It’s a classic conundrum: what to do when a band loses its lead singer?
For some, the answer is to simply keep going without their most identifiable voice, hoping we won’t notice the missing ingredient. For others, an American Idol-like audition process, resulting in an American Idol alumnus, is the way to go. Occasionally, you’ll find those – like Linkin Park – who gamble on a shakeup worth paying attention to.
Following the suicide of lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017, Linkin Park understandably took a lengthy hiatus, pausing for six years to mourn and contemplate their future. In the interim, co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda – he handles all the rap portions on Linkin Park tracks – made it clear that nobody could replace Bennington, the famously powerful “voice of the band”. Which is why what happened next made sense: in 2024, Linkin Park recruited a female lead singer, Emily Armstrong of indie rock group Dead Sara. If you can’t replace Bennington, then why not aim for something different, albeit in keeping with the band’s overall sound?
Armstrong’s addition to the band has been met with no small degree of scepticism – much of it of the bullshit sexist variety – but in the past year, as the band has regrouped and headed out on tour, the addition of a female voice has paid off. Judging by the sold-out stadium show this past Friday, we’re not alone in loving the “new” Linkin Park.
Linkin Park’s From Zero World Tour, which launched in September 2024 and is scheduled to conclude in mid-2026, has been met with critical acclaim since the first show in Inglewood, California. While much of the focus has been on Armstrong’s bona fides, it’s hard not to notice the excitement and energy surrounding the reconstituted band. “The Emptiness Machine”, for example, off their new album From Zero (2024), is an absolute banger, pairing the class Linkin sound – Shinoda actually sings the first verse – with Armstrong’s more screamo-inflected vocals. Encountering it for the first time in live performance, I had to double-check that this wasn’t just a classic track that I was unfamiliar with. That was also true for fellow From Zero track “Heavy is the Crown”, with its dangerously catchy refrain.
Other highlights of Friday’s show included show opener “Somewhere I Belong” (Meteora, 2003), “Burn It Down” (Living Things, 2012) with guest Lynn Gunn from opening act PVRIS, and “One Step Closer” (off debut album Hybrid Theory, 2000). I won’t lie to you – between this and the recent Our Lady Peace and Barenaked Ladies concerts, I’ve been having major Big Shiny Tunes flashbacks over the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, our favourite track, “Numb”, got short shrift, the band electing to use the shortened intro from the (inferior) Jay-Z version, rather than the full, epic original.
Other aspects of Friday’s performance were largely positive. Linkin Park’s production design on From Zero is phenomenal, with smoke machines, lasers, and impressive projections drawing our rapt attention. We also liked the ways the band took time to acknowledge the late Bennington, including some audio clips of his voice during the intro, and during Shinoda’s crowdwork when he admired a fan with a Bennington tattoo. Oh, and shout-out too to the friendly stadium staff who helped us find the only fresh popcorn in the building.
The show concluded with a greatest hits selection of beloved songs, including “Papercut” and “In the End” (both off Hybrid Theory) and finally, and somewhat unpredictably, “Faint”, which never appeared on even one Big Shiny Tune.
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Linkin Park’s 2025 From Zero World Tour continues across the US this August/September, before heading south to Latin America in the fall.