Linkin Park returns with new singer after Chester Bennington death

Linkin Park is back.

The rock band, whose lead singer Chester Bennington died by suicide in 2017, has a new lineup and plans for a new album and tour.

On Thursday, the group announced that Emily Armstrong, of Dead Sara, will sing for them — she’ll share vocals with veteran singer Mike Shinoda — while Colin Brittain, a producer and songwriter who has worked with Papa Roach, has joined the band as a drummer. He replaces former drummer Rob Bourdon. However, members Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, and Phoenix, as well as Shinoda, are all returning.

“Rob had said to us at a point, I guess it was a few years ago now, that he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band,” Shinoda, who founded the band alongside Bourdon and Delson, explained to Billboard. “We understood that — it was already apparent. He was starting to just show up less, be in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too. … As a friend, that was sad, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best.”

While they’ve already released a new single, “The Emptiness Machine,” Linkin Park shared plans to release a full album on Nov. 15. Titled From Zero, it’s close to their original band name, Xero.

“This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking,” Shinoda said in a statement.

The ensemble plans to perform their new material on the From Zero World Tour, which is scheduled to stop in Los Angeles, New York, London, Seoul, and Hamburg, Germany, this month. They’ll be in Bogotá, Colombia, in November.

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Linkin Park last released an album of new material in 2017, with One More Light. Bennington died two months later. They have since stuck to rereleases and a greatest hits collection, with hits such as “In the End” and “What I’ve Done.”

Four months after Bennington’s death, his fellow rockers honored him with a tribute concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, before going on hiatus.

Along with other honors, the hitmakers have won two Grammys.

The website for the Recording Academy credits Bennington with having said, “We’d like to think that our music will always be bigger than any one of our individual personalities.”

Watch the video for Linkin Park’s new song, “The Emptiness Machine,” above.