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“From Zero?
“Yes”
“Like…from nothing?”
The album that marks the long-awaited yet unexpected return of Linkin Park opens with this intro, wrapped in a chorus of harmonious voices. “From Zero” to start over and to remember, with due assonance, where it all began, namely from the “Xero”, the first formation of Mike Shinoda and Mark Wakefield.
Almost eight years have passed since the death of Chester Bennington, and amid the deafening silence of the Agoura Hills band members and the release of a handful of old b-sides as new material, there was a clear sense that the story of Linkin Park had reached its end.
Nothing could be more wrong. Mike Shinoda, on the occasion of presenting the new lineup, confessed he never abandoned the idea of continuing.
2024 was the year of rebirth and the arrival of Emily Armstrong, the voice of “Dead Sara”, a band unknown to most. With her, drummer (multi-instrumentalist and producer) Colin Brittain, who filled the gap left by Rob Bourdon, decided not to take part in the new course.
The rest of the lineup remained the same as at the beginning, with Brad Delson absent from the stage (replaced by session musician Alex Feder) but actively involved in studio and all the band’s activities.
Things were made clear from the start: no one will ever replace Chester Bennington. Those who took his place did so cautiously, aware of making their way in a dense fabric of distrust.
It should also be said that the gamble was objectively won: Emily Armstrong is a charismatic singer with remarkable vocal ability. She doesn’t possess Bennington's power in scream and growl (for obvious reasons) but does not fall short in the coherent comparison, winning on points when it comes to melody, where the former frontman didn’t completely excel.
But let's get to the album. “From Zero” is everything long-time fans hoped to hear and a pleasant reality for those who never approached the music of the old course.
It’s a very cautious but well-done work. The first single “The Emptiness Machine”, with its catchy melody that sticks in your head, provided the coordinates from the start, winning over everyone more or less. Shinoda's polished rapping, perfectly matched with Armstrong's roaring voice and accompanied by Brad Delson’s larky riffs, immediately took us back to the times of Meteora.
“Cut the Bridge”, which follows, makes us understand that recovering the beauty of the past is a good and right thing. Mr. Han, with his cymbals, introduces Brittain’s agitated snare drum and in a flash, the mind goes back to the refrains of “Bleed It Out”, year 2007, from “Minutes To Midnight”.
The same happens with “Heavy Is The Crown”, one of the most powerful tracks on the tracklist, where Emily unleashes a frantic scream, through which she tells us how heavy the legacy that awaits her is and how much responsibility she has. There are the riffs and electronics from the period of maximum splendor, and that pinch of nostalgic effect makes everything truly remarkable.
The peak of aggression arrives with “Casualty”, which doesn’t even give us time to warm up before exploding. Mike, on this occasion, also offers an aggressive and entirely new style. In the whispered spoken interludes, Emily totally recalls Jonathan Davis of Korn, while distant scratches blend, anticipating devilish vocals à la Hatebreed.
After so much anger, melody cannot be missing. “Over Each Other” gives the new voice a chance to completely shine. The frontwoman’s timbre is very reminiscent of Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, even in the scream. Not surprisingly, Hale was among the candidates for the new course (her unplugged version of “Crawling”, cleverly circulated on the web, misled many). The singing talks about the end of a couple's relationship, ruined by the inability to confront each other clearly, too accustomed to “talking over each other.”
The lyrics are very beautiful in many passages:
“This is the letter that I didn’t write,
Lookin’ for color in the black and white
Skyscrapers we created on shaky ground
And I’m tryna find my patience”
There is also due space for Joe Hahn's flair and his synthesizers with “Overflow”. Electronic music, alluring voice, and rhymes come together in a rhythmic and very pleasant blend, recalling the order of what was done with “A Thousand Suns” in the past.
“Two Faced” and “IGYEIH” (I’ll Give You Everything I Have) excite and stir, bringing back the power of “The Hunting Party” and the classic and evergreen solutions of the immortal “Hybrid Theory”. A completely new dualism between the voices is particularly evident; there is great harmony and Mike Shinoda is called upon much more often than in the past. It is in episodes like this that Emily Armstrong completely unleashes herself. She becomes a bursting river, sparing no moments of tight hardcore, while singing about themes faithful to the past like discomfort, anguish, mental health, building a connection with those who, before her, vented all their frustrations in songwriting for therapeutic purposes.
The aforementioned harmony is as evident in powerful moments as in those where harmony reigns. Contributing to the cause is “Stained”, perfect for live performance and undoubtedly radio-friendly, which sticks in your head with its synthetic simplicity.
But it is with “Good Things Go”, aptly chosen as the closing song, between guitar arpeggios and emotionally high-charged words, that the message is truly conveyed. Emily cradles the co-founder's melancholic reflections on his recent past:
“Feels like it’s rained in my heart for a hundred days.
Stare in the mirror and I look for another face
And I get so tired of putting out fires and making up lies
Checking my eyes for some kinda light…”
There has been much discussion on whether it was appropriate to maintain the old band name for the new project. Some have expressed their disappointment, some did so because of the presence of a woman behind the microphone. Some have made accusations of hypothetical desecrations of Chester Bennington’s memory (his firstborn son, among others).
I find that all choices were made consistently and thoughtfully, starting from the assumption that in the hearts of followers and the objective reading of reality, Chester Bennington will never be replaced by anyone. Choosing a female figure shields from a good part of the criticisms and brings charm and fresh air.
A new name would have nullified any idea of continuity, inappropriately archived a long history of successes, and brought every future stylistic choice back to an old book of memories. “Chester would have surely loved Emily and approved of our choices with enthusiasm. He hated hate and severe criticism.” Thus, Mike Shinoda filed every criticism with a smile.
On May 16, 2025, exactly six months after the release of the standard version of the album, the Deluxe Edition was released, characterized by three unreleased tracks and five live tracks, recorded during the “From Zero World Tour”.
This left many fans puzzled, as it is rather rare and decidedly inappropriate to release an extended version after such a limited time span. Besides evidently smelling of a purely commercial move, it gives an idea of how hasty Warner’s operation was, so tight with recording times that they had to divide the publication of all planned tracks into two stages. “Up From The Bottom”, which leads the trio of novelties, is a kind of melodic and narrative sequel to “The Emptiness Machine”. Between rapping and singing sweetened by the synthesizer, the piece transmits electricity and power to the tracklist, following the initially reflective closing “The Good Things Go”.
“Unshatter” continues along the same line but with a more syncopated and aggressive rhythm, leading to a scream-laden bridge, while “Let You Fade” rises in level but gravitates in a pop-rock dimension, with catchier choruses. In this last episode, Shinoda moves between singing and rapping, blending his voice with Armstrong’s.
“From Zero” must be judged free of biases, born from a past that no longer exists but can survive in the future with the new cycle. It’s a complete, mature, and very well-done work, with the complicity of the nostalgic effect, which, when properly dosed, makes everything very fascinating. Enlisting Emily Armstrong was the right choice, and we are sure Chester Bennington would be proud, as his old traveling companions suppose in the first place. After all, who can say, he might have been the silent instigator.
May this album be the beginning of a new cycle, which worthily revives the enthusiasm lost with the last “One More Light” and eases the melancholy brought by the disappearance of one of the most charismatic frontmen of the last thirty years, keeping his memory always alive.
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