Linkin Park is officially back. After teasing a big announcement over the past two weeks, the band finally revealed on Sept. 5 that it’s returning with a new album and concert tour this fall. To mark this new chapter of the group following the death of Chester Bennington in 2017, Linkin Park has recruited Emily Armstrong as its new co-lead vocalist opposite Mike Shinoda. If you’re wondering who is Emily Armstrong, here’s what you need to know about Linkin Park’s new female lead.
Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong Announced As Linkin Park’s New Co-Lead Vocalist
In a Sept. 5 interview with Billboard, Linkin Park revealed that it tried to move forward with Shinoda as its only vocalist. However, the band quickly realized that wouldn’t work after Shinoda tried to scream on a track. “[It was] kind of an awkward yell,” he admitted. Dave Farrell, Linkin Park’s bassist, tried to get Shinoda to push his voice more but it was to no avail. “I don’t think I’m capable of doing more than that,” Shinoda said.
Thankfully, the band found the powerhouse vocalist it was looking for in Emily Armstrong. The 38-year-old musician co-founded the Los Angeles-based rock band Dead Sara in 2002. Since then, she’s been the group’s lead vocalist and one of its two guitarists.
Armstrong told Billboard that Linkin Park was one of her inspirations growing up. “‘One Step Closer’ was the song for me, and I was just like, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s what I want to do. As a singer, I want to be able to scream,'” she said. “That album [Hybrid Theory] was everything — I’ve listened to it a trillion times. I would skate to it. I would mosh to it.”
After years of being a Linkin Park fan, Emily Armstrong met the group for the first time in 2019. At the time, they got together to experiment with a few ideas in the studio. However, as they spent more time with each other over the years, they began making music more seriously. Soon enough, the band found itself creating a new Linkin Park album with Armstrong as its new co-lead vocalist. The group also recruited music genius Colin Brittain (All Time Low, One Ok Rock) as its new drummer and co-producer.
The result of their hard work was From Zero. The album, which marks Linkin Park’s first new release since 2017’s One More Light, will be released on Friday, Nov. 15. The band teased its upcoming project by dropping the new single “The Emptiness Machine” on Sept. 5. Linkin Park performed the track for the first time during a live stream that day. It also announced it would celebrate its new chapter by embarking on a world tour this fall.
Although the trek will only consist of six arena shows, Linkin Park teased it will be “touring heavily” in 2025.
