly after the band released their first music video for the song "Through the Looking Glass", it was announced that Johan Palovaara was leaving the band, "Due to different priorities, Johan Palovaara is now leaving the band to pursue other ambitions."[25] It was later revealed it was over the band's decision to perform at events such as Play!.[5] Johan Hedlund was hired as the band's new bassist.[25]
Production began on the third album, Overworld during 2007. The first radio single from the new album, a cover of Britney Spears' "Gimme More", was premiered on the Finnish station YleX in late November.[26]
The album was released on 13 February 2008. Later in the year after a web site redesign the Vorbis audio files were replaced with losslessFLAC files. In October the band released a cover of the title theme from the 1988 video game Bionic Commando for the game's sequel.[27]
In August 2009, Nilsén departed the band due to "personal issues".[28] He was replaced by Niklas Karvonen in October 2009.[29]
The band released their fourth studio album, A View from the End of the World, on 3 November 2010. The video for the song "Force Feedback" was later released in 2011.[30]
In early 2011 the band toured Europe supporting Children of Bodom on their Ugly World Tour.[31] A UK-only best of compilation, The Beat of Our Decay, was released on 28 March 2011 to support the tour.[30] After four years of membership, Hedlund left the band on 19 June 2011; Gerdin switched to bass to fill his spot and Stjärstrom returned to performing his role as the band's rhythm guitarist. The band did not release an official statement regarding his reasons.
Machinae Supremacy performing at MAGFest 13 in January 2015
The fifth studio album of Machinae Supremacy, Rise of a Digital Nation, was released on 19 October 2012. It was featured on the controversial Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, leading to a significant increase in the band's online profile.
On 5 December 2012, Machinae Supremacy announced on their official Facebook page that Tomi Luoma would be joining the band as their rhythm guitarist, first appearing with them on 10 January 2013.[32]
A music video was made for the album's opening track "All of My Angels" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.
In 2013, Machinae Supremacy announced that they were working on a new album, due for release in 2014, and launched a fundraiser through their own website for a headlining European tour.
The fundraiser, which deadline was extended several times, lasted from 22 September 2013 to 12 January 2014, collecting over €37000 from more than 350 single donations.[33] As a result, twelve different European countries were "unlocked", in which a tour is planned to take place during 2014.[34]
On 4 January 2014, Machinae Supremacy played their first show in the United States at MAGFest 12, a Music and Gaming Festival in Washington, DC.
On 14 March 2014, Robert Stjärnström announced that the "release [of the new album] won't be until August."[35] The new album, titled Phantom Shadow, was released on 22 August 2014.
On 9 September 2015, Machinae Supremacy announced on their Facebook page that they would have to cancel shows on the rest of their tour in Germany and the UK. Stating that "On the morning of September 5th our bus driver Stefan, Gordon's [Gerdin] father, suffered a stroke while driving between Turku to Tampere, Finland". Whilst no one was hurt in the highway collision, the driver was rushed to hospital, and they played three further shows before announcing that the rest of the tour would not go ahead.[36]
The seventh studio album of Machinae Supremacy, Into the Night World, was released on 16 December 2016 independently on the band's own label, Hubnester Records.
"Origin", "Arcade", and "Fury" are actually compilations of webography tracks originally released via website. "Jets'n'Guns Soundtrack" is the soundtrack album for the video game Jets'n'Guns.
Promotional tracks are released as free downloads on the band's website. These tracks have been compiled into 3 albums; Origin, Arcade, and Fury. Songs listed by year originally released.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's Killers, and 1982's The Number of the Beast – its first album with Bruce Dickinson, who in 1981 replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer. The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career, establishing them as one of heavy metal's most important bands. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.
After some turbulence in the 1990s, the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999 saw the band undergo a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours. Their three most recent albums — The Final Frontier (2010), The Book of Souls (2015), and Senjutsu (2021) — have all reached number 1 in more than 25 countries. Iron Maiden have sold over 130 million copies of their albums worldwide and have obtained over 600 certifications. The band is considered to be one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time. They have received multiple industry awards, including the Grammy and Brit Awards, and are also a permanent part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The band have released 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs and seven compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums, and two video games. Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, dark fantasy, science fiction, society and religion. As of October 2019[update], the band have played 2,500 live shows. For over 40 years the band have featured their signature mascot, "Eddie", on the covers of almost all of their releases.
