Like a “stray cat” who “just kept showing up” is how Emily Armstrong describes the gradual way she joined Linkin Park, seven years after the death of founding co-frontman Chester Bennington. On From Zero, her first album with the band, she growls and snarls more like a lion than a backyard moggy.
The 38-year-old Dead Sara singer joins Mike Shinoda at the mic one minute into lead single “The Emptiness Machine” and a minute later they’re both taking turns bawling: “I only wanted to be part of something!” It’s a line that’s guaranteed to get fan fists pumping the air when the world’s most successful nu-metal band embark on a massive global tour next year.