Linkin Park Talks Upcoming Album ‘From Zero,’ Continuing the Band’s Legacy

About a month ago, Linkin Park made headlines with the introduction of many a new thing. 

First off, they have a new co-lead vocalist and drummer: Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain. Armstrong is the vocalist of Los Angeles-based rock band Dead Sara, while Brittain is a seasoned American songwriter-producer who has previously worked with Papa Roach and ONE OK ROCK.

They also announced a tour, kicking off at the Kia Forum in LA. Their highly-talked-about show marked their first full performance since the passing of Chester Bennington in July 2017. They also dropped a new single fittingly called “Heavy is the Crown,” off their upcoming album “From Zero.”

In an exclusive interview with Asian media outlets, Linkin Park — whose current lineup comprises Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, Joe Hahn, Armstrong, and Brittain — talked about continuing the band’s legacy, their brand-new record, and more.

How does it feel to join Linkin Park, and how do you handle the weight of both carrying on the band’s legacy and the fans' expectations?

Emily Armstrong: I think we’ve all known someone who’s had a very lucky moment in their life where their career has taken off in such a quick way. Instead of being the person watching someone else’s success, I’m that person now—like, how did this happen? I’m still figuring it out as well, but it’s a chance of a lifetime, and it’s so much fun. 

Every day has been an absolute blessing, and I do not take it for granted one bit. I’ve worked really hard. And to be in this position, it’s still an adjustment… The past year of working on the album, rehearsals, and stuff like that has been one of my favorite years of my life, and it just keeps getting better. I truly believe that it’s going to be even better next year.

Colin Brittain: It doesn’t feel entirely real, but I think what Emily said pretty much sums up how I feel about it. I’ve known these guys for such a long time. I grew up as the oldest of five, so I never had older brothers or sisters, but these guys have really brought me in, and sort of became my older brothers, especially in such a competitive industry.

We’ve both been doing this for 20 years in LA and other places, and it’s like a continuation of a career of sorts. It’s not like something we just randomly stepped into. We’ve each put a lot of time into our careers, and these guys have had such a long career as well.  Every day is filled with gratitude. It’s so exciting to wake up in a new place, and I’m just as excited to do a show as I am to write or produce songs with these guys.

While you were planning the comeback, what was going through your head? What were you most looking forward to?

Joe Hahn: A lot of things. I don’t know where to start. Our main focus was just making great music and enjoying it. We did a lot of experimenting, writing all kinds of music that wasn’t necessarily 'Linkin Park' stuff. Once Colin and Emily joined, things started fitting together. We were able to draw from both old and new things. The main part was to revisit the dynamics we know we can achieve, but in different ways. You’ll know what I’m talking about on November 15th when the album “From Zero” drops everywhere. 

What's the concept of this album? What can we expect from “From Zero”?

Mike Shinoda: What I like about the album is that it sounds like a Linkin Park album, even though it’s different. It doesn’t sound like one era of Linkin Park; it sounds like Linkin Park in general. There are elements that are some of my favorite things we’ve done but maybe haven’t done in a while. It’s a very energetic album. There are some big guitar-driven songs. There are some melodic songs. There’s a lot of variety. The first two singles, “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy is the Crown,” give you two really nice examples of some of the variety in the album.

Watch our full Roadshow Interview with Linkin Park below:

‍

‍Media interview courtesy of Warner Music Asia and Secret Signals

(Note: Minor edits have been made from the original transcript)

‍