The Cart and Horses Pub, located in Maryland Point, Stratford, was where Iron Maiden played some of their first shows in 1976. The building was officially named "The Birthplace of Iron Maiden".[2]
Iron Maiden were formed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1975, by bassist Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler. Harris attributed the band's name to a film adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, as the title reminded him of the iron maiden torture device.[3] They originally used the name Ash Mountain, but most of the band members preferred the name Iron Maiden. After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976,[4] before taking up a semi-residency at the Cart and Horses Pub in Maryland, Stratford.[5] The original line-up was short-lived, with vocalist Paul Day being the first to go as, according to Harris, he lacked "energy or charisma on stage".[6] He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used makeup and fake blood during live performances.[6] Wilcock's friend, guitarist Dave Murray, was invited to join, much to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance.[7] Their frustration led Harris to temporarily disband Iron Maiden in 1976,[7] though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Harris and Murray remain the band's longest-serving members and have performed on all of their releases.
Dave Murray and Steve Harris in 2008. Harris and Murray are the only members to have performed on all of the band's albums.
Iron Maiden recruited another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, who was sacked for embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth.[8] Tension ensued again, causing a rift between Murray and Wilcock, who convinced Harris to fire Murray,[9] as well as original drummer Ron Matthews.[4] A new line-up was put together, including future Cutting Crew member Tony Moore on keyboards, Terry Wapram on guitar and drummer Barry Purkis (better known today as Thunderstick). After a single gig with the band in January 1978, Moore was asked to leave as Harris decided keyboards did not suit the band's sound.[10] Dave Murray rejoined in late March 1978, and when Terry Wapram disapproved he was sacked. A few weeks later, Dennis Wilcock decided to leave Iron Maiden to form his own band, V1, with Wapram, and drummer Barry Purkis also left. Doug Sampson was at Dennis' and Thunderstick's last gig, and joined the band afterwards.
Harris, Murray and Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer to complete the band's new line-up.[11] A chance meeting at the Red Lion, a pub in Leytonstone, in November 1978 evolved into a successful audition for vocalist Paul Di'Anno.[12] Steve Harris said, "There's sort of a quality in Paul's voice, a raspiness in his voice, or whatever you want to call it, that just gave it this great edge".[13] At this time, Murray would typically act as their sole guitarist, with Harris commenting, "Davey was so good he could do a lot of it on his own. The plan was always to get a second guitarist in, but finding one that could match Davey was really difficult".[14]
Record contract and early releases (1978–1981)[edit]
On New Year's Eve, 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a four-song demo at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge.[15] Hoping the recording would help them secure more gigs,[15] the band gave a copy to Neal Kay, who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called "Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse".[16] After hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo regularly at the Bandwagon, and one of the songs, "Prowler", eventually went to number 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published weekly in Sounds magazine.[17] A copy was also acquired by Rod Smallwood, who soon became the band's manager.[18] As Iron Maiden's popularity increased, they released the demo on their own record label as The Soundhouse Tapes, named after the club.[19] Featuring only three tracks (one song, "Strange World", was excluded as the band were unsatisfied with its production),[20] all 5,000 copies sold out within weeks.[17]
In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI[21] and asked Dave Murray's childhood friend, Adrian Smith of Urchin, to join the group as their second guitarist.[22] Busy with his own band, Smith declined and Dennis Stratton was hired instead.[23] Shortly after, Doug Sampson left due to health issues and was replaced by ex-Samson drummer Clive Burr at Stratton's suggestion on 26 December 1979.[24] Iron Maiden's first appearance on an EMI album was on the Metal for Muthas compilation (released on 15 February 1980) with two early versions of "Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild".[25] The release led to a tour including several other bands linked with the new wave of British heavy metal movement.[26]
Iron Maiden released their self-titled album in 1980, which debuted at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart.[27] In addition to the title track, the album included other early favourites such as "Running Free", "Transylvania", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Sanctuary" – which was not on the original UK release, but appeared on the US version and subsequent remasters. The band embarked on a headline tour of the UK, before opening for Kiss on their 1980 Unmasked Tour's European leg as well as supporting Judas Priest on select dates. After the Kiss tour, Dennis Stratton was dismissed from the band as a result of creative and personal differences,[28] and was replaced by Smith in October 1980. In December, the band played at the Rainbow Theatre in London, where their first live video was filmed. Live at the Rainbow was released in May 1981, and "Iron Maiden" and "Wrathchild" from this video received heavy rotation on MTV during its first hours on the air as the first metal videos ever.[29][30][31]
In 1981, Iron Maiden released their second studio album, Killers. Although many tracks were written prior to their debut release, it had two new songs: "Prodigal Son" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue"[32] (the latter's title was taken from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe).[33] Unsatisfied with the production on their debut album,[34] the band hired veteran producer Martin Birch,[35] who would continue to work with Iron Maiden until his retirement in 1992.[36] The record was followed by the band's first world tour; their debut performance in the United States, opening for Judas Priest at The Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas. Killers marked the band's USA album charts debut, reaching number 78 on the Billboard 200,[37] and they booked 132 shows to promote the album, including their first concert in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.[38] During the summer, Iron Maiden played several festivals in Europe, including at the Golden Summernights 1981 festivals at Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg in front of 100,000 people.[30]
