It’s 5:00 a.m. and I’m thinking about Linkin Park. It makes me happy. After Chester passed, I said I would be happy with whatever Linkin Park decides to do moving forward. However, thinking about Linkin Park would make me sad. Sure, I would still belt out lyrics while listening to them and enjoy it. My mind would inevitably remember that there was a possibility of no more new Linkin Park music. That’s no longer the case.
Very few bands survive over fifteen years of making albums and touring. Even fewer survive without membership change. Somehow, Linkin Park did it from their first studio album in 2000, until Chester’s death in 2017. Mike, Chester, Brad, Dave, Joe, and Rob all remained with the band throughout seven studio albums and countless live performances. It is an outstanding feat, while topping the charts with each release.
I am a big fan of Linkin Park. After the release of A Thousand Suns, I talked about why I love this band. I think I have a healthy relationship with their music. I relate to the songs, but I understand that doesn’t mean I know the band members. I don’t know them, and they don’t know me. I wish more fanatical members would realize this; it isn’t healthy.
Even with that understanding, Chester’s death hit me hard. I talked about his death and “reviewed” One More Light. It hit me so hard mainly because of the year I was having, and the contents of One More Light carried me through it. It was just another example of an album being there for me at just the right time; Linkin Park just so happens to be really good at doing so.
After getting past the initial shock of Chester’s death, my thoughts turned selfish. I’ll never hear Chester’s voice on a new song again. I’ll probably never hear a new Linkin Park song again. I was wrong on both counts. Chester recorded a bunch of songs that were not released before his death. Mark Morton released Cross Off soon after his death. Friendly Fire is the latest song released; we even got a touching music video. Linkin Park released several unreleased recordings from Hybrid Theory and Meteora on their 20th anniversaries. We will probably get a few more for Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Sons anniversaries. It warms my heart to hear “new” music with Chester, but it will run out someday.
After 2017, I thought a lot about what I would want Linkin Park to do without Chester. The choices seemed clear. They could disband; never record or perform together again. They could continue with Mike as lead vocals. He is talented, but playing old stuff live would be difficult. If this happened, Linkin Park would limit themselves to new stuff which would be better for Mike only vocals. Linkin Park could continue as a touring only band with guest vocals. Finally, Linkin Park could hire a new singer, and continue where they left off.
Out of these choices, I really never came to a solid conclusion of what I wanted. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what I want. What I really wanted was for the band members to be happy. Their creativity and emotion is why I love their music; Linkin Park is nothing without it. So, I enjoyed what I had from them, and it was enough for me.
Then the rumors started. “I hear they got a girl singer now,” Jay Gordon said when talking about Linkin Park in April. Although not 100% credible, the silence from the members of Linkin Park was deafening. Fans were hyped and speculating left and right. Mike is normally very good at addressing rumors, but he remained quiet through all this. The silence just fed the fire. My contentment turned to a flurry of emotions.
For better or worse, I let the silence fuel my hype, too. If it were true, I had no idea who it could be. It is possible it was someone who worked with Mike for the Already Over sessions. He produced for several artists, so maybe one of them? I did not have any good guesses, but I was hyped. I decided to sit back and watch the fireworks of speculation. I embraced the chaos of the unknown.
A 100 hour countdown timer appeared on Linkin Park’s website. Something was happening. The fandom exploded! I continued to watch, hoping. In my mind, this was not just another old release. This was something big. The rumors regarding a new singer seemed highly likely to me.
The countdown hit 0, and started counting up. There is a glitch at 9:05. Something was happening on September 5th, right? I ate my popcorn, fully ready for anything. Finally, an email went out to some fans. “Be part of something.” September 5th in Los Angeles. Cool, but what could it be? Maybe it is just a Q&A fan meetup? Maybe they are recording a music video?
Everything was revealed on September 5th. Information about Emptiness Machine leaks ahead of time. For the most part, the leak stays contained; I tried to find the song, but was unsuccessful. The event starts on time, and is live streamed to the world. Most of the band comes out. But who is that on the drums and guitar? I do not know, but it does not take long for Mike to start singing. My emotions ran wild. I was crying with joy to see Mike perform with Linkin Park. And then Emily appears, and starts on the second verse. My emotions went wild. I was feeling so much. Emptiness Machine is a Linkin Park song; it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. Despite not playing in front of fans for years, they had the same energy they had from when I first saw them.
After the song, Mike introduced Emily. Somewhere I Belong started. I was a blubbering mess. I was genuinely happy during Emptiness Machine. I was sad during Somewhere I Belong. Chester wasn’t singing. I was not sad because he had been replaced; no, I was sad because he was no longer with us. Emily picked up the song, and made it her own.
Mike finally introduces the band. Colin is on the drums. Later, Mike addresses that Rob separated himself from the band after Chester’s passing. From the interviews, Colin sounds like a good fit with the band. Although Brad is still a part of the band, Alex has taken his place on the stage. In interviews, Brad will be in the background, helping with albums and such. He is an introvert, and does not like loud noises. I’m happy he found a role that he can be happy with.
Linkin Park, and make no mistake this is Linkin Park now, was outstanding for the rest of the set. They announced a new album for November 15th, a worldwide tour before the release, and more touring in 2025. They also released a music video for Emptiness Machine.
It wouldn’t be a Linkin Park debut without controversy. Usually, it’s people complaining that the new song doesn’t sound like Linkin Park. This time, there are more. “Linkin Park died with Chester” is one of the louder voices. I think a quote from Brent Smith, the lead singer of Shinedown, sums it up beautifully for those comments:
I remember the very first time I heard [Emily Armstrong) from [Dead Sara] sing “The Weatherman”. I said to myself, I believe Rock N’ Roll will be OK… And so today I will say [Linkin Park] will be more than OK… I know the Internet is a blaze with comments of criticism and also of praise from fans all over the world. Something to think about … Do you honestly believe that the members of this ICONIC Band truly think that of all people [Chester Bennington] is replaceable??? The entire world knows he will never be replaceable because he was one of a kind. But with all that being said there is an audience that miss this band , and their presence ,and what they represent. So I asked you, ALL of you… Give them the opportunity to not close their chapter. Allow them to celebrate their legacy, and also the opportunity to create a new one.
Billboard did an interview with Linkin Park. A quote from Emily really reassured me that Linkin Park will be okay.
And going into these [older] songs, by a singular voice that’s beloved by so many people — it’s like, “How do I be myself in this, but also carry on the emotion and what [Chester] brought in this band?” That was the work that I had to do. The feeling, the energy, was already there as we were doing the album, so it’s just incorporating that feeling. [I had] to identify what the song meant to me as a singer, not just as someone listening to it. You got to marry the technical part and the emotion. It’s Chester’s voice, and it’s mine, but I want it to still feel the way I feel when I listen to the song, because that’s what the fans love. There is a passion to it that I’m hoping I can fill.
Linkin Park has always been about that emotion. I am happy and hyped! I want to hear their new album. I want to see them live. My hype feels different, but also the same as previous album announcements. I love Emily’s voice. I have been listening to her other band, Dead Sara, and I am loving it. I have listened to Emptiness Machine dozens of times, and every time she comes in on the second verse, I get goosebumps. The lyric “Don’t know why I’m hopin’, so fuckin’ naive” just drips with emotion. It is an emotion different from Chester, but with the same intensity. In my mind, Linkin Park is back. I’m happy.