The mere fact that on the cusp of 2025, seven years post the tragic passing of Chester Bennington, we’re reviewing an album of brand-new Linkin Park material is of course surreal and highly emotive.
As you’d expect with any decision to continue after the loss of an iconic and much-loved singer, the move hasn’t been without controversy. But, as we’ve seen with the pre-release singles and their return to the stage, nobody can argue the fact that Emily Armstrong sure can sing (and indeed scream!); but this isn’t blasting out a rendition of ‘Numb’… so how does Linkin Park 2.0 hold up on record?
A somewhat unnecessary intro isn’t the best start to ‘From Zero’, but as soon as the familiar strains of comeback single, ‘The Emptiness Machine’ kick in a sense of hope and intrigue takes over. From there, the gravity of what this record is helps to both elevate and hold back the songs.
This isn’t old Linkin Park, but it never truly could be, and it’s certainly not ‘not Linkin Park’ as many will say. Armstrong intertwines with Mike Shinoda as well as Bennington ever did and vocally, she manages to both pay homage to Bennington and offer something new (well beyond the tired gender trope).
That could be the overarching takeaway from this record in fact, the past is acknowledged, and key elements of the Linkin Park identity are here and turned up to eleven, but ultimately is feels like the foundations for what will no doubt come in the future.
This, in terms of keeping old school fans warm, is perhaps therefore a little safer than Linkin Park themselves would actually have ever embraced. This is a band remember that were happy to abandon their early fame producing sound in favour of the greater sonic experimentation in their later records.
The reality though is the likes of ‘Heavy is the Crown’, ‘Over Each Other’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘Two Faced’ make this the best Linkin Park album since 2007’s ‘Minutes to Midnight’. That said there is definitely room for improvement with some questionable moments and some distracting extras.
Realistically you can say that this record had no right to be this good. As painful as it is that Chester is no longer with us, it’s great for fans of the band that the Linkin Park legacy continues into this new era. If this is just the start, then we can’t wait to hear what comes next!
The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 25 features our cover stars The Mysterines as reveal details of their sophomore album. We also review new albums from The Snuts, Gen and the Degenerates and Blackout Problems, and we review The Zutons live in Norwich!
Our News Report has all the latest music news including live announcements from Liam Gallagher, Kings of Leon, Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, Alice Cooper, The Pearl Harts, Greta Van Fleet, Royal Blood and Radar Festival!
Plus all the best new releases including Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Paul Weller, Frank Turner, Linkin Park, Sum 41, Daytime TV, Crossfaith, The Cruel Knives, TheCityIsOurs, Between You & Me, Susan Santos, Raven Numan and The Struts!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist including Major Moment, Caroline Romano and DeadWax!
