"It’s good to see you again.” With those six, softly spoken words, shared in front of a couple of thousand elated people at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California on September 5, Mike Shinoda confirmed that 2024’s most unrelenting rumour was true. Seven years after they split following the death of talismanic frontman Chester Bennington, Linkin Park, the biggest, most storied, most influential rock band of the 21st century, were back.
Back with a single, The Emptiness Machine, and a forthcoming album, From Zero. Back with new live dates. And, most newsworthy of all, back with a brand new singer. The rumours had been building for months, beginning with a flurry of activity near the start of the year that included the unveiling of a previously unheard Linkin Park single (Friendly Fire, originally recorded during sessions for the band’s 2017 album, One More Light), and a random greatest hits release.
