Five, four, three, two, one, zero. After two months of single releases, headlines around the world, secret invite-only shows and a new singer, Linkin Park’s eighth full length studio album, From Zero, has finally made its way out into the limelight of fans and audiences.
Some fans, however, have been struggling to accept the new singer, Emily Armstrong, after the passing of their former singer Chester Bennington seven years ago. Armstrong is a returning member in the scene; before Linkin Park, she quietly made a name for herself, co-founding the band Dead Sara, making a name of themselves with their song “Weatherman” and their cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”, scoring them Best Original Award by National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers annually. The eyes are most certainly on Armstrong, and her performance is highly criticized.
The album begins with the “The Emptiness Machine”, the song the band introduced its new lineup with. The song is decent, but serves its purpose, waiting until about the first half of the song before Armstrong’s vocals come in. She definitely delivers with the energy so renowned of the band.
The song “Cut the Bridge” is very… okay. It has some recognizable Linkin Park qualities, but does not have anything that makes it stand out much. It is clear they are attempting to create a similar sound to the 2000s. However, the turntables are something that was arguably missing to fully deliver that sound. In this manner, the entire record feels too “clean” and perfected, when what made them so special two decades ago was very much the grittiness of their art. It does not feel as raw as the most recognizable Linkin Park songs may be.
“Heavy is the Crown” is arguably the best song on the album, which is unfortunate, to say the least. Its main purpose was for the game League of Legends, which is arguably why it is so energetic and empowering. The track has many fans discussing how the track is like the band’s new version of their hit song “Given Up”, as well as their track “Faint”. Armstrong’s scream-singing is almost reminiscent of the 27-second scream Bennington had in the former song. When listening to each song back-to-back, it is more than apparent. The lead melody in both “Faint” and “Heavy is the Crown” is nearly identical, with the guitar coming in with a moving octave line. In the latter, however, the melody is slower, but still grasps itself around the same concept. The comparison becomes more apparent when people have started to mash both tracks together, and they almost seamlessly they flow together.
The parallels do not end there, as both tracks feature Mike Shinoda rapping over 90% of the track till Armstrong returns for the chorus and the breakdown. Structurally, the songs are nearly identical too. The track’s comparison to “Given Up” appears really only in the breakdown, where just as in the previous track, Armstrong delivers a lengthy and powerful scream. The similarities do not stop there as they are currently popular singles.
“Over Each Other” feels too much like a mainstream rock song; too perfect. Where there could have been an opportunity for a good breakdown, there very much was not. And even then, the lyrics are not as deep and hard-hitting as songs such as “Papercuts” on Hybrid Theory.
The transition to “Casualty” is also not as smooth as one could hope. The previous song was much calmer, while this is definitely more aggressive. I think it is good that they are trying to broaden their horizons as musicians, but Shinoda’s attempts at screaming feels forced. Armstrong does incredibly well, though. A song later in the album, “IGYEIH” feels like a better attempt at the style presented in this song.
“Two Faced” was released two days before the album and it checks more boxes of past and popular Linkin Park songs. The song almost entirely feels like a sibling to “One Step Closer”. The iconic breakdown that Chester Bennington originally sang is almost copied in the newest track. Instead of Bennington telling us to “shut up”, we get Armstrong screaming “stop yelling at me”. Just like the iconic track the song has a lofi guitar and drum build up akin to a drum loop. And not to mention, the turntables are especially prominent in the song and mesh well with the rest of the instrumentals. The things that save the song from being a complete redone of the track is structure. The track features less of Armstrongs vocals and more of a focus of Shinoda’s rapping, whereas the ladder is almost entirely sung by Bennington himself.
The next song, “Stained” is not quite as fast-paced, but everything, between the Armstrong’s vocals, Shinoda’s rapping, instrumentals, and lyrics, weaves together in an incredibly, unforgettable way. Overall, the song is very emotionally charged and while it deviates from the Linkin Park sound, it is still recognizably a good song. And either way, they are allowed to evolve like any other band. It is better to hear eleven entirely different songs, like in this case, than a tasteless attempt to copy the records that led to their fame.
All in all, this is most definitely an experimental album. It is refreshing to see the band move on after commemorating Bennington through songs like “Lost” that utilize his old demos to make something new. While this may not be a step that some fans support, it is important to remember that they are their own people and are allowed to move on. Armstrong may be the new singer, but it does not erase Chester Bennington’s legacy.