By 1981, Paul Di'Anno was demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage,[4] about which Di'Anno comments, "It wasn't just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day ... the band had commitments piling up that went on for months, years, and I just couldn't see my way to the end of it. I knew I'd never last the whole tour. It was too much".[39] Di'Anno was dismissed following the Killer World Tour,[40] and the band had already selected his replacement.[41] After a meeting with Rod Smallwood at the Reading Festival,[42]Bruce Dickinson, formerly of Samson, auditioned for Iron Maiden in September 1981 and was immediately hired.[41] The following month, Dickinson went out on the road with the band on a small headlining tour in Italy and a one-off show at the Rainbow Theatre in the UK.[40] For the last show, and in anticipation of their forthcoming album, the band played "Children of the Damned" and "22 Acacia Avenue", introducing fans to their new material.[43]
In 1982, Iron Maiden released their third studio album, The Number of the Beast, which became the band's first number 1 record on the UK Albums Chart,[44] was a Top 10 hit in many other countries and reached number 33 on the Billboard 200.[37][45] At the time, Dickinson was in the midst of legal difficulties with Samson's management and was not permitted to add his name to any of the songwriting credits, although he still made what he described as a "moral contribution" to "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner" and "Run to the Hills".[46] The band embarked on a world tour, dubbed The Beast on the Road, with shows in North America, Japan, Australia and Europe, including a headline appearance for 40,000 people at the Reading Festival. Iron Maiden played 188 shows in 10 months.[30] The Beast on the Road's US leg proved controversial when an American conservative political lobbying group claimed Iron Maiden were Satanic because of the new album's title track and "demonic" cover art,[45] and a group of Christian activists destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest.[47] Dickinson later said the band treated this as "silliness"[48] and the demonstrations in fact gave them "loads of publicity".[4]The Number of the Beast sold 2.5 million copies in its first year, 14 million by 2010, and 20 million by 2022.[49][50][51][52]
Nicko McBrain has been Iron Maiden's drummer since 1982.
In December 1982, drummer Clive Burr was fired from the band and replaced by Nicko McBrain, who previously played for Trust.[53] Although Harris said the dismissal took place because his live performances were affected by offstage activities,[54] Burr later claimed he was unfairly ousted from the band.[55] The band then recorded the first of three consecutive albums at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.[56] In 1983, they released their fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, which reached the number 3 spot in the UK[57] and number 14 on the Billboard 200.[37]Piece of Mind features the singles "The Trooper" and "Flight of Icarus", the latter being one of the band's few songs to gain substantial airplay in the US.[58] Iron Maiden played 147 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of the World Piece Tour. This was also their first major North American tour as headliners, selling out Madison Square Garden with a crowd of 20,000.[30][59]
After the success of Piece of Mind and its supporting tour, the band released their fifth studio album, Powerslave, on 9 September 1984. The album features the singles "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High", the title track, and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name).[60]Powerslave was another chart success, reaching number 12 on the Billboard 200[37] and eventually number 1 in the UK.[61][62][63] Band's fifth studio album sold over 4 million copies in its first year after the premiere.[64] The tour following the album, called World Slavery Tour, was the band's largest to date with 193 shows in 28 countries over 13 months,[60] playing to an estimated 3,500,000 people.[65][66] Many shows were played back to back in the same city, such as in Long Beach, California, where the band played four consecutive concerts at Long Beach Arena for a combined audience of 54,000 fans.[67] Iron Maiden also made their debut appearance in South America, where they co-headlined the Rock in Rio festival with Queen for an audience estimated at 350,000–500,000 people.[68][69] The tour started in August 1984 with five shows in Poland. Iron Maiden were the first Western artists to bring full-scale production behind the Iron Curtain. The band's third official video, entitled Behind the Iron Curtain, was released in October 1984. The World Slavery Tour documentary brought footage of the band touring Eastern Europe in 1984, performing shows in the countries visited, Behind the Iron Curtain was the first documentary ever published by a Western artist that showed them touring the countries of Eastern Bloc. The documentary movie was broadcast by MTV and local TV stations around the world.[70]
The tour was physically gruelling for the band, who demanded six months off when it ended (although this was later reduced to four months).[71] This was the first substantial touring break in the group's history, including the cancellation of a proposed supporting tour for the new live album,[72] with Bruce Dickinson threatening to quit unless the tour ended.[73] In October 1985, Iron Maiden released the double live album and home video, Live After Death. A critical and commercial success, it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200[37] and number 2 in the UK.[74] The album was recorded at Long Beach Arena and also features additional tracks from four nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo.[75][76] In November 1985, Iron Maiden were named the best rock and metal band in the world and awarded at Public Choice International.[77]
Returning from their time off, the band added different musical elements to their 1986 studio album, Somewhere in Time. These focused on synthesised bass and guitars to add textures and layers to the sound.[78] The release performed well across the world, particularly the single "Wasted Years", but included no writing credits from Dickinson, whose material was rejected by the rest of the band.[79] The album was the band's biggest American chart success to date, reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200[37] and number 2 in the UK charts.[74][80] The Somewhere on Tour was also a success. The band played 157 shows for over two and a half million fans, including eighty-one shows in North America. Once again, Iron Maiden visited Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia to play for tens of thousands of fans in each country.[81] The experimentation evident on Somewhere in Time continued on their next album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which was released in 1988. A concept album recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich[82] and based on the 1987 novel Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card,[83] it was the band's first record to include keyboards, which were performed by Harris and Smith.[83] Dickinson's enthusiasm was also renewed as his ideas were accepted for this album.[84] Another popular release, it became Iron Maiden's second album to hit number 1 in the UK charts
Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, while York, a high school friend of the original lineup, joined in 2007. Williams is the only member to appear on all six of Paramore's studio albums.
