ALBAWABA - Linkin Park has reunited for a new tour and album, seven years after the loss of longtime leader Chester Bennington.
During Thursday's live webcast, Linkin Park unveiled their new tune, "The Emptiness Machine," featuring Armstrong and new drummer Colin Brittain. The band also included returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Joe Hahn.
"Today is a truly memorable occasion for all of us," Shinoda informed the restricted fan club members in attendance. "This afternoon, you are all Chester Bennington."
Around September 2023, Linkin Park requested that Armstrong, who is also the lead vocalist of the rock band Dead Sara, join the legendary group.
On September 5, 2024, in Burbank, California, Linkin Park and Emily Armstrong gave performances over a worldwide broadcast.
Before taking the role, Armstrong claimed she got the all-clear from her Dead Sara bandmates, who urged her to seize the chance.
"I asked myself, 'Is it real?' in a really effective panic attack. Listening to the earth under my feet for three days straight was an overwhelming sensation, Armstrong told Billboard. Upon my descent, I realized my life was about to undergo a transformation, but for the better. I returned to a realm of dreams.
Brittain takes over for Rob Bourdon, a founding member who "decided to step away" to create space between himself and the rest of the band.
Rather than "trying to restart the band," Shinoda, Delson, Farrell, and Hahn reportedly started meeting up again in the past few years. They would invite "various friends and cohorts to join them in the studio; among the guests, they found a special kinship with Armstrong and Brittain," as stated in a band press release.
According to Armstrong, the music of Linkin Park's 2000 album "Hybrid Theory" inspired her to pursue a career in singing when she was a kid.
