Why the new beginning has a bad aftertaste

It's a comeback that had been announced in recent days, but was conceived quite differently: the nu-metal band Linkin Park is back with a new album after around seven years. On Instagram, the band published a ticker – similar to Oasis before their comeback on August 27th – letting the time run down and building up suspense.

And then on Thursday the bombshell was dropped: instead of the late frontman Chester Bennington, who was the face of the band for 18 years, a woman will be in the spotlight: Emily Armstrong, previously known as the frontwoman of the band Dead Sara. The first video from a live performance in Los Angeles shows her performing a new song by the band, “The Emptiness Machine.”

Armstrong was born in Los Angeles in 1986 and dropped out of school at the age of 15 to become a rock musician. She once described Nirvana as her role model. Since 2005 she has been a member of the band Dead Sara, which has released three albums. Armstrong is not the only new face; Colin Brittain will replace Rob Bourdon as drummer.

After Chester Bennington's death: Discussion about the continued existence of Linkin Park

After Bennington's death, there had been repeated discussions about the band's future, after singer and guitarist Mike Shinoda had repeatedly stated that the band had not disbanded after the tragic event. Several singles recorded before Bennington's death were released, but otherwise there was no major news.

In July 2017, frontman Chester Bennington took his own life on the birthday of his best friend Chris Cornell, who had also committed suicide a few months earlier. As a singer, Bennington shaped Linkin Park's music and was a major factor in the band's international success. The then 41-year-old, who had been abused as a child, repeatedly addressed his depression and addiction.

Several bands have replaced their lead singers

Armstrong is probably not meant to fill the gap left by Bennington. That wouldn't have been possible anyway. For too many fans, Chester Bennington is omnipresent; his voice was too unique. So it's no surprise that Linkin Park tried it with a woman: With any male singer, the comparisons would have been there immediately. The new guy doesn't sound like our Chester. With a woman, however, it's clear that the band is continuing with the old name and the well-known songs, but is starting a new chapter. The first songs released from a small concert also show that Armstrong didn't even try to copy Bennington. She found her own style that complements the sound of Linkin Park wonderfully. Just as Mike Shinoda puts it in a statement: “In terms of sound and feeling, it's about the past, present and future – our typical sound, but new and full of life.”

Linkin Park is not the first band to change lead singers. When Peter Gabriel left Genesis, the young Phil Collins sang his way into the limelight and is now a symbol of Genesis. An attempt to replace Collins with Ray Wilson after his rise to fame in 1996 failed: the new album was a failure in the USA and the tour was canceled due to low demand.

AC/DC's successor was also successful: lead singer Bon Scott can be heard on the evergreen “Highway to Hell”. Shortly after the album of the same name was released in 1980, star Scott died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 33. Brian Johnson took his place as frontman and became the voice of the band. It was different with Queen. After Freddie Mercury's death from AIDS in 1991, they also brought new singers on board, but no longer performed under Queen, but under Queen + Paul Rodgers and later Queen + Adam Lambert. The band was unable to build on the great successes with Mercury.

Emily Armstrong: The singer of Linkin Park is under criticism because of private connections

Now Linkin Park and a woman as the successor to a man. Can that work out? The criticism is fierce. Some complain that this is no longer their Linkin Park, others complain that a woman could not represent the band, and still others are annoyed by the new interpretation of the old songs. But above all, the selection is met with displeasure. Emily Armstrong is said to be a member of the Scientology sect, wrote journalist Tony Ortega, who does a lot of research on Scientology, back in 2020. She is also said to have supported Danny Masterson, actor from “That '70s Show” and also a Scientologist, when he was on trial and was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison for the rape of two women. Ortega reported that she was present at the trial.

It is unknown to what extent this was a friendship, but Armstrong still follows Masterson on Instagram. Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, one of Masterson's victims, is said to have shared a message in her Instagram stories that she once wrote to Dead Sara. In it, she accuses Armstrong of having set gangs of thugs on a witness who were stopped by court security staff, and writes that Armstrong was born into Scientology. Such a story is no longer available on Instagram. The band has not yet commented on the criticism.

The discussions about Armstrong, however, do not seem to deter many Linkin Park fans. They are celebrating the comeback, expressing anticipation for the album “From Zero”, which is due to be released on November 15th, and can hardly wait for the announced tour. It remains to be seen whether there will be a similar run on tickets as with Oasis, who will be performing with the original line-up again after 15 years of absence and whose tickets sold out within minutes. Although the tour begins next week, advance sales have not yet started. Advance sales for the only German concert on September 22nd in Hamburg begin on Thursday, September 12th, at 10 a.m.

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