The band was signed to Fueled by Ramen, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. (Both are owned by Warner Music Group.) Williams was signed to Atlantic separately, as she was scouted when she was a teenager. They were the only label to let her stay in the band instead of going solo, but Atlantic said the rest of the band had to sign to Fueled by Ramen.[1] The group's debut album, All We Know Is Falling (2005), reached number 30 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart in 2006 and number four on the UK Rock Chart in 2009.
Following the departure of Zac and Josh Farro in 2010, the band released their self-titled fourth album in 2013. Paramore gave the band their first number one song on the US Billboard 200 and was also the number one album in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.[5] It included the singles "Still Into You" and "Ain't It Fun", with the latter winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for Williams and York as songwriters, making it Paramore's first Grammy win.[6][7] The band's lineup changed once again after this album, with bassist Jeremy Davis leaving the band near the end of 2015 and former drummer Zac Farro rejoining the band in 2017. Their fifth and sixth studio albums, After Laughter and This Is Why, were released in May 2017[8] and February 2023, respectively, to critical acclaim.
In 2002, at age 13, vocalist Hayley Williams moved from her hometown Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee,[9][10] where she met brothers Josh Farro and Zac Farro at a weekly supplemental program for home-schooled students.[9][10][11] Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning.[9][12] Prior to forming Paramore, Williams and bassist Jeremy Davis, along with friend Kimee Read, took part in a funk cover band called the Factory, while Josh and Zac Farro had practiced together after school.[9][13][14] The other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as vocalist, but, because they were good friends, she started writing for them.[15] Williams said of the members when she first met them, "They were the first people I met who were as passionate about music as I was."[16]
Williams was originally signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist in 2003.[9] She had been introduced to Atlantic A&R Tom Storms by Kent Marcus and Jim Zumwalt, lawyers of managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, and then eventually signed to Atlantic by Jason Flom.[17] Steunebrink and Richard Williams had originally discovered and signed her to a production deal that was later bought out by Atlantic.[17] The original plan of the label was to turn her into a pop singer, but Williams resisted, saying that she wanted to play alternative rock music with a band.[17] In an interview with HitQuarters the band's A&R at Atlantic, Steve Robertson, said, "She wanted to make sure that we didn't look at her as some straight to Top 40 pop princess. She wanted to make sure that she and her band got the chance to show what they can do as a rock band writing their own songs."[18] Label president Julie Greenwald and the label staff decided to go with her wishes. The original management team for the band was Dave Steunebrink, Creed manager Jeff Hanson, and Hanson's assistant Mark Mercado.[17]
The band was officially formed by Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Zac Farro (drums), Davis (bass guitar) and Williams (lead vocals) in 2004,[9][10] with the later addition of Williams' neighbor Jason Bynum (rhythm guitar).[13] When Davis showed up, he was stunned to find out the drummer was only fourteen years old. He admitted "I had very, very, very, little faith in everyone in the band because of their age. I remember thinking, 'This is not going to work because this kid is way too young,' but that first day of practice was amazing. I knew we were on to something."[16] According to Williams, the name "Paramore" came from the maiden name of the mother of one of their first bass players.[12] Once the group learned the meaning of the homophone paramour ('secret lover'), they decided to adopt the name, using the Paramore spelling.[15]
Paramore was originally supposed to release their music on Atlantic Records, but the label's marketing department decided it would be better for the image of the band to not have them attached to a major label. Instead, they released their music through the niche label Fueled by Ramen.[17]Lyor Cohen, the head of Warner Music Group, had already identified Fueled by Ramen as a label they should partner with. It was decided the rock label would make an ideal match for Paramore.[18] According to Robertson, when the band was presented to Fueled by Ramen's CEO John Janick, "he got the vision of the band immediately."[18] Janick went to a Taste of Chaos performance in Orlando, Florida, to see the band perform live. In April 2005, after a smaller private performance at a warehouse, the band was signed to Atlantic Records and Fueled By Ramen.[18][19]
The band's first song written together was "Conspiracy", which was later used on their debut album. At this time, they were touring the Southeast, usually being driven by Williams' parents. She commented that "Back then, I guess we were all thinking, after school, we'll go to the house and practice. It was what we loved to do for fun, and still do! I don't think any of us really knew this would turn out to be what it's become."[16]
