Chester Bennington of Linkin Park initially disliked the band being labeled as nu metal, saying in 2007, "I know that we kind of helped create, I guess, the sound of that genre, but I hate that genre. I'm not going to speak for everyone, but I can personally tell you that I am not a big fan of almost everybody in that category. There are a few bands that I don't really believe belong in there, and we're one of those bands." However, by 2012 Bennington said he accepted the nu metal label:
