For years, the idea of a Linkin Park without Chester Bennington seemed unfathomable. When the singer with the titanic voice and breathtaking emotion died in 2017 at the age of 41, the band had just released their seventh studio album. One more lighttwo months earlier, and the sad pop album became what amounted to a swan song for one of the best-selling rock acts of the 21st century. Years passed, early albums were reissued, track scraps were cleaned up — but for all intents and purposes, Linkin Park was over.
And then, in September 2024, they roared back with astonishing vigor.
With new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer/co-producer Colin Brittain in the fold, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, turntablist/producer Joseph Hahn and singer/rapper/producer/sonic architect Mike Shinoda have revived their once. mighty band, with arena shows that included their many hit singles and hints of what the next era could be. While longtime supporters will probably (reasonably) flock to the new album From scratch With hesitation and a range of emotions, Linkin Park have proven time and time again that their creative instincts deserve to be trusted.
Throughout their run with Bennington, the band transformed their sound from their rap-rock beginnings, explored new sonic ideas, and often delivered satisfying full-lengths that pushed the limits of their aesthetic. Now with Armstrong's voice front and center, using Linkin Park From scratch (a play on the Xero band before Linkin Park) to hit the reset button and let their art wander into new, often exciting territory.
That was always the benefit of bringing in a new singer who wasn't just a Bennington impersonator: Armstrong, formerly of Dead Sara, can scream with terrible fury and scream with fragile beauty in a way reminiscent of Bennington at times, but she brings different musical sensibilities and a unique point of view to the band's palette, her rage more intense and the melancholy subtly drawn. Shinoda, who has spent the last half decade developing his voice as a solo artist and producer, sounds invigorated working in a band setting once again and raps, sings and sometimes shouts with an urgency that suggests he understands how unique he can be. to be this new opportunity is.
Fans of different eras of Linkin Park will find favorite moments From Zero — A Thousand Suns supporters will love the insane “Overflow” for example, while Meteora Die-hards will wrap their arms around the breakneck speeds of “Heavy is the Crown” and “Two Faced”. However, overall, From scratch imagines a new beginning for one of the biggest bands of the past few decades in a way that every fan can appreciate. Most of us never thought we'd be hitting play on a new Linkin Park album. In this sense, From scratch it's a gift that sounds as special as it deserves.
While there may not be any skippable tracks on the new album, here's a humble, preliminary opinion on Linkin Park's best songs From scratch.
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From Zero (Intro)
I hate to rank the 22-second intro last — especially as you can hear Armstrong realizing the double meaning of the album title in real time, a key lightbulb clicking.
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Cut the Bridge
As Linkin Park prepare for a 2025 world tour and consider which From scratch songs to be included in the set list, let's hope we hear the songs of “Cut it, cut it, down, cut it, cut it!” sung in arena settings. “Cut the Bridge” builds to a muscular rocker that he returns to Minutes to midnight in the front half of the album, as the band builds on Britannia's drum beats before pulling back and giving Armstrong room to emote before hitting the chorus.
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Colored
With its soaring melodies and electroshock foundation, “Stained” reminds listeners that Linkin Park's singles have passed as pop hits on numerous occasions, from “In the End” to “Breaking the Habit” to “Burn It Down”. “Stained” drops into opinions with dead-end lyrics, then clears up for Armstrong's most gorgeous vocal take of the album — strong in its determination, wide-ranging in its mix of honeyed and harsh nuances.
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One above the other
As the third song released from the album, “Over Every Other” featured Armstrong's first solo vocal to the world – and in doing so, gave a glimpse of how the next iteration of Linkin Park might work with a fresh voice in the foreground. However, Armstrong's angst gets a big assist from the band's other new member, as the Brit's drummer pushes the pop-rock track forward starting in the second verse after a first-minute shudder, and gives 'Over Every Other” arena readiness dimension.