Paramore traveled back to Orlando, Florida,[20] but shortly after arriving, Jeremy Davis left the band, citing personal reasons. The remaining four members of Paramore continued with the album, writing "All We Know" about his departure, and later deciding to base All We Know Is Falling around the concept. The album artwork also reflected Paramore's grief, as Hayley Williams explains, "The couch on the cover of All We Know is Falling with no one there and the shadow walking away; it's all about Jeremy leaving us and us feeling like there's an empty space."[19]
Before touring, the band added John Hembree (bass) to their lineup to replace Davis.[21] During that summer, Paramore was featured on the Shiragirl stage of the 2005 Warped Tour.[19] After being asked by the band, Jeremy Davis returned to Paramore after five months apart, replacing Hembree.[22]All We Know Is Falling was released on July 26, 2005,[23] and reached No. 30 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart.[24] Paramore released "Pressure" as its first single, with a video directed by Shane Drake, but the song failed to chart. The video featured the band performing in a warehouse, eventually getting sprayed with water sprinklers as the storyline of a conflicted couple occurs. In July, "Emergency" was released as the second single, the video again reuniting the band with director Shane Drake and featuring Hunter Lamb (rhythm guitar), who replaced Jason Bynum in December 2005.[10] The video for "Emergency" showcased Paramore in another performance, this time fixing the members' bloody costumes. The third single, "All We Know", was released with limited airtime, with the video consisting of a collection of live performances and backstage footage. After the band's later success, All We Know Is Falling and "Pressure" were certified Gold by the RIAA.[25]
During the summer of 2006, Paramore played a portion of Warped Tour, primarily on the Volcom and Hurley Stages.[30] During the band's time at Warped Tour, they released The Summer Tic EP, which was sold exclusively during the tour.[31][32] Paramore's first US headlining tour began on August 2, 2006, to a sold-out audience[33] with support from This Providence, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Hit the Lights.[34] That year they were voted "Best New Band", and Hayley Williams was voted as No. 2 "Sexiest Female", by readers of the British magazine Kerrang!.[35]
In 2007, Lamb left the group to get married, and Paramore continued onward as a quartet.[10] Paramore was then named by British magazine NME as one of ten bands to watch out for in their "New Noise 2007" feature.[35] Paramore was featured in Kerrang! magazine once more; however, Hayley Williams believed the article was an untrue portrayal of the band, particularly because it focused on her as the main component. Afterwards, Williams addressed the issue in the band's LiveJournal, with a post saying, "we could've done without a cover piece. sorry, if it offends anyone at Kerrang! but I don't think there was one bit of truth in that article."[36] In April, Hayley Williams' vocals were featured in "Then Came To Kill" by the Chariot.[37] They headlined a tour in April through May 2007 with This Providence, the Almost, and Love Arcade. The Almost and Love Arcade were replaced by Quietdrive for the second half of the tour.[38][39]
Paramore performing at the 2007 Vans Warped Tour in Camden, New Jersey
Before work began on the band's next album, Davis was expelled from the band due to "his lack of work ethic and participation in things that Zac, Hayley and I didn't agree with", according to Josh Farro. After an agreement involving the remaining three members, Davis was reinstated as bassist, and Taylor York became the band's new guitarist.[20] York had been in a band with the Farro brothers before the two met Williams.[33]
After being courted by producers Neal Avron and Howard Benson,[40] Paramore opted to record the album with producer David Bendeth in New Jersey, who had previously worked with Your Vegas and Breaking Benjamin.[41] The album, titled Riot!, was released on June 12, 2007,[33][42][43] entering the Billboard 200 at number 20 and the UK charts at number 24.[44] The album sold 44,000 units its first week in the United States.[33] The name Riot! had been chosen because it meant "a sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion", and it was a word that "summed it all up".[40] "Misery Business" was released as the first single from the album.[45] According to when discussing what Misery Business was about, Williams stated, "When I was 13 or 14 and I had a crush on Josh, he didn't like me back," Williams said. "He would go hang out with his girlfriend, who I wrote 'Misery Business' about because I was a dick."[45] In the summer of 2007, Paramore participated in their third Warped Tour, and they posted journals of their experiences on yourhereblog for MTV.[46]
On October 11, 2007, the music video for "Crushcrushcrush" debuted on the United States television as the next single from Riot!. The video for "Crushcrushcrush" featured the band playing a performance in a barren desert, being spied upon, and later destroying their equipment. The single was released in the United States on November 19 and made available in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2007.[47] Hayley Williams recorded guest vocals for the tracks "The Church Channel" and "Plea" for the Say Anything concept album In Defense of the Genre,[48] released on October 23, 2007. The group performed live in an acoustic style in Boston on November 29, 2007, for FNX Radio.[49] On December 31, 2007, Paramore performed on the MTVNew Year's Eve program which ran from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.[50][51]
Paramore at the Social in Orlando, Florida, on April 23, 2007
