From Zero by Linkin Park Review

Linkin Park has long been my favorite band in history. The singer Chester Bennington is my choice for the greatest rock singer in history. A powerful, emotional voice that was passionate and devoted to all of the music he made. A man who will be deeply missed.

Linkin Park then on a hiatus, rightfully so. They announced they'd be coming back with the addition of a new singer in the incredibly talented Emily Armstrong. Her first few appearances and songs released with them were incredible, showing a true love for Linkin Park history and making it her own while staying true to their varieties of styles. She is absolutely incredible in her role, but how does this full album hold up?

Track 1: From Zero (Intro)

I am personally a huge fan of instrumental intros to albums, and this one is great. A lovely, beautiful sounding choir harmonising in a beautiful way before we get some studio audio about Emily asking what the album means. I love stuff like that too, where you can hear fun banter or personality in between recording music. And it leads perfectly into the first track of the album.

Track 2: The Emptiness Machine

The first single that was released by Linkin Park in 7 years. Introducing the world to the new singer that would be carrying them into a new era. A new generation of fans with a sound that combined new elements with their history. A song that starts off with the familiar voice of Mike Shinoda, a mainstay of the group and geniunly one of my favorite producers and singers in the entire world. A great way to start off the return of Linkin Park. A very exciting electronic sound with some nice filtered drums and distant keys with Shinoda's amazing voice. It builds slowly into a toned down, distant first melody that sounds incredible with his vocals over the lovely produced keys. It then goes into a good, rock beat with great guitars and some real drums that sound incredible. Emily comes in to show off her vocals, which sound so unique and great. A smoothness to them that feels polished without much effort, which then goes into her showing off her grit and growl in a great way. Something that shows that she can hang with Linkin Park's incredibly stacked discography. A great song to set us off to the races of something that feels like a special, generational album. Something special for people listening for the first time, or have been listening since the original band arrived.

Track 3: Cut The Bridge

This song is one that I am not huge on. The production on it is something that feels lacking to me. The drums are punchy and hard hitting, but sound dry. The guitar tones are good and have a great melody, but sound somewhat basic. The vocals come in by Mike Shinoda and sound far back in the mix. The music almost blocking him out. Emily's pre-chorus sounds great with her lovely vocals, but the chorus itself is not too special or memorable. The way that I described this song when I first listened to it, and would continue to say about it, is that this song sounds like a rough draft. A song that they were meant to come back and refine but didn't have time to. It sounded incomplete and rather empty compared to their other music being so full and loud. A variety of sounds and elements coming together in a great way that this song lacks. Just one that I honestly think could've been cut from the album without any issue or hard feelings.

Track 4: Heavy Is The Crown

A song that was made in partnership with the League of Legends Championship as well as the incredible series Arcane on Netflix, this song is incredible. It reminds me very heavily of some of Linkin Park's best songs in their history such as In The End or Breaking The Habit or Bleet It Out. A modern approach to something that they have excelled in for decades and so welcome. Some great strings, amazing guitar tones, very energetic drums, and some awesome rap verses from Shinoda. Emily truly shows off her skill with some amazing singer and an AWESOME amount of screaming in the chorus and breakdown. An awesome vocal range with some incredible grittiness that really helps push this song above and beyond. It sounds so great and special, which I know I have said a lot and will continue to say with this album because it is true. A awesome combination of so many different elements and things coming together.

Track 5: Over Each Other

We get a song that is a bit more laid back and truly gets to show Emily singing her heart out. An awesome mix and instrumental that sounds so awesome and cinematic with some amazing drums and percussion, great fx, and the vocals coming in to add to the awesomeness. The drums have a great sound to them in after the first chorus while her vocals really continue to be the star of the show. Really a beautiful timbre and tone that can not be matched by anybody that I can think of in music today. A great showcase for her to really flex why she was the perfect choice to take on this mantle and fit into the roll perfectly. Also a really fun and short audio clip at the end that leads PERFECTLY into the next song, so make sure you listen all the way through in order.

Track 6: Casualty

One of my favorite songs of the entire album. This song is something that could have come straight from Hybrid Theory. Sounding like Crawling or Papercut. The hardest songs of their discography and really shows off Emily's ability to scream. A super awesome, dark and dirty, metal-lite song that is just incredible. Even Shinoda speaking over the super distorted guitars and drums sound awesome. A whole lot of just fun little guitar tones and fx that appear here and there to make the song feel like a constantly evolving beast. Something that is just a hard rocking powerhouse of a song with such a great respect to what Linkin Park started off as. Amazing, powerful screams combined with music that sounds just as intense and dark.

