In an interview with BBC Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders , Linkin Park 's Mike Shinoda , seven years after Chester Bennington in 2017, commented on the band's return with new music and vocalist Emily Armstrong .
Shinoda says (via Blabbermouth.net ): “It’s insane. I mean, we’ve been planning this moment for a long time. So, just to recap, I met Emily in 2019, I think. I had just heard her name through friends. We wrote some things and kind of messed around. It was more about getting to know each other than writing music. The songs were okay, but it was more about who this person was.”
“And eventually we started – Joe and Dave and I started – meeting up more and more frequently. The intention wasn’t to get the band back together or anything like that. We were just gradually getting back together and, eventually, things started falling into place with Emily and Colin , our new drummer.”
When asked when the idea of bringing Linkin Park back truly felt feasible, Shinoda replied: “The new album came about while the band was getting back together. We were doing sessions with other writers, other vocalists, and other artists, etc. We realized we wanted to bring Emily and Colin back. And I remember Joe and I talking about putting her voice over things we had already written that only had my voice. And once we did that, we were like, 'Oh, that sounds really good, we should try that on more songs.'”.
Mike continues: “The band she was in is called Dead Sara and I heard a song called 'Weatherman'. And her singing, the way she approaches the way she sings, the passion was the driver and the style was a function of – it was the vehicle that made it come out of her system. And I always love that.”
Linkin Park already has two new tracks released, “ The Emptiness Machine ” and “ Heavy Is The Crown ”. Both songs will be featured on their upcoming album, From Zero , which is scheduled for release on November 15th.
Linkin Park and their future plans
Speaking about the band's future plans and what it means to honor Chester's legacy, Mike Shinoda says: “The album is coming out in the second week of November. And I hope that when people listen to it, they realize that this isn't meant to be a remake or a rewrite of Linkin Park. The intention is for it to be a new chapter for Linkin Park. The last chapter was great and I love it. And it ran its course. Now we face the challenge of 'Okay, if you start from scratch, with a new voice, what do you do?'. And Emily's voice, when she sings, man, it's pure passion… She's one hundred percent herself. That's the best part, she's not trying to be Chester, she's not trying to be anybody. She is herself, and that's why it works.”.
When asked if he feels the bonds between him and the other band members are strengthening as they continue to bring Linkin Park's music to the masses, Shinoda replies: “Yes, it’s a constant evolution, I mean, we’ve rehearsed more for this than for anything else in our lives. My point of reference is always a good basketball team – you don’t receive a pass behind your back, you don’t pass without looking, without knowing where the others will be. For me, that’s the metaphor, it’s us discovering each other’s intuitive ways, we move and play on stage and do it with even less effort and with more muscle memory.”.
So far, the band's tour has reached four cities in the United States and Europe: Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg, and London. The group has also added three more November dates to its tour in São Paulo , Dallas, and Paris.
READ ALSO: Mike Shinoda doesn't know if Linkin Park will re-record hits with Emily Armstrong's vocals.