Paramore was featured on the cover of February 2008 issue of Alternative Press magazine and voted "Best Band Of 2007" by the readers.[52] The band was nominated for "Best New Artist" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, presented on February 10, 2008.[2] Early 2008 saw Paramore touring the United Kingdom, supporting their album Riot!, along with New Found Glory.[53] In early February 2008, the band began a tour in Europe;[54] however, on February 21, 2008, the band announced that they had canceled six shows due to personal issues. Williams wrote on the band's web site that "the break will give that band 'a chance to get away and work out our personal issues'". MTV.com reported that fans of Paramore were speculating about the future of the band and reported rumors of trouble had begun earlier in the month, when Josh Farro expressed his anger against the media's focus on Hayley Williams.[55] The band, however, returned to their hometown to record the music video for the fourth single "That's What You Get", which was then released on March 24, 2008.[56]
The band toured with Jimmy Eat World in the United States in April and May 2008.[57][58] The band headlined the Give it a Name festival in the United Kingdom on May 10 and 11, 2008.[59] Paramore played their first Ireland show at the RDS in Dublin on June 2, 2008,[60] followed by the 2008 Vans Warped Tour from July 1–6.[61] Starting on July 28, Paramore embarked on a tour named "The Final Riot!".[60] They were joined by Jack's Mannequin, Phantom Planet, and Paper Route on the tour.[60] The band released a live album named The Final Riot! on November 25, 2008.[62] The album includes a bonus DVD with a full concert recorded in Chicago, as well as a behind the scenes documentary.[63] As of April 9, 2009, The Final Riot! is certified gold in the United States.[64]
2009–2011: Brand New Eyes, departure of the Farros, and Singles Club[edit]
In September 2008, Williams announced that the band were planning on releasing their third studio album in summer 2009.[65] On November 18, 2008, the band announced they were in the process of writing their next album.[66]
Paramore spent six weeks in pre-production at Emac Studios in their hometown of Franklin, the first time they had undergone pre-production without the guidance of a producer.[67] The band was visited by record producer Rob Cavallo who reassured the band that they were on the right track.[68] The band subsequently felt that the album and that their new material had the potential to surpass the success of their previous work.[69] The band originally planned to record in Nashville,[70] but ended up recording in Calabasas, California, with Cavallo in March 2009.[71] The first single from the album was "Ignorance" and was released July 7, 2009.[72] Paramore was the special guest with Bedouin Soundclash, The Sounds and Janelle Monáe at the No Doubt Summer Tour 2009, starting in May 2009 in outdoor amphitheaters and arenas across the US and Canada.[73][74] The official music video for "Ignorance" aired on all MTV platforms, networks, and websites on August 13, 2009.[75][76] Paramore, along with Paper Route and The Swellers, toured in support of Brand New Eyes in the fall of 2009.[77] Some tour dates were postponed due to Hayley Williams becoming infected with laryngitis.[78][79] "Brick By Boring Brick", "The Only Exception", "Careful" and "Playing God" were the album's following singles.[80][81][82][83] To promote the album, the band recorded a performance for MTV Unplugged.[84]
Paramore then played a sold out 15-date European tour with You Me At Six, Paper Route and Now Now Every Children.[85] Their stadium tour culminated at London's Wembley Arena, to an audience of 12,500.[86] The band performed in 2010 in the AustralianSoundwave Festival along with bands such as Faith No More, AFI, You Me at Six, All Time Low, A Day to Remember, and Taking Back Sunday.[87] Shortly before the tour, lead guitarist Josh Farro announced that he was engaged and stayed behind to plan his wedding.[88] Justin York, brother of Taylor York, filled in for him on the tour.[88] The band, with Farro returned, embarked on a spring tour of the U.S. in late April.[88] The band headlined the 2010 Honda Civic Tour, which began on July 23 in Raleigh, NC and closed on September 19 in Anaheim, CA.[89][90] After a short United Kingdom tour in November 2010,[91] the band announced, on December 2, 2010, the official dates for a South American tour to take place during February and March 2011.[92] The band were set to take a break after their South American Tour in 2011 to write for their fourth studio album.[93]
On December 18, 2010, a message was released through Paramore.net stating that Josh and Zac Farro were leaving the band.[94][95] The band also confirmed the scheduled South American tour would still happen.[94] Josh Farro wrote a statement on the departure on his Blogger, claiming that the band was "a manufactured product of a major-label". He accused Hayley Williams of being manipulated by her management, treating the rest of the group as her solo project, and claimed she was the only member of the band who was signed to Atlantic Records, while her bandmates were simply "riding on the coattails of her dream".[96][97][98] On December 30, 2010, MTV News interviewed Williams, York and Davis in Franklin, Tennessee, regarding their reactions to Farro's response.[99] The band members confirmed many of Farro's statements, notably that Williams was indeed the only member of the band actually signed to Atlantic. They added that they felt the statement was irrelevant, and claimed they had addressed many of the Farro's critiques already throughout the course of their career.
