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

Wow I haven’t posted in here in forever. With that being said, I’m excited to see where we go from here, and I was impressed. Emily has some big shoes to fill but I love her energy.

 

I never thought we would be here, witnessing a Linkin Park reunion, a new Linkin Park album, and an upcoming world tour in freaking 2024. But here we are.

And after a long time away...here I am. Back with you good people of LPA. I missed y'all.

I'm so excited, y'all. Emily sounded amazing on TEM, and hearing her live, you can tell she just had to get over her initial nerves before settling in, but I thought she sounded fine! Really looking forward to how this era goes, but I'm just so grateful that Linkin Park is back.

I'm so sad about Rob, but I'm also excited about Colin! I just hope Rob is well and knows that we will always love him and miss him.

And Chester...man, I feel like Chester would've loved this. I hope Emily doesn't put too much pressure on herself and tries not to feel like she HAS to fill Chester's shoes--nobody can.

I'll be at the Kia Forum show next Wednesday (a day after my one-day trip to Anaheim to watch (G)I-DLE with a friend, so now I have to figure out my last-minute ride situation since I live in Vegas still ), so hopefully I get to see y'all there! Here's to the start of the From Zero era. ☝

 

00:18:35 to 00:19:00 from the Livestream is amazing!

 

I'll probably have a hard time articulating my thoughts, but let's try.

What happened couple of hours ago was unreal. We knew something was coming. But it absolutely bulldozer crushed all my expectations. A show. A broadcast. A new song. A new tour. A freaking new album. I can't think of any band, ever, that came back in such explosive fashion. This was massive.

I am so glad they went with Emily. She crushed it. There are couple of songs where her voice cracked, but I'm sure it's going to get better and more fine-tuned with more shows. And to address it quickly: I couldn't care less about allegations of things she may be affiliated with, or persons she may have defended in one tweet or whatnot. Obviously, this go up to a certain extent, which is far from met here. If you want bit more details about my view on this, I put the rest in hidden quotation, not to derail the thread.

Spoiler: Further rant

This whole culture of trying to dismiss/put dirt on someone because "said this x years ago/ defended y x years ago/affiliated with Z", this is toxic shit, and it needs to stop. First, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with what happened yesterday. Second, getting offended at each single hint of controversial opinion is just tiresome. In the worst case, people can hold controversial opinions simply because of being mis- or uninformed, or viewing something from a very specific perspective. Or sometimes, people say stupid shit, and realize it later. At least I do. We're all humans - deal with the imperfection this implies. If you want to read about real terrible persons/musicians, there are a lot of examples I could give, and I'm absolutely sure Emily is not one of them. This is all I'm going to say about this.

Then, "The Emptiness Machine". It was just the perfect song to come back with. Loved every second. And it instantly landed home. Didn't think for a sec that "This doesn't feel right", as everything about it felt "This is Linkin Park". It is a new entity, yet the DNA is so obviously remaining there. I had expressed my hope of the band coming back with something that would echo the excitement felt in Papercut 24 years ago. And holy damn did they.

Finally, the new album. This is crazy. Still can't believe they have something ready coming up so soon. Absolutely thrilled, and in disbelief this is happening.

The only down was the confirmation of Rob being gone. Yet, lots of us were anticipating it, which helps. He made his choice, let's respect that. I'll always remember him as very talended guy who brought a lot of finesse to the band.

All in all, what happened yesterday cemented Linkin Park not as a legacy band, but as a very active and alive powerhouse in rock music. The future looks brighter than ever, and I'm definitely jumping in on that journey.

 

1. I knew Emily was a perfect fit the moment I heard Weatherman and I was 100% sure that rumor was going to become true.
2. The live show was incredible. I think she had nerves and started out shaky but she definitely sounded amazing as the show progressed. Really showed she could do the songs justice.
3. As much as I love Living Things, One More Light, and the actual vocal songs from A Thousands Songs- I am so excited this song (and potentially album) might be a bit of a return to roots of sorts. Sounds like a mix of Meteora and the better parts of The Hunting Party and that is when Linkin Park was at their best in my opinion.
4. Might be too early to say but I think The Emptiness Machine might have surpassed "Teacher Has a Gun" by Badflower as my song of the year so far. That's how good I find the song. Been listening to it on repeat ever since I got off stream.
5. People on the internet annoy me. So many people don't realize it wasn't just Chester that made Linkin Park famous. It was the back and forth between Mike and Chester. Mike's solo projects were never really successful and neither were Chester's in terms of commercial performance. It's almost like people forget that and want Mike to be sad the rest of his life not doing the thing he loves.
6. Am I the only one that doesn’t care about the Scientology + trial stuff? But then again I started listening to Brand New, Moose Blood, and McCafferty again so maybe I’m just a sh*t person.
7. I haven't been this happy in over a year. My two favorite bands are Blink-182 and Linkin Park and they both released new music today. The live stream was an incredible event. The NFL season also started today and I am a massive NFL fan (Go Seahawks!). I am a huge Taylor Swift fan and she was at the Chiefs game today which makes me happy. I see Gracie Abrams live on Friday and I see Sum 41 live on Saturday. It's like I am living a dream life right now!
8. This new album is going to ROCK my socks off. I never thought we'd actually get a new Linkin Park album. I think this might be my new projected AOTY if it lives up to how good it should be but I also don't want to set up expectations so high.
9. I looked up Collin Brittain and he produced for many artists I love. I listen to 5 Seconds of Summer, Avicii, Hands Like Houses, Basement, and A Day to Remember. I also used to listen to All Time Low and Papa Roach. I think he will be a great addition to the band.
10. Still sad Rob is gone but I understand why he might not want to come back.

