Linkin Park - From Zero Album Review

From Zero is the first album by Linkin Park in 7 years since Chester Bennington's passing in 2017. During this time, the band members have had a lot of time to reflect on their memories over the years and we have gotten previously unreleased demos from both Hybrid Theory and Meteora during each album's 20th anniversary celebration. These songs stand the test of time and seem almost as if they were made just recently and not over 20 years ago, which shows how ahead of their time they really were.

I'm the biggest fan I know of Linkin Park, so their return to music was quite a big deal for me personally. I always thought it would be pretty much impossible for any other vocalist to replace Chester as he had such a unique musical singing style that, to this day, is still my favorite voice in music. On Linkin Park's YouTube channel, there was a countdown to the date September 5th of this year, and it was a scheduled livestream that no one really knew for sure what it was going to be. When that day finally came, Linkin Park took the stage in Los Angeles, California, to perform their first live show in 7 years to reveal that they were not only back but they had a new vocalist by the name of Emily Armstrong, who is the vocalist of the band Dead Sara.

This news came as a shock to many people as not a lot of people knew who she was beforehand, and, of course, this announcement wasn't going to go over well with everyone as many did not like her voice, and some thought no one could ever replace Chester ever, period. These people didn't really even give her a chance yet to really show off her singing skills as they only just played one new song, and the rest were previous songs that had only ever been sung by Chester until now so it took a lot to get used to and adapt to the change.

Now finally getting to the point of this article, reviewing the new album, starting with the first song that was released initially as the first single being, "The Emptiness Machine." This song, I feel, was the perfect way to introduce us to Emily's vocal sound with Linkin Park as this song starts with Mike Shinoda singing in the first verse, and then we here hear Emily with a wide range of vocals from more standard singing to then near the end having more screaming sound to it. This really makes this track stand out from their previous discography up to this point, as brings a new, unique

sound to the band.

The second song, "Cut The Bridge," is one of my new favorites to listen to as it has a good amount of Mike's classic rapping sound that defines Linkin Park for me and a really catchy chorus with Emily that really completes the sound to be a certified classic. The third song on the album was the second single to be released, "Heavy Is The Crown." It premiered at the League of Legends: Worlds event this year and has been called "Given Up 2.0" by some because of the 16.5-second scream by Emily near the end of the song that echoes Chester's 17-second scream from "Given Up," which everybody was geeking out about on this song including myself. I really like this song as it also features Mike's distinct Meteora sound when he's rapping, which complements Emily's screaming really well.

"Over Each Other" is the first song on the album to be solely sung by Emily, and it feels more personal as a result. The song, which was the third single, discusses loss of a friend or a loved one and how you feel guilty thinking about all the things you did when they were still alive. "Casualty" is now one of my all-time favorite LP songs as it is only the second time Mike has ever had pure anger in his voice, the first time being a demo from Hybrid Theory called "Stick and Move." This song is pure anger from both singers and sounds absolutely amazing as a result, and one of my new go-tos for pure angry songs. "Overflow" is a nice, more calming song to perfectly soothe you after the fury of "Casualty," and it has a really satisfying beat and melody to it that is different from the songs that came before it, which I know I keep saying this, but it really makes a stand out on its own because of that. The eighth song and the fourth single to be released before the album, "Two Faced," is my favorite song on the album hands down. This song has been described as the "One Step Closer 2.0" of the album as it has the classic sounding Mike distinct rap sound once again followed by an insanely catchy chorus leading into the final breakdown of the song when Emily sings, "stop yelling at me" which reminds many of "One Step Closer's" "shut up when I'm talking to you" screaming part as it has a similar melody and equal amount of a rage sound to it. "Stained" is the most pop-sounding song on the album, which is honestly a nice change of pace and makes this album basically have a song for every genre of music Linkin Park has previously sounded like before, which satisfies all fans new and old. "IGYEIH," which stands for 'I Gave You Everything I Had,' is another certified banger that once again showcases the fury in Emily's voice on this album. It has a very heavy punk sound to it, which reminds me of when Billie Joe screams on some Green Day songs, which is definitely not something I expected to hear, but it pleasantly surprised me. Finally, the last song on the album, "Good Things Go," is a dramatic finisher to end the album on a high note. It really satisfies that ich for a very specific type of song that I really can't describe, but I really like this song; even though it's not super rock or metal sounding it's still another great Linkin Park song.

This album is a little something for all kinds of Linkin Park fans from any era, including the first two albums, Minutes to Midnight, and even The Hunting Party. Overall, I think this album is a really great new addition to Linkin Park's discography. I like it more than some previous albums, and it definitely has the potential to grow even more on me in the future.