Linkin Park return with new singer Emily Armstrong, new album From Zero out Nov 15, new tour dates

The song isn't about Scientology, lol

 

Absolutely. It’s hers.

Granted, Mike and Chester wrote lyrics together, not sure if she’s responsible for any of the lyrics. I will say…if she had any suggestions to the song…I’d put my money on she added “SO FUCKING NAIVE” to the song . And it flows with the song SO WELL…

listening to this song in a car or on a great system sounds awesome

Welcome back! Gonna need some new LP apparel! They’ve already got a shirt with her on the back with the rest of the guys. So sweet!

And all the damn new merch! Ahhhhh so excited!

 

Ok, so much to process and get out. Not sure I can put it into words exactly. But, here goes.

I had hopes that we'd get everything that we actually got, but to actually get it was just massive. And to get the album in a couple of months was, dare I say it, unLinkin Park-like?

I havent fact checked that, but it just feels quicker than any previous album release after its first single. The lack of activity may have eased my expectations over the years, so don't hold me to it.

As most of you guys here will have been doing, I've had TEM on repeat since the stream. It's as LP as you can get. You could 100% see Chester sing this song, and to have a vocalist like Emily to come in and completely nail it, and with the band all talking how she just fits so well, for one makes me smile, just makes this feel right.

Some are saying TEM is a safe song. It's a hugely important song for them. It was gonna be possibly their most heavy scrutinised to date. It feels like a transitional song for me. Chester could have sang it, Emily nailed it and there lies somewhat the best of both worlds. The fact it's a single suggests it may be one of the safer songs on the album. I thoroughly love it.

Emily's line of "Don't know why I'm hoping, so fucking naive" just gives me the chills. I don't want to keep comparing them, but one of the things I loved about Chester's delivery was you could feel his inner doubt, self loathing that we could relate to, and she hit it here.

On the live show, first thing I noticed was Mike is a far more accomplished singer than he was 7 years ago. I haven't really watched any live stuff from his solo career since, so it was really cool to see him come so far. Chester would be proud.

As someone previously mentioned, halfway through WFTE, out of nowhere, I too teared up. It was unexpected, but I've loved this song since it's release, and the softer side of Chester's voice was something else. Emily showcased her range here and won me over.

I'm no musician, so I can't critique Colin's contributions here. Would Rob have offered anything different? I don't know. Maybe a musical mind could offer some insight.

All in all, this LP feels fresh and reinvigorated and I'm all in on it.

 

I mean I haven't really watched any of Mike's live performances from his solo stuff. His studio recorded vocals have always been pretty solid though IMO.

 

People seem to have forgotten over the hiatus that the band always had quick turnaround between the first single and the album.

Meteora, Minutes to Midnight, and A Thousand Suns were all just over a month timespan. Living Things was two. I guess you could argue The Hunting Party and One More Light were more standard at around three months.

A two month wait is nothing compared to half the bands I follow that take 4-6 months in some cases.

 

I blasted The Emptiness Machine today in my car... it's a banger. Sounds like a mix of Castle of Glass and Final Masquerade.

 

Alright I'm coming with a LOT of quotes because I've been busy with work and didn't have much time to catch up

I have to get used to Colin's style as well. I was mentioning on another group chat that I noticed during The Catalyst that he didn't play that "fade in" cymbal before the low toms during the bridge (Lift me Up part), and I fully expected them because they work so well in building the momentum for the climax of the song. I missed that, but like you say, on TEM he sounds great, so let's se what he has in store for us. Also, the fact that he's been a producer and is a multi-instrumentalist might actually be a great addition and there could be a few surprises on this album for us.

Yeah. Chester was an impeccable singer and his versatility was and will be unmatched. He was still a human though and he, too, could have these moments, he performed sick, cold, and/or with fatigue during these lengthy tours and that can happen to anyone. Of course Emily wishes her voice would've been nicer to her in the beginning but I cannot blame her AT ALL considering she's taking the stage as the successor of one of the best rock vocalists of ALL TIME.

Yep I own album versions that include autographs. Would've been a cool addition. I preordered as well but I bought the photo zine first cause I thought the Box set was going to be too expensive, saw the real price then I purchased the box set thinking I could cancel the $40 preorder but THEN I saw that they don't include the same items? Now I don't know what to do and I think I MIGHT keep them both.

Thank you Todd for this collected response, as well as all other admins chiming in. I don't think I could've done the same.

I am absolutely sure Chester LOVES this song. He was like that, so happy, appreciative and supportive. He never looked down on anyone, and he empowered everyone around him. So yeah I'm confident he's looking down in approval.

I love this! Yes! This song just felt RIGHT, felt right to put a Linkin Park stamp on it, felt right on Emily's voice, felt right on Mike's voice. I've listened to this song non-stop since it came out and it's SO WELL DONE, even with the piano during the calm part of the bridge, that is LP right there. Mixing it up with the instruments, putting so many details and layers and making sure every note falls right into place. This song (and hopefully the album) does not feel like an outlier AT ALL.

The people that scream the loudest are the ones that know the band the least. Also, from the beginning Mike has been the flag bearer because it was him who had the initiative to create the band. The fact that some people just want him to give up on HIS life project is so unfair and selfish. We have to remember that musicians share their work with US, and they don't owe us anything. We had literally shelved the band and were just holding on to the memories of what once was and now we get this out of nowhere and suddenly beggars want to be choosers, (not like what they're presenting us isn't AMAZING already, for crying out loud).

When the dust settled in, I just thought about that as well, I'd like to listen to her singing Heavy. Among many other songs as well hahaha.

I'm in a happy mood. I go through shit in life already and LP coming back mends my heart a little, I will not allow other people to ruin that for me.

 

That's true, but I think it feels faster now because out of nowhere the band releases a single and announces an album. Previously, we were all expecting the band to release new music, knowing they were in the studio recording. This time, it was a surprise—I had zero expectations that the band would come back.

 

I hear Castle of Glass, the kinetic energy of Minutes to Midnight when the guitars kick in, the propulsive momentum of Guilty All the Same and the "fuck you" attitude of Given Up. And yet none of it feels nostalgic.

 

Yeah, it sounds like if Castle of Glass was on The Hunting Party.

 

I’m absolutely loving TEM.

It’s probably in my top 10 favorite singles of theirs.

I’m not sure if it’s just the hype of the bands return bleeding into my enjoyment of it; I know it’s a pretty safe song but, I feel like that’s what they needed at this time.

Love the melody, lyrics, and the singing dynamic between Mike and Emily.

 

This song is really strong. I'm not going to get into where it lands as far as ranking, but it really mirrors One Step Closer in a sense of a debut-feeling. Because, in my opinion, this could really be looked at as a re-debut, in a way?

It has that same mouth-punch that One Step Closer had at the time. Completely just blows you back into your seat. All of their other lead singles weren't this way (and I'm really trying to avoid using the term 'heavy' to describe it).

Looking forward to what the rest of the album brings.

 

If the rest of the album is as good as The Emptiness Machine this will definitely be my AOTY

 

At this point in time I am not ready to go into ratings and stuff, it's too soon. This song blew my head but I'm guessing it's also because of the context it was presented. Objectively speaking, it's a great track, and like you say, really strong. And boy I am so wishing this one isn't even the best if you know what I mean?? Like, I so want this to go up from here. I can't wait.

 

This may be my favorite band but i think Chelsea Wolfe, Quadeca, and Magdalena Bay have my top 3 on lock this year. Super excited though, maybe it’ll really blow me away! I’m just so happy they’re back :’)