The band continued to explore a wider variation of musical types on their fourth album, A Thousand Suns (2010), layering their music with more electronic sounds. The band's fifth album, Living Things (2012), combined musical elements from all of their previous records. Their sixth album, The Hunting Party (2014), returned to a heavier rock sound, while their seventh album, One More Light (2017), was a substantially more pop-oriented record. Linkin Park went on an indefinite hiatus following the suicide of longtime lead vocalist Bennington in July 2017 and have not recorded or toured since then. Since Bennington's death, they have only released 20th-anniversary editions of their first two studio albums, as well as a greatest hits album, Papercuts, in 2024.
Linkin Park is among both the best-selling bands of the 21st century and the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.[5] They have won two Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards, and three World Music Awards. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium. Billboard ranked Linkin Park No. 19 on the Best Artists of the Decade list. In 2012, the band was voted as the greatest artist of the 2000s in a Bracket Madness poll on VH1. In 2014, the band was declared as "The Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now" by Kerrang!.
Linkin Park was founded by three high school friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson.[6] The three attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.[6] After graduating from high school, the three began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, then called Xero. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda's makeshift bedroom studio in 1996, resulting in a four-track demo album, entitled Xero, released in November 1997.[6] The band performed their first show that November opening for SX-10 and System of a Down at the Whisky a Go Go, a nightclub in West Hollywood.[7] Delson introduced the band to Jeff Blue, the vice president of A&R for Zomba Music, whom he had interned for in college.[8][9] Blue offered the band constructive criticism to catch the attention of record labels. Blue himself was impressed with Xero after watching them play a live show in 1998, but believed the band needed a different vocalist.[8][9] Tensions and frustration within the band grew after they failed to land a record deal.[6] The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band's vocalist, to leave the band in search of other projects.[6] Farrell also left to tour with Tasty Snax, a Christian punk and ska band.[10][11]
After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist Chester Bennington, who was recommended by Jeff Blue in March 1999.[12][13] Bennington, formerly of a post-grunge band Grey Daze, became a standout among applicants because of the dynamic in his singing style.[6] The band then agreed on changing their name from Xero to Hybrid Theory; the newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material.[6][14] Additionally, the band recruited bassist Kyle Christner to temporarily fill in for Farrell.[15] In May 1999, the band released a self-titled extended play, which they circulated across internet chat-rooms and forums with the help of an online "street team".[16] In October 1999, Christner was replaced by Scott Koziol and Ian Hornbeck, whom along with Delson, provided bass tracks for the band's recordings.[15][17]
The band still struggled to sign a record deal. They turned to Jeff Blue for additional help after facing numerous rejections from several major record labels.[12] After failing to catch Warner Bros. Records on three previous reviews, Blue, who was now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company as a developing artist in 1999.[18][19] However, the label advised the band to change their name to avoid confusion with Hybrid.[20][21] The band considered the names "Plear" and "Platinum Lotus Foundation" before deciding on "Linkin Park",[22] a play on and homage to Santa Monica's Lincoln Park,[6] now called Christine Emerson Reed Park.[23] They initially wanted to use the name "Lincoln Park", however they changed it to "Linkin" to acquire the internet domain "linkinpark.com".[21][24]
Bennington and Shinoda both reported that Warner Bros. Records was skeptical of Linkin Park's initial recordings.[25][26] The label's A&R was not pleased with the band's hip-hop and rock-style approach.[25][26] An A&R representative suggested that Bennington should demote or fire Shinoda and exclusively focus on making a rock record.[25][26] Bennington supported Shinoda and refused to compromise Linkin Park's vision for the album.[25][26] Farrell returned in late 2000, and the band released their breakthrough album, Hybrid Theory, that same year.[12]
During this time, Linkin Park received many invitations to perform on many high-profile tours and concerts including Ozzfest, Family Values Tour, and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas.[10][32] The band worked with Jessica Sklar to found their official fan club and street team, "Linkin Park Underground", in November 2001.[33][34] Linkin Park also formed their own tour, Projekt Revolution, which featured other artists such as Cypress Hill, Adema, and Snoop Dogg.[12] Within a year's stretch, Linkin Park had performed at over 320 concerts.[6] The experiences and performances of the precocious band were documented in their first DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival, which debuted in November 2001. Now reunited with former bassist Phoenix, the band began work on a remix album, dubbed Reanimation, which would include works from Hybrid Theory and non-album tracks.[10]Reanimation debuted on July 30, 2002, featuring the likes of Black Thought, Jonathan Davis, Aaron Lewis, and many others.[35]Reanimation claimed the second spot on the Billboard 200, and sold nearly 270,000 copies during its debut week.[36]Hybrid Theory is also in the RIAA's Top 100 Albums.[37]