Track 7: Overflow

A very ethereal and heavenly opening that sounds so incredible and beautiful. Very subtly building up into a electronic heavy, awesome sounding song. Some incredible music and production that takes center stage in a great way while the vocals are still able to show off and shine. A huge fan of this different direction of an epic, cinematic sounding song. Something that could easily fit into a action movie montage or epic scene that would be intense. Seriously a great, unique song to include on this album. Sounds so different than anything else and just shows the variety of their styles and sounds will continue in the best ways possible. And then we get another great little audio thing at the end to take us straight into the next song, which is a thing that I feel doesn't get used enough these days.

Track 8: Two Faced

Similiar to Casualty, this song harkens back to the first songs of Linkin Park. Another song that would've fit perfectly in on Hybrid Theory with some amazing music and Shinoda's awesome rapping. Emily shows off a great chorus and the energy is rather slower and laid back, with the style feeling like it is dragging slightly but sort of in a great way. Something that feels intense without needing to be overly fast or chaotic. A perfect balance if you ask me. And then we get the screaming just after the 2 minute mark in a super awesome breakdown that fits the song incredibly perfectly. I also am not somebody who watches a lot of music videos, but the video for this song is so much fun. A great showcase of their personality and chemistry together.

Track 9: Stained

More of the epic, cinematic music that sounds incredibly full and well produced. An awesome song that is much more softer with still a lot of great rock elements and sounds. Emily carries this song into something awesome. The intro with the super distorted synth is awesome, building with haunting vocal fx and some building synths into massive drums and Shinoda's awesome voice mixing in with some great glitchy sounds. Sounds so incredible and epic in a way that combines every element in the greatest way possible. With a pretty awesome message told through beautiful lyrics as well. An awesome chorus that is emotional and perfect in every possible way.

Track 10: IGYEIH

A super punk sounding song. A great intro that hits into a crazy and awesome chorus at the front with pounding guitars and incredibly full, loud drums. A more laid back instrumental once the verse comes in, but still sounds so intense and energetic. An awesome chorus that fits in rather perfectly between the intense and heavy screaming versus the much more relaxed, laid back singing. A great song to show off some variety even within itself and not just the album. A great song that is placed perfectly towards the end of the album. This song really was what made me realize and notice how perfectly crafted the order of the songs are on this album. Something so carefully planned out, making each song fit perfectly into a larger story of coming back and starting over with a new band and line up. An incredible song that shows me just how great this entire album is.

Track 11: Good Things Go

A huge fan of this. Perhaps the most laid back and relaxed song of the entire album. Such powerful singing that is incredibly full of emotion from both singers. I am a massive fan of this song, and it is placed absolutely perfectly as the final song of the return album. Impeccable performance and so much powerful emotion. An awesome song that I would listen to on it's own over and over and over again because it's SO good. I would say that this sounds the most unique and new, with no other song in the history of Linkin Park sounding quite like this. The guitars are heavy but still relaxed, adding rather than consuming. The drums are massive and epic, but also back in the distance to just add this element of cinematic atmosphere and completion. Everything was so carefully put together to make the absolute best ending to an album that was possible. And even at the end, we get to hear the lovely vocals that lead directly back into the intro. Looping this album into a perfect and complete cycle, which is something that I appreciate so much on albums. It is a story that seems to never end, as it repeats as long as you want it to.

From Zero was an album that NEEDED to be great. The tragic passing of Chester left many people heartbroken and almost made it seem like the band would be done forever. The announcement of a new singer and coming back for new music was one met with pessimism and optimism from fans. I was excited, if a bit hesitant. Was it going to match up to their greatest hits from years before? I didn't know. The announcement of Emily Armstrong was met with some mixed feelings from what I saw. People didn't think Chester should be replaced, while others were willing to give her a chance. The first single The Emptiness Machine was released, and once again I saw nothing but mixed opinions and feelings. A song that sounded so unique yet playing on the history the band had built for itself before. A great look at what to expect from the future. And then we get the release of Heavy Is The Crown, the perfect next release to be made. Of course it was released this early due to the partnership as well, but it really showed that the band would continue to thrive and do everything they could style wise. The album comes out and I see praise and hatred. But for me personally? This might be Linkin Park's best album since Meteora, which is my personal favorite. Hybrid Theory is an all time classic, generational album that could never be matched by ANYBODY. And the fact that it was the band's debut is insane. Meteora early on already began to show the willingness to change and try new things. Electronic sounds and more poppy stuff coming in to make something special. Minutes to Midnight is a great album that really leans more into the normal rock rather than the metal and electronic stuff, which makes it a somewhat forgettable outing to me personally. A Thousand Suns, Living Things, and The Hunting Party are all good albums. Nothing overly special to me with some great songs, but overall just fine collections of music. One More Light had Linkin Park going full pop music, and I loved it. It had some of my favorite songs of theirs to date like Invisible, Heavy, and One More Light.

From Zero had to try and at the very least match any and all of these albums, and I think it surpassed most of them.

Say what you want about the new singer coming in. I do not see Emily as "replacing" Chester. He is irreplaceable. This is simply a new chapter of a new story. And I am beyond excited to see what they do next.

Overall Rating: 9/10