Linkin Park’s From Zero - The Struggle of Starting Over

On November 15, famed alt-rock and nu metal band Linkin Park released their 8th studio album, From Zero. This is the band's first album since 2017’s One More Light, which saw them stripping away much of their metal roots in favor of more of a pop sound. Although there is nothing inherently wrong about wanting to make pop music, and one could argue that Linkin Park has always had a pop sensibility (being as commercially successful as they are), fans and critics at the time did not receive the album well.

However, following the tragic suicide of the band’s lead singer Chester Bennington soon after One More Light’s release, Linkin Park as fans knew them would go on hiatus for the next seven years. During this time the band would release 20th-anniversary editions of their classic albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora, as well as the greatest hits album Papercuts, however, whether or not the band would continue making music and performing without Bennington remained a question. It is clear that Bennington’s death deeply affected the band, and the world of rock as a whole, but Mike Shinoda, the band’s rapper and producer, made it clear that he wanted Linkin Park to continue forward with new material. 

The obvious problem the band then faced was finding a new lead singer, someone who was capable of singing the band’s classic hits on tour, as well as meshing with the band and providing a fresh perspective on their creative process. Now that the album is here, the person they chose was Emily Armstrong, formerly the lead singer of the band Dead Sara. 

When this was first announced, along with this new album’s announcement and lead single “The Emptiness Machine,” Armstrong was met with some backlash, much of which was rooted in sexism and confusion, as some fans felt that Bennington should not have been replaced in the first place. Although Bennington’s contributions to the band should never be overlooked, the purpose of this review is not to question Armstrong’s role in the band–she is a more than capable singer who has over a decade of performing and writing under her belt. 

With that being said, Armstrong’s past raises concerns about the integrity of the band, mainly a connection with Danny Masterson, an actor who went to trial for rape in 2020. Armstrong, who was a friend of Masterson's, attended the trial in support of him, and received backlash from two of his victims for doing so. In 2024, following the announcement of her joining the band, Armstrong took to Instagram to apologize for attending the trial, stating that although she did attend in support of Masterson, she soon realized that was a mistake, and has cut ties with him since. 

Additionally, Armstrong and Masterson both share connections to the Church of Scientology, as Masterson was a member, and in 2013, Armstrong was photographed attending one of their events. Armstrong was raised as a Scientologist but has never publicly commented on her current relationship with the Church.

Through the backlash and the drama, Linkin Park as a band has not publicly commented on Armstrong’s past and connections, thus affirming their decision to bring her on as a lead singer. Whether or not Shinoda and co. knew about this, or even care, is unknown to fans, but is important to remember when listening to From Zero. The longtime debate of separating the art from the artist is not the concern of this review either, however, it frames the album in an uneasy light, especially given that Armstrong is the person who will now be fronting the band for the foreseeable future. 

Through all of this, Linkin Park has returned with a new album, and instead of using the opportunity of a new singer to forge a new sound, they reconnect with their nu metal roots on From Zero. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as there is not much modern music right now that sounds like Linkin Park, making the commercial success of “The Emptiness Machine” especially refreshing, but the album as a whole feels like a bit of a lost opportunity. 

Although metal riffs, pounding drums and anthemic choruses are abound on the album, Linkin Park has historically switched up their sound as time has progressed. Although the industrially-tinged electropop on an album like 2010’s A Thousand Suns has not aged super well, in 2024, rock is in need of a new path forward. A band like Linkin Park, when they first came to prominence with Hybrid Theory, did push the genre forward with their unique fusion of rap-rock and nu-metal. From Zero could have been an opportunity to do this once again, however likely given the poor reception of their last album One More Light as well as the desire to prove the band still has it after their lineup change, Linkin Park plays it too safe. 

After the brief intro title track, the album properly begins with lead single “The Emptiness Machine.” The song features Shinoda’s signature rapping, Armstrong singing her heart out on one of the catchiest choruses on the album, but pretty standard and clean guitars and drums. The song is nowhere near bad, but feels basic for Linkin Park standards, both lyrically and sonically. 

