Unless you have been living under a rock these past few months, you know that legendary American band LINKIN PARK have made a spectacular – yet extremely polarizing – comeback. After seven years of not knowing the status of this highly influential band in the wake of Chester Bennington’s untimely passing in 2017, this autumn came with an answer: the story goes on in a new lineup that includes Emily Armstrong (DEAD SARA) on vocals and Colin Brittain on drums. With renewed energy and enthusiasm, the band released their much-awaited comeback album, “From Zero,” on November 15, 2024, via Warner Records and Machine Shop, alongside news of a world tour in 2025.
Despite its run time of only 32 minutes, the album is full to the brim with all the trademark elements and sounds that have made LINKIN PARK such a groundbreaking force on the rock and metal scene. As such, each of the eleven songs plays a crucial role in the overall sound design of the album while also serving as a statement (and possibly reminder) of the sheer breadth of the band’s versatility and appeal. When they released “The Emptiness Machine” back in September, to me it was clear from the opening notes that LINKIN PARK was back since the song felt both familiar and fresh. Then the next single released, “Heavy is the Crown,” only cemented the fact that they have managed to find their passion for music again and are more than ready to continue their journey. And now with the full-length out for everyone to enjoy (or criticize), LINKIN PARK have hit the restart button and proved that they still got it through an array of wildly varied songs and thrilling soundscapes.
The album opens up with an intro which also serves as the title track. It’s basically a short audio from the studio with Emily and Mike discussing the idea behind the album’s title and what this implies for the band moving forward, and her realizing what “From Zero” actually stands for – starting over from scratch in this new iteration of LINKIN PARK as well as being a nod to the band’s initial name, XERO. This leads into the lead single, “The Emptiness Machine,” which unsurprisingly has become one of the biggest hits of the year, boasting some arena-sized hooks, cool guitar riffs, a massive chorus as well a beautiful yet intense interplay between Emily and Mike during the bridge. In classic LINKIN PARK fashion, it also balances emotion and aggression in a seamless way, with the line “I only wanted to be part of something” deeply resonating with me. After this radio-friendly rock anthem, we are treated to the heavy and groovy “Cut the Bridge,” a muscular track that showcases Colin Brittain’s precise drumming alongside the usual back-and-forth between the band’s co-vocalists.
The League of Legends Worlds 2024 anthem, “Heavy is the Crown,” is a melodic yet heavy number that sees Emily Armstrong belting out a well-supported roar on the song’s bridge and screaming through the catchy chorus, thus proving that she is ready to step up and bounce of Mike Shinoda’s rap parts with the same fury as Chester once did. The melancholy “Over Each Other” has her vocals front and center but, to me, she doesn’t (yet) have the emotional range to properly ground such a narrative. However, her passionate delivery and sensibility alongside Brittain’s pacey drumming give the song a nice momentum that propels it forward through some otherwise minimalistic soundscapes. Conversely, the monster track that is “Casualty” displays her screaming prowess as it jumps between thrashy vocals and aggressive riffs that only intensify the song’s ferocity. Up next, the atmospheric “Overflow” has some interesting sonic textures and vocal nuances free-flowing through it that harken back to the band’s experimental beginnings. It’s these types of tracks (like the ones mentioned in this paragraph) that have made the band both trailblazers and a force to be reckoned with as they were able to stretch the limits of their sound into different directions and still feel cohesive.
The tail-end of the album doesn’t let up with the raging recent single “Two Faced” ripping through the speakers at a furious pace as Emily once again gets to cut loose and counterbalance Mike’s melodic rapping parts while Joe Hahn’s scratching and Brad Delson’s riffs give it a sharp nu metal edge. The callbacks to other songs from their vast discography are easy to identify, not just when it comes to this particular track but to many others from this album, thus giving “From Zero” a cohesive feel within the band’s sonic universe. Possible single “Stained” is beautifully carried by soaring melodies and electronic beats as Emily convinces once again during the poppy chorus with a mixture of harsh undertones and melismas that show off her range and vocal timbre. Energetic rocker “IGYEIH” is quite an aggressive number thanks to Dave Farrell’s thundering bass lines and Emily’s screams (especially of the repeated line “From now on, I don’t need you”) that hit with the same intensity as Chester’s did back in the day. Gorgeous semi-ballad “Good Things Go” rides high on sweeping instrumentation, vocal harmonies, and percussions, closing the album on a heartfelt note.
All-in-all, “From Zero” is like a cocktail made from all the best bits of LINKIN PARK’s expansive sound that is meant not only as a showcase of Emily Armstrong’s versatile vocals but also as a way for this new iteration of the band to connect to the past so as to forge a new future together. Moreover, this collection of songs should give fans a glimpse into what to expect and maybe even fuel their hopes and expectations for what is to come. From an unbiased perspective, “From Zero” is a magnificent return from one of the most influential bands of our time and an album that I think many of us didn’t even dare to dream about.
Written by Andrea Crow
Tracklist
1. From Zero (Intro)
2. The Emptiness Machine
3. Cut the Bridge
4. Heavy Is the Crown
5. Over Each Other
6. Casualty
7. Overflow
8. Two Faced
9. Stained
10. IGYEIH
11. Good Things Go
Lineup
- Mike Shinoda – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
- Brad Delson – lead guitar
- Dave “Phoenix” Farrell – bass
- Joe Hahn – samples, programming
- Emily Armstrong – vocals
- Colin Brittain – drums
Label
Warner Records / Machine Shop
