“From zero”: what Linkin Park sounds like without Chester Bennington
How Linkin Park sound without Chester Bennington? To resolve doubts and answer the question, “From scratch“, the album that marks the band’s return seven years after the last album and the tragic death of the frontman.
Upon first listening to “From Zero”, iThe group presents itself in a new formationfeaturing singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, and it seems play on the strengths of your pastas in an homage to every chapter of his career so far. The grip on the stomach is missing that Bennington managed to make people feel: but that’s okay, sensations must be renewedand in this case they move towards greater brightness. From the energy of the choruses to the moments of intensity, full of openings, the renewed group has created a work worthy of its name, capable of drawing from each of its own eras, while still sounding full of novelty. Linkin Park have something to say.
How can anyone be expected to somehow replace Chester Bennington? No matter what anyone says, Linkin Park have always been well aware of this. Despite what the most cynical may think, pointing them out for profit, every operation implemented by Mike Shinoda and co following the passing of their frontman in 2017 was made with the intention of paying homage to his legacy Chester Bennington’s ability to deeply investigate the anxieties of his own mind and bring out the stories of his own soul, with the uniqueness and particularity of his voice, sometimes drawn out like a scream and other times used with technicality, has not ended into oblivion.
Own. in memory of the late musicianfor years the “Numb” band has looked askance at the possibility of their own return to the stage and with new music. But if it’s true that it is possible to re-emerge from pain and the abyss and be reborn, this also applies to Linkin Park.
For their return Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix and Joe Hahn are rely on awareness, thus also playing a little cunning. It would have been an outrage to find a replacement, in the true sense of the word, for Chester Bennington. So much so that, when speculation about who the band’s new singer could be pointed to Deryck Whibley of Sum 41, due to bad announcement timing, the imminent confirmation of Linkin Park’s return now seemed to be moving away from reality.
For the “In the end” group the planets aligned a few years ago,
when the right voice caught the attention of Shinoda and co. Linkin Park, in the throes of uncertainty about its future, wasn’t wandering around looking for a replacement, but something clicked in the mind and heart of the band’s co-founder at some point. The band’s path has in fact crossed with that of Emily Armstrong, until recently known to a more underground audience for having co-founded Dead Sara. Linkin Park have that seen the light again thanks to a personality and a vocality that they couldn’t do anything else pay homage to the power of Benningtonwithout overshadowing herself and his legacy. “When I started hearing Emily’s voice on various material, in my brain, it was like for the first time my brain accepted it as a Linkin Park song,” Mike Shinoda said in an interview. Emily, ready to share the microphone with Shinoda, therefore became the singer of the new Linkin Park lineup, which also welcomed drummer Colin Brittain into the ranks. It could only be a voice with a timbre and range different from that of Chester Bennington, but still full of power, that brought the band back into activity.
The new lineup was revealed with an exclusive show last September at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, which was also streamed. The public then got to know the “new Linkin Park” better thanks to one series of live dates around the worldanticipation of a larger tour planned for next year.
Emily on stages does not lack intensity and energymanaging to surprise with the dynamism and frenzy of his attitude. The singer, co-founder of Dead Sara, takes Linkin Park into a more hardcore dimension and demonstrates the ability to bring out from the bowels both the torments and fears, as well as the light and hope, of both old and new songs.
Now comes the proof of the album: Here you are “From scratch” explained, song by song.
1. “From Zero (Intro)”
A choir of harmonious, celestial and dark voices pave the way for the intro of “From Zero”, which in just twenty seconds seems to reveal the entire intention of the album. With an abrupt change of scenery, live from the recording studio, Emily Armstrong’s voice enters. “From scratch? Like, from nothing?”: is the question that is asked, to which Shinoda replies: “Yes!”.
2. “The Emptiness Machine”
The beginning of Linkin Park’s new era coincides with “The Emptiness Machine”, the first single from the album, with which the band revealed its cards. From the first notes the song sounds like a modern classic, which takes us back to the times of “Meteora” over twenty years ago, but encapsulating the recurring theme of this new chapter: Linkin Park are still Linkin Park, but not quite like we remembered them. Speed in the verses and explosion in the choruses, with the drums opening with metallic efficiency and ardor, while the power arrives between the chords and the meaning of the lyrics: the single showcases the style and sound of the music of this renewed group, while the voices of Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda begin to play with each other, intertwining and leaving their own space. “I only wanted to be part of something”, they state together in the bridge, opening up to different interpretations. The song gets stuck in your head.
3. “Cut the Bridge”
Glitch inserts in an intermittent introduction, where the incisiveness of the drums creeps in and dictates the fast pace of the song throughout the song. Shinoda’s rapped vocals pave the way for Emily’s sharp dynamism, until the moment all sound fades away to leave the singer alone roaring: “Cut the bridge we’re on.” . You have to hold your breath. It feels like listening to what a Linkin Park fan would like to listen to, without being an exercise in style for Emily, but a successful coup.
4. “Heavy Is the Crown”
Published as the second preview of the album, and therefore already known to fans, “Heavy is the crown” is a song that contains many of the elements that made Linkin Park fans fall in love with it in the early 2000s. Mike Shinoda opens the track with rap parts that take you back to the years of “Hybrid theory”, where electronics insinuates itself between the textures of heavier new metal influences. This also includes the depth of the screams and sustained vocals that created the group’s trademark, here entrusted to Emily. The sound environment also highlights the ability of Colin Brittain, throwing his drums between pounding rhythms and electronic sounds.
5. “Over Each Other”
We continue with another song already published, which reveals other territories explored by Linkin Park in “From zero”. Featuring Emily’s voice alone, “Over each other” introduces a message that fits well into modernity, between subdued and suspended sounds. “But you won’t let me breathe / And I’m not ever right / All we are is talkin’ / Over each other” ‘one on top of the other”), declares the singer in a clean voice, marking the last words with roughness.
6. “Casualty”
“Let me out, set me free / I know all the secrets you keep”: “Casualty” is a punch to the stomach and heart. The song is a surprise and a treat for lovers of hardcore hardcore, in which Emily’s versatility is showcased. Bass and drums hit like machine guns, between frenetic changes of rhythm. The singer’s voice goes from strangled screams like Knocked Loose to sobs like Korn’s Jonathan Davis, while her bandmate’s vocals reveal a new perspective on Mike Shinoda.
7. “Overflow”
Synth and electronics build the melody that opens “Overflow”. The voices arrive as echoes, from afar, before the soundscape is shaped by imperfect glitches to make Shinoda’s parts come through. After half of the album, the seventh track seems like a song in itself and among the most interesting from a creative point of view. “I keep on filling it up / To overflow”: the voice of Emily is brilliant here, as the song builds on the guitar riff.
8. “Two Faced”
“Get right!”, “Get over it!”: it is Emily’s scream in growl that dictates the start of “Two faced”, before giving way to Mike’s rap.
The harshness of the riffs returns forcefully, intertwining with the scratches that scratch the song, between punk frenzy and electronic harmonies. The work on the double voices is remarkable, with the two singers designing the depth of the piece. “Your truth’s not rigid, your rules aren’t fair / The dark’s too vivid, the light’s not there” is), says Shinoda, to which Emily replies, “Two faces / Caught in the middle / Too late / Counting to zero.”
9. “Stained”
Tense sounds and electronic percussion open “Stained”, and on each drum machine hit Mike meditates: “Hand on my mouth, I shouldn’t have said it / Gave you a chance, already regret it” I should have said / I gave you a chance, I already regret it”). The weight of the production leans towards industrial influences, before opening up and softening in Emily Armstrong’s refrain: “You’re stained / You try to hide the mark but it won’t fade”. but it doesn’t fade away”). The ninth track is a crescendo, promising to be the next workhorse on the radio or at concerts.
10. “IGYEIH”
“I give you everything I have!” (“I’ll give you everything I have!”), repeats Emily’s cry. Out of anger and intensity he seems to chase the attitude of “Casualty”, but soon changes direction to underline how easily the chorus catches on: “I’m not the enemy / You make me out to be”, it’s easy to imagine it as the introduction to choral singalong moments at a concert.
11. “Good Things Go”
The melody reigns supreme in “Good things go”. Compared to the previous songs, between guitar arpeggios and drum machines, one might say that the last track closes “From zero” with sweetness and emotion. “Feels like it’s rained in my head for a hundred days” ( “It feels like it rained in my head for a hundred days”), declares Mike Shinoda, while the delicacy in Emily’s voice supports him here. Armstrong’s singing reaches the highest notes heard in “From zero”. of “Good things go”, the album finally illuminates the future of Linkin Park, so far uncertain, time will tell if it is enough to silence the cynics, in the meantime let’s enjoy a good work.
