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Seven years after the death of frontman Chester Bennington, Linkin Park is back with new music featuring a new co-lead singer, Emily Armstrong.
After the bestselling group announced on Sept. 5 that Armstrong of the band Dead Sara has joined Linkin Park to be a co-vocalist with band veteran Mike Shinoda, they kicked off their "From Zero World Tour" at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Sept. 11.
Linkin Park, who also announced an album in the works, performed over 25 songs from their decades-long career as a band, including their new single with Armstrong, "The Emptiness Machine."
During the show, Shinoda spoke about the band embracing a new chapter and not erasing their past and Bennington. The singer died by suicide at 41 in 2017 shortly after the group released its album "One More Light."
During their Sept. 11 show, Shinoda asked the crowd if this was their first Linkin Park concert, as people shouted.
"That's part of why we're out here because I know that some of you didn't get a chance to (see us live)," Shinoda said. "We are thrilled to be back out here."
Adding, "It is not about erasing the past. It is about starting this new chapter into the future and coming out here for each and every one of you."
He added that they love performing for their fans, they loved writing the new record and are excited for people to listen to it.
Linkin Park's forthcoming album titled "From Zero" will be released Nov. 15. It comes on the heels of their spring release of "Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023)" featuring the band's greatest hits.
Drummer Colin Brittain also joined the band, which includes original members Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Phoenix and Brad Delson. Brittain has been a songwriter and producer for G Flip, Illenium and One OK Rock.
"The more we worked with Emily and Colin, the more we enjoyed their world-class talents, their company, and the things we created," Shinoda said in the news release. "We feel really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we've made together. We're weaving together the sonic touchpoints we've been known for and still exploring new ones."
Armstrong made her debut onstage in a one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles on Sept. 5 featuring the new version of Linkin Park. They performed "The Emptiness Machine" as well as their hits "Somewhere I Belong," "Numb," "Faint," "Bleed It Out," "One Step Closer, "What I've Done" and "In the End."
"Ladies and gentlemen, that is Emily Armstrong, make some noise," Shinoda said to introduce Armstrong onstage after performing their new single.
"When I started to hear Emily's voice on things, it was like the first time that my brain would accept it as a Linkin Park song," Shinoda told Apple Music's Zane Lowe in a band interview posted Sept. 6. "And then all of a sudden we're here and it's very real, and it's really big."
Armstrong also spoke in the interview with Lowe about stepping in for Bennington.
"Obviously on the side of like the feelings and the emotions of it, I would love to do him proud," she said.
She opened up about singing Linkin Park hits that featured Bennington.
"It's never a thought where it's like I need to make this song my own," she said. "It's like, 'How do I make this song have the same impact, as much as possible, with my voice?'"
"There was a huge leap of faith that we had to say, 'I think she's the one,'" Shinoda said in the interview.
The remaining members of the group had been meeting up in recent years "without expectations" of trying to "restart the band," but while collaborating with other artists, they "found a special kinship with Armstrong and Brittain," according to the news release.
Ahead of playing the band's hit "Crawling" at the Los Angeles concert, Shinoda referenced Bennington.
"And in the role of Chester Bennington this afternoon is each of you," he told the crowd. "Are you ready to sing with us?"
The group scheduled six upcoming shows on its "From Zero World Tour," starting on Sept. 11 at Kia Forum in Los Angeles and also hitting venues in New York City, Germany, London, South Korea and Colombia.