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IGYEIH
On first listen, “IGYEIH” (“I Give You Everything I Have”) mesmerizes with its elastic rap-rock energy, Shinoda's bars, Armstrong's scorching statements, some of Farrell's most satisfying bass riffs and a galloping collapse. Repeat plays, however, reveal “IGYEIH” as one of the new album's strongest lyrical displays: Armstrong rails against “a devil with a god complex,” hopes her tattoos will remind her of betrayal, and then pulls the simple, effective “From now on, I don't need you!”
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Overflow
Immediately following the pounding “Casualty” the tracklist with the brooding, cerebral “Overflow” demonstrates the range of appeal of Linkin Park, able to oscillate expertly between the blunt and the beautiful throughout their discography. “We're going down, we're going down,” Shinoda and Armstrong mutter in unison, and Delson delivers a crazy solo to close things out, but “Overflow” flourishes in the middle of From scratch mostly atmospheric, with the band leaning into moodiness one song after kicking up the dust.
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Accident
If the words “justice for The Hunting Party” have ever escaped your lips, then “Casualty” is the new Linkin Park song for you. Like the band's heaviest album, “Casualty” deftly balances rough, face-popping vocals (with Shinoda being heard as Armstrong dons her “screamy pants”) with slick punk production, and never leaves its ferocity of the initial screams. . Armstrong delivers the performance of an absolute star, but hearing Shinoda stretch his voice to this extent is especially rewarding for longtime fans.
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Two Faces
“Two Faced” features two not-so-subtle callbacks to Linkin Park's debut single, “One Step Closer” – “Beginning to realize you put me over the edge,” Shinoda raps on the first verse, and Armstrong screams “Stop calling me!” with the same abandon as “Shut up when I'm talking to you!” of Benningston!—and fittingly, the track exists in the same nu metal universe as Hybrid Theoryuntil Han's rampant scratching. However, Armstrong gives “Two Faced” a different texture, with the chorus ending in something akin to a cheerleading chant and the final hook dropping with a quiver of unique anger.
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The vacuum machine
Any longtime Linkin Park fan understands why “The Emptiness Machine” has become one of the biggest rock hits of the year: the lead single boasts the same rock songwriting, big hooks and personality that help the band conquer the world. the turn of the century. “The Emptiness Machine” helped Linkin Park return with a huge chorus that was ripe for rock radio, but the song succeeded—and remains so ready for repeat—because of its details, from the way the chorus revs up to second iteration of up to the intensity of the interaction between Synod and Armstrong on the bridge. It's a classic Linkin Park single, and no matter the year, this is something the rock world always wants.
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The Crown is heavy
“That's what you foooooooo asked,” roars Armstrong on “Heavy is the Crown,” and to that we say: yeah, sure. The rap-rock throw of songs like “Faint” and “Bleed It Out” translates into a fresh lineup, and Armstrong is more than game to bounce off Shinoda's slippery rhymes and shred her voice to deliver the listener a little head-banging release. “Heavy is the Crown” excels because of the subtle desperation in the vocal performances: “Today's gonna be the day you notice / 'Cause I'm sick of explaining 'cause what's the joke,” sings Shinoda, his exhaustion rousing perfectly. Armstrong rage.
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Good things go
Maybe it's just a coincidence that the last song continues From scratch is the most fully realized crystallization of Linkin Park's new formula, or perhaps “Good Things Go” was deliberately placed at the end to welcome the future of the band's studio output. Either way, the album that precedes “Good Things Go” leads to sweeping instrumentation, lockstep harmonies, quiet guitar that swells to the fore, and percussion that builds into a march. Shinoda raps on the bridge like a man possessed, and Armstrong's voice fills with grace before reaching the thesis: “Thank you for always standing by me even though / Sometimes the bad things take the place of the good.” Linkin Park has persevered despite impossible circumstances, and “Good Things Go” proudly elevates their creative spirit and newfound identity for the world to embrace.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/linkin-park-from-zero-review-songs-ranked/
