Seven years after frontman Chester Bennington passed away in 2017, the well-known rap-rock group announced on Thursday that it has reformed and will tour and release a studio album this fall.
In addition to having a new drummer in Colin Brittain, who takes Rob Bourdon’s position, Linkin Park has a new singer in Emily Armstrong, who was once a member of the rock group Dead Sara, headquartered in Los Angeles. The band was created in Agoura Hills in 1996 by rapper and producer Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, DJ Joe Hahn, and unidentified bassist Phoenix.
On November 15, Linkin Park will release their new 11-track album, “From Zero.” This will be their first album since 2017, when they released “One More Light,” which was released just two months before Bennington committed suicide at his Palos Verdes Estates home. “The Emptiness Machine,” the album’s debut track, was released on Thursday.
The four remaining members, who renamed their band Linkin Park when Bennington joined and called it Xero before, said in a statement that they had begun getting together in recent years in an effort to “reconnect with the creativity and camaraderie” of their early days. According to Shinoda, the title of “From Zero” alludes to both our modest origin and the current trip we’re on. It embraces our distinctive sound while being fresh and vibrant, and sonically and emotionally it is about the past, present, and future. It was created with a great deal of gratitude for our fans, friends, family, and both new and old bandmates.
He went on to say, “We are thrilled about the journey ahead and proud of what Linkin Park has become over the years.”
Linkin Park will perform at Inglewood’s Kia Forum on September 11 to begin a run of six shows in cities across the globe. The band’s other dates include New York, Hamburg, Germany, London, Seoul, and Bogota, Colombia.
Along with members of Blink-182, No Doubt, Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me the Horizon, and System of a Down, Linkin Park’s members honored Bennington in 2017 with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl.