Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Few thought that Linkin Park would rise again, the tragic death of iconic singer Chester Bennington in July 2017 seemingly putting a full stop on their career.
Here we are though, seven years later with some new faces in the band, a thrilling new single announcing their return and a handful of acclaimed shows that show without doubt that the flame still burns brightly.
Whilst missing their fallen friend every day, it was decided that the band still had a lot more to say and to honour the thing that Bennington helped build the relaunch was done with the same heart that they’d always had. No teasing, no hints in the media, this was presented as a complete package done with passion, the outfit standing on the knowledge that they had something special here.
Probably the most anticipated album of the year, ‘From Zero’ is a reset and one that bristles with class and purpose. Crucially, it sounds like a Linkin Park album, the tendrils of work like ‘Meteora’ woven into its DNA. This is very much a continuation and next chapter of their story and over its eleven tracks we see that the elements of dynamic performances and great writing are just as strong as they’ve always been.
It’s a brave move to have brought in a new singer to replace someone as universally loved and respected as Bennington but the choice of Emily Armstrong was a masterstroke. Never trying to be a copy of her predecessor, something male singer would have been accused of instantly, she has the same grit and heart but her delivery has a different edge.
With Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn also joined by new drummer Colin Britain along with Armstrong, the blend of original members and fresh blood has seen the band rise phoenix-like from the flames. With ‘The Emptiness Machine’, ‘Heavy is the Crown’, ‘Over Each Other’ and now ‘Two Faced’ having been released as singles, the boldness of the band and faith in the new material is evident and well placed.
Throughout, melody and hooks rule, the band showing that they can do crunching numbers like ‘Cut the Bridge’ and ‘Two Faced’ that manage to balance the punishing rhythms with something that will stick in your head for days. There’s a deep groove here too as the looping ‘Stained’ and dreaming spaciness of ‘Overflow’ gets feet shuffling and heads nodding, the pop perfection of ‘Over Each Other’ a beautiful thing.
Throughout, every member of the band brings their A game and this is very much a unit but inevitably a lot of scrutiny will be focused on Armstrong. Happily, she smashes every song, her tone perfectly switching between sweet and feral, most impressively on the defiant and venomous ‘Casualty’. Lyrically there’s some interesting scope too, from the dark “sometimes bad things take the place where good things go” in ‘Good Things Go’ to the declaration of “the clocks keep ticking, the rules are written” of ‘IGYEIH’.
Overall, there can be no complaints about what’s presented here and only those who feel that the band should have put a full stop to things in 2017 will snipe.
From Zero | The New Album | Available Now Order Now: https://lprk.co/fromzero
This is a rebirth, born of pain at the loss of their brother but continuing and filled with his spirit, the band as vital as they ever were. It’s great to have them back and ‘From Zero’ is not just a flawless return but one of the year’s finest albums.
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