Following the success of Hybrid Theory and Reanimation, Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States. The band members began to work on new material amidst their saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus's studio.[38] The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.[39]Meteora features a mixture of the band's nu metal and rap metal style with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a shakuhachi (a Japanese flute made of bamboo) and other instruments.[6] Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003, and instantly earned worldwide recognition,[6] peaking at No. 1 on the Rock & Metal Albums Chart.[40]
Meteora sold more than 800,000 copies during its first week, and it ranked as the best selling album on the Billboard charts at the time.[41] The album's singles, including "Somewhere I Belong", "Breaking the Habit", "Faint", and "Numb", received significant radio attention.[42] By October 2003, Meteora sold nearly three million copies.[43] The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another Projekt Revolution, which featured other bands and artists including Mudvayne, Blindside, and Xzibit.[6] Additionally, Metallica invited Linkin Park to play at the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, which included well-known acts such as Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones.[44] The band released an album and DVD, titled Live in Texas, which featured some audio and video tracks from the band's performances in Texas during the tour.[6][45] In early 2004, Linkin Park started a world tour titled the Meteora World Tour. Supporting bands on the tour included Hoobastank, P.O.D., and Story of the Year.[46][47]
Meteora earned the band multiple awards and honors. The band won the MTV awards for Best Rock Video for "Somewhere I Belong"[48][49] and the Viewer's Choice Award for "Breaking the Habit".[50] Linkin Park also received significant recognition during the 2004 Radio Music Awards, winning the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year ("Numb") awards.[51] Although Meteora was not nearly as successful as Hybrid Theory, it was the third best selling album in the United States during 2003.[10] The band spent the first few months of 2004 touring around the world, first with the third Projekt Revolution tour, and later several European concerts.[10] At the same time, the band's relationship with Warner Bros. Records was deteriorating rapidly on account of several trust and financial issues.[52] After months of feuding, the band finally negotiated a deal in December 2005.[53]
Following Meteora's success, the band worked on many side projects.[54] Bennington appeared on DJ Lethal's "State of the Art" and other work with Dead by Sunrise, while Shinoda did work with Depeche Mode, creating the remix song "Enjoy the Silence 04".[10] In 2004, the band began to work with Jay-Z to produce another remix album, titled Collision Course. The album, which featured intermixed lyrics and background tracks from both artists' previous albums, debuted in November 2004. Shinoda also formed Fort Minor as a side project. With the aid of Jay-Z, Fort Minor released their debut album, The Rising Tied, to critical acclaim.[55][56]
Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, it was delayed until 2007.[65] The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed.[65][66] Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound.[67]Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band's third studio album, titled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007, in the United States.[68][69] After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band members opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. The album's title, a reference to the Doomsday Clock, foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes.[70]Minutes to Midnight sold over 623,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years.[71] The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.[71]
The album's first single, "What I've Done", was released on April 2,[68] and premiered on MTV and Fuse within the same week.[72] The single peaked at no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.[73] The song is also used in soundtrack for the 2007 action film, Transformers.[74][75] Mike Shinoda was also featured on the Styles of Beyond song "Second to None", which was also included in the film.[75] Later in the year, the band won the "Favorite Alternative Artist" in the American Music Awards.[76] The band also saw success with the rest of the album's singles, "Bleed It Out", "Shadow of the Day", "Given Up", and "Leave Out All the Rest", which were released throughout 2007 and early 2008. The band also collaborated with Busta Rhymes on his single "We Made It", which was released on April 29.[77]
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