The following song, “Cut the Bridge” is one of the key moments on the album where the production does not go very hard, especially the drums. They lack body, and thus Shinoda’s rapping especially feels undersupported on top of them. The narrative about freeing oneself from connections or relationships that weigh them down is pretty in line with classic Linkin Park material though. 

Next comes “Heavy Is the Crown,” which funnily enough was released as the theme song for this year’s world tournament for the video game League of Legends, and a stripped-down version of the song even features in season two of Arcane, which is, of course, an adaptation of the game’s lore (in case you forgot). The song does end up being one the strongest moments on the album, it does feel like the intensity of 2000s-era Linkin Park has been recaptured with more of a dramatic twist. 

“Over Each Other” was another single and is the first song on the album (and of the band’s career) to feature only Armstrong on vocals. She gives a great performance here, however, this is one of a handful of moments on the album where the lyrics are quite basic. The story of this song essentially begins with two people, likely in a romantic relationship, who often fight and talk over each other, and because of this, they are over each other in the sense that they will soon or have broken up. Linkin Park has never been a band whose lyrics are on the level of storytelling as, say, My Chemical Romance, they even thrive in lyrical abstraction, but here they read as especially trite. 

The song “Casualty” feels especially enraged, with Armstrong's vocals and Shinoda’s rapping being consistently raspy and intense. However despite the emotionally charged performances they do bring to this song, which are certainly compelling, the lack of variation on their respective vocal deliveries leaves the entire song feeling especially one-note, and the instrumental is not of the most standout on the album either, it feels pretty nondescript yet again.  

Transitioning into the second half of the album already, as it is just over 30 minutes in runtime, is the song “Overflow,” which features a cinematic fade-in, a moment where Linkin Park is attentive to the worldbuilding that usually occurs on each of their albums. The song itself is more lowkey and melodramatic comparably, that is until the roaring guitars and Armstrong’s vocals really breathe life into the song's second half. Shinoda’s rapping on the front end feels more like talk-singing, which does match the song’s vibe, but is not the most compelling. 

A major highlight on the album comes in the form of “Two Faced,” which picks up the heat once again. It’s a moment where Armstrong’s singing and Shinoda’s rapping feel especially aligned (which they even note in the song’s spoken word outro); they certainly have artistic chemistry. The hook is arguably the best on the album, and the guitars across the track have a great texture to them, which shifts from verse to pre-chorus to chorus. The turntable spin/record scratches are even back on the song’s enraged bridge and outro, which is a fun touch. 

Another highlight is the song “Stained,” which feels very in line with a song like “Heavy Is the Crown,” where we have classic Linkin Park aesthetics but now they feel especially dramatic and epic. It is not the most explosive moment on the album, but serves as a great reminder that Linkin Park can pull off tracks that hit just as hard even when they are a bit more lowkey.

The album's final moments are fine, there’s “IGYEIH” or "I Gave You Everything That I Had,” which once again feels instrumentally basic. Armstrong’s vocal performance, especially on the chorus and bridge, is really the only saving grace of the track, as the verses are pretty nondescript. The song has a good progression, really reaching a climax in the second half, but it doesn’t quite justify the existence of its initial moments. 

The closer is the song “Good Things Go,” which feels especially melodramatic, and is another point on the album where the lyrics are pretty basic. The chorus is strong, and the instrumental is a bit more dreamy and cinematic by rock standards, with those twinkling guitars peppered throughout the song. But it does little to tie up the themes and emotions of the album like a classic closer song such as “Numb” does, it just leaves the listener with a feeling of nondescript tragedy. 

In summation, From Zero is fine. It does end up being the band’s best album in a decade though, and if it accomplished anything it's proving that Emily Armstrong is a more than competent vocalist who does sound great with the band. But as stated prior, this album just feels like lost potential. Linkin Park could have used this opportunity to once again change the landscape of rock to come, but instead, they played it safe. 

In concept, this may seem like a big ask for a band who is in their third decade of writing and performing, but they’ve done it before, and clearly have aspirations for commercial dominance once again. And in theory, an album that sounds like Hybrid Theory or Meteorais not a bad place for the band to return to, but the production and writing would have to have been better for this album to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their classics. But maybe going forward, the band can iron out the kinks whenever the next album drops. Hopefully, it will not take another seven years.