Synthesizing everything from hip-hop to hard rock to techno to emo and all points in between and beyond, Linkin Park earned a fanbase so legion and a buzz so strong that their major-label debut, Hybrid Theory, made a left-field entry at #16 on the Billboard 200 upon its release in October.

Slowly and steadily, the Southern California fivesome — singer Chester Bennington, MC Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, drummer Rob Bourdon and DJ Joseph Hahn — raised their own profile alongside the rise of the disc's cranky, crunchy, maddeningly catchy first single, "One Step Closer," with a glossy, Gregory Dark-directed video pushing the guys into "TRL" territory and Hybrid Theory well past platinum. Don't expect to see these guys sporting swelled heads, though ... unless it's because you've been hanging them upside-down in a cave for seven hours, of course. But that's a story for them to tell, not us.

As their first headlining tour was getting underway, the band's dueling frontmen met up with MTV Radio's Roger Coletti and talked about why Linkin Park's fans are more important to them than sales figures, how they're beyond stoked to tour with Deftones, and why they can't make a lick of sense out of the "One Step Closer" video. They don't take this whole rock-star-interview thing the least bit seriously, either, as you'll soon find out....