 

I love the new single BUT I don't get why LP plays it safe with their bridges. This song's bridge had the perfect canvas to take the song in a different direction like a solo or something but they went with a short bridge before jumping back to the chorus. It's a little frustrating to me. I really hope the rest of the songs in the album have room to breathe.

 

I am hoping for songs like Mark the Graves or a heavy style of a song like the catalyst. They are so good when they experiment.

 

Yeah just a bit more variation could have taken the song to the next level. I know they are more than capable of it but more often than not their impulse is to play it straightforward and safe.

 

When Mike said:
“If you’re reading this, it’s too late
You used to be the soldier in the game
Now, you running from the pain
Made me see nothing was the same “

I felt that

 

Cringe? you're the reference police? I'm not bothered that you think its cringe, I'm certainly not going to have sleepless nights about your opinion as quite frankly it holds no weight.

Everyone has a right to an opinion, you have yours and I have mine. Like I said I don't care what anyone thinks.

If Linkin Park are so image conscious why didn't they post on their social media on Chester's passing each year? They did make an effort for a few years but suddenly stopped. There's no prerequisite to pay tribute to him each year, however if Chester was held so close to the remaining band members hearts like they portray surely there would be a post commemorating him?

People have a different way of grieving behind closed doors but surely on the public domain the members of LP should pay tribute on their "beloved" band mate's passing?

Mike was seen at a Depeche Mode concert 3 days after Chester's passing. Sure it can be said that people have different ways of coping after a loved ones passing but isn't it strange? His outpouring of grief and sadness seems very contradictory on his Post Traumatic release if that was the case.

Actions speak louder than words....

I'm not on Reddit so I don't know what you're talking about but it was brought up in this YouTube video below.



Cedric Bixler Zavala and his Wife are both former scientologists the latter is one of the victims who accused Danny Masterson of rape, so they're in a position to point fingers and are well versed with who's in the cult and who isn't.

See post below from Rolling Stone from 2023

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...erson-rape-conviction-scientology-1234745344/

There's no smoke without fire....

Anyhow I've lost all respect for Linkin Park and their apparent disregard of Chester's SA, so I'm done with the band, this forum and everything associated with LP.

I like you aren't a blind follower and am not an apologist and not a lemming who will without question jump off a cliff if Mike et all do..

Enjoy (cough) Linkin Park Lite lol

 

My best friend died when we were both 18 and I went to both a Rise Against concert and a rock music festival the week after his death which a Shinedown set at the rock festival literally saved my life. People use live music as a way to grief all the time. There’s nothing wrong with going to a concert right after your best friends death. Especially because a lot of us use it heal.

 

All else aside - criticising people for not grieving the way you want them to makes you a shitty person.

 

Goodbye my friend, nice having you here.

Now for the rest of us:

How legendary was this once in a lifetime experience? I still can't get over the feelings I felt during the show.
Something awakened in me, something that was asleep all this time.
Emily is amazing and she has the potential to bring the band in new heights.
I love this. I love ALL of this.

 

This isn't an airport, you don't need to announce your departure.

That being said, if the press at large starts to pick up on this Scientology shit I do hope the management have something ready.

 

Great suggestion. Mark the Graves is my favorite song from that album!

Yea…she’s already on tshirts and on album artwork. She’s here to stay…for now.

 

A true masterpiece smiley Kevin thank you

You know, I was going to at least listen to some of your arguments until you went down this shitty "the band didn't grieve for Chester appropriately" road.

You clearly have an agenda against Linkin Park in general, so now that calls all of your arguments into question.

 

Some of the dumbest things I've read all year.

And idgaf if she's a scientologist. As an atheist, it's no different and isn't more or less egregious than any other religion to me.

Chester would've hated you. Ciao ciao