Seven years after the tragedy of Chester Bennington’s death, Linkin Park has returned with a new lead singer and new music — and fans’ reactions are rife with controversy.
A staple of nu metal, Linkin Park launched their path to success with the release of their first album, Hybrid Theory, the best-selling album of 2001. After finding commercial success, the band continued to make their mark on the world by releasing six other studio albums, including the highly influential Meteora and Minutes to Midnight, three live albums, four compilation albums, two remix albums, three soundtrack albums, four video albums and a slew of EPs and singles.
Everyone knows Linkin Park, even if they don’t. Songs like “Crawling,” “Numb” and “What I’ve Done” are so firmly cemented in the canon of early 2000s music that trying to plead ignorance of this monumental group is near impossible.
But then, tragedy struck. Chester Bennington, one of the band’s lead singers and perhaps the most iconic voices of the genre, committed suicide in 2017.
Following the tragic death of Bennington, the band went on hiatus for the next six years. They put out a few unreleased singles, remixes and 20th-anniversary editions of Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Regarding the band’s future without Bennington, Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda made his position clear:
“It’s not my goal to look for a new singer. If it does happen, it has to happen naturally. If we find someone who is a great person and a good stylistic fit, I could see trying to do some stuff with somebody. I would never want to feel like we are replacing Chester returning to live shows,” he said in a 2019 interview.
Still, rumours began circulating earlier this year about the band’s return with a new, woman singer as the band released a compilation album, Papercuts, along with other singles. These rumours proved to be true when on Sept. 5 of this year, Linkin Park announced their comeback with Emily Armstrong — a former vocalist for the band Dead Sara — as a lead singer and Colin Brittain as the drummer — replacing co-founder Rob Bourdon, who “wanted to put some distance between himself and the band,” according to Shinoda.
At the same time, Linkin Park released their first new song in seven years, “The Emptiness Machine,” and announced their first full-length album since One More Light, titled From Zero.
As a long-time fan of the band, and someone who deeply lamented the fact that I would never get the chance to see them perform live, I was immediately excited about the announcement and the new song. Hitting play on “The Emptiness Machine” in the car for the first time, an anxious energy raced through my body: Would it be any good? Could someone else ever embody the same raw passion that Chester did, a passion which defined the band? Would such a return do justice to Bennington’s memory?
To my delight, the song surpassed my expectations. Armstrong’s vocals are rich and have a similar edge to Bennington’s, yet she brings her own sound to the arrangement as well. “The Emptiness Machine” sounds like a Linkin Park song through and through, while not creating a carbon copy of Bennington’s voice.
This was my biggest concern about a Linkin Park revival: Could they bring the same power and energy as before while not simply sweeping Bennington under the proverbial rug? Could they bring someone who was a “good stylistic fit,” as Shinoda said, while still honouring Chester Bennington’s epic legacy?
Returning to live performances with a Bennington hologram would have been an appalling way to continue Linkin Park, as Shinoda himself knew, but to me, the arrival of Emily Armstrong succeeds in this regard, at least from what I’ve seen so far.
But not everyone agrees.
One look at Linkin Park’s recent Instagram posts shows how divided fans are about Armstrong’s arrival. Many comments praise the new singer’s voice and performance, saying that “Emily sounds so beautiful” and that “she is the real deal,” with thousands of likes confirming fans’ support of the decision. At the same time, just as many have left comments calling Armstrong’s performance “wrong” and “awful,” even if the new songs “suit her and she can perform them perfectly.” These negative comments may not have as many likes supporting them, but the sheer amount of them as you scroll through fans’ responses speaks volumes.
Bennington’s family has been the most outspoken about their contempt for the continuation of Linkin Park without him.
Jaime Bennington, Chester’s son, claimed online that Shinoda had “quietly erased [his] father’s life and legacy in real-time.”
“You have betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself,” he said. “We trusted you to be the bigger and better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone-deaf. Insane.”
In his criticism, Jaime also pointed to Armstrong’s alleged connections to the Church of Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson. These allegations have been another major source of criticism towards Armstrong.
Armstrong released a statement afterwards, saying she didn’t know about Masterson’s guilt until his court appearance, has not been in contact with him since and that she does not “condone abuse or violence against women.” She has not addressed her connection to Scientology as of writing.
However, according to Loudwire, Jaime had a bizarre shift of opinion after seeing the band play at The Forum in Los Angeles:
“She did a good job. The guys really did a good job,” he said. “I can be understanding of the art… Honestly, after that, I’m kind of excited to see them more in a way.”
Chester Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks, had a similarly negative response to the band’s return, saying she felt “betrayed” that the band never informed her about their plans, and that Linkin Park is “trying very hard to erase the past.” She also criticized Armstrong’s singing itself, describing how after hearing the singer during their announcement livestream “screeching her way through a very high note,” Eubanks had to “[get] out of there as fast as [she] could.”
On the other hand, Talinda Bennington, Chester’s widow, seems to be in support of the decision. While she hasn’t made any statements on the matter, she posted a picture of Armstrong and Shinoda with a heart amidst Jaime’s initial string of critical posts and has also responded to Armstrong’s social media posts with the positive fire emoji.
Despite the criticism, I think Linkin Park is in the right. Most critics argue that while Emily Armstrong might be a good musician, for her to sing “Chester’s songs” is disrespectful to his memory. Thus, they argue the band should have made a new name for themselves and stuck to performing new music.
But they aren’t “Chester’s songs.” Linkin Park was never just Chester Bennington, it was a collaboration of remarkably talented musicians, all of whom contributed to their sound. Even if Bennington was the most recognizable of all the members, Linkin Park was never just one man. To suggest such does a disservice to the other members, particularly Shinoda, the band’s primary songwriter, one of the co-founders and co-lead vocalist himself.
Linkin Park, not just Chester Bennington, made seven remarkable albums that changed the rock and metal scenes forever. Linkin Park, not just Chester Bennington, poured their hearts and souls into timeless music that will continue to permeate long after the band has stopped touring.
If anything, coming back as a new band with a new name and touring without singing Linkin Park’s old songs would probably be more disrespectful to Bennington’s memory. By providing her own take on these songs, Armstrong is ensuring that they continue to survive where songs are meant to exist: on the stage.
Linkin Park’s revival continues and commemorates Bennington’s legacy by allowing fans to experience the songs that he was known for and remember his contributions to nu metal at the same time.
Armstrong brings a new, faithful sound and doesn’t pretend to be a Bennington replacement. She may sing the old songs, but it comes from a place of love and appreciation. Fans will never be able to hear Chester Bennington perform live again, but they will be able to hear Linkin Park.
Listening to Armstrong singing Bennington’s parts isn’t an act of sacrilege, it’s an act of love, honouring the man who did so much for Linkin Park and keeping his legacy alive.
Now, if the band decides to re-release their old albums with Armstrong’s vocals instead of Bennington’s, they will surely lose my support and likely the support of many thousands of fans as well. Something like that would, on top of being a shameless money grab, be a clear act of erasing Bennington from the band’s history and would be highly disrespectful to his memory, his family, his fans and his legacy.
Others may think differently, but they don’t have to listen to the new Linkin Park if they don’t want to. At the end of the day, it is the band’s prerogative to decide if they want to continue making music and continue playing old songs, and nothing they choose to do will change what they’ve already done.
“It is not about erasing the past,” Shinoda said on Sept. 10 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the venue where Linkin Park launched their World Tour. “It is about starting this new chapter into the future and coming out here for each and every one of you.”
Chester Bennington is sorely missed, but Linkin Park’s comeback doesn’t insult his memory, it honours it. And I, for one, am excited to see what they do next.
