One Step Closer rides Brad Delson's favorite riff he's ever written — a snarling, Drop-D power-chord figure that explodes into the 'shut up when I'm talking to you' breakdown. Cut for Hybrid Theory on a PRS through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, tuned Drop D a half step down, it's a masterclass in restraint: a simple, brutal riff made huge by tight palm-muting, a scooped Recto, and Andy Wallace's mix. The recipe is about tightness and aggression, not complexity.