From Zero is the eighth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park, released on November 15, 2024, through Warner Records and Machine Shop. It is Linkin Park's first studio album since One More Light (2017), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Linkin Park's entire career, and their first to feature new singer Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara on vocals, as well as the band's new drummer Colin Brittain. This also is the band's first album without vocalist Chester Bennington following his 2017 death as well as drummer Rob Bourdon due to his 2018 departure from the band. The album's title has a double meaning; it is a reference to both the band's original name, Xero, and the band's new chapter with Armstrong and Brittain.
Background
On July 20, 2017, Linkin Park entered an indefinite hiatus when longtime lead singer Chester Benningtondied by suicide. Mike Shinoda communicated to the public on several occasions in the ensuing years that he intended for the band to continue, stating in January 2018, "I have every intention on continuing with LP, and the guys feel the same. We have a lot of rebuilding to do, and questions to answer, so it'll take time."[1] In 2019, Shinoda, Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn resumed working on new music together, without any public announcement. They were later joined by Brad Delson, although founding drummer Rob Bourdon chose not to participate and later left the band. The band met Dead Sara vocalist Emily Armstrong in 2019, and began working on music with her shortly thereafter, along with various other musicians, including drummer Colin Brittain. On April 28, 2020, Farrell revealed the band was working on new music.[2] Over the next three years, the band released twentieth-anniversary reissues of their first two studio albums Hybrid Theory (2000) and Meteora (2003), with both containing previously unreleased material featuring Bennington's vocals. The band also released their first greatest-hits album, entitled Papercuts on April 12, 2024.
On March 30, 2024, in an interview with KCAL-FM, Orgy frontman Jay Gordon sparked rumors of a Linkin Park reunion claiming he had heard that the band had recruited a new female singer but refused to elaborate further, causing rampant speculation.[3][4] The following month, Billboard followed up on his comments and reported that WME was taking offers for a potential Linkin Park reunion tour and headlining festival dates in 2025. The proposed lineup featured Shinoda, Delson, Farrell, and an unnamed female vocalist in place of Bennington.[5] Later in August, the band launched a mysterious 100-hour countdown without any explanation. After the countdown reached zero, the band released a statement hinting at a major announcement, writing: "It's only a matter of time". An invite was sent to members of the band's fan club, Linkin Park Underground, revealing a five-hour event on September 5, 2024, in Los Angeles, California.[6][7]
On September 5, Linkin Park announced From Zero after a livestreamed performance of several songs, including the album's lead single, "The Emptiness Machine". Simultaneously, the band confirmed Armstrong as the band's new co-lead singer, with Brittain taking over drums in light of Bourdon's departure.[8][9] A six-date arena tour across four continents to support the album was also revealed.[8] The album's title, From Zero, has a double meaning. It refers to the band's original name of Xero and also references this new beginning for the band.[10][11] The band performed a new song, "Heavy Is the Crown", during their show at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, on September 22, 2024.[12] It was released as the album's second single on September 24 as the main theme for Riot Games' 2024 League of Legends World Championship, and a redone version was also included on the soundtrack for the second season of the television series Arcane for which Shinoda and Armstrong recorded new vocals.[13][14] The album's third single, "Over Each Other", was released with an accompanying music video on October 24, 2024.[15]
On November 12, the entire standard edition of the album was played at simultaneous listening party events taking place at independent record stores. The following day, the album's fourth single, "Two Faced", saw a surprise release along with an accompanying music video.[16][17]
Linkin Park performing live at the O2 Arena in London, England in September 2024.
Throughout the back end of 2024, the band toured in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Colombia and Brazil. The From Zero World Tour began at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California on September 11, 2024, six days after the live show at RED Studios, and is scheduled to conclude at the Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil, on November 16, 2024.[8][23] The initial 2024 tour became prominent for the band debuting their new singles "The Emptiness Machine", "Heavy Is the Crown", "Over Each Other" and album deep-cut "Casualty" for the first time.[24][25][26] The band also performed two songs from their sixth studio album The Hunting Party live for the first time, "Keys to the Kingdom" and "All for Nothing", the latter with Helmet frontman Page Hamilton onstage.[27][28]
On September 7, 2024, lead guitarist Brad Delson announced that he would no longer tour with the band, with Alex Feder assuming the role as Linkin Park's touring guitarist. Delson confirmed that he would continue to work with the band creatively, preferring behind-the-scenes work.[29]
On November 14, 2024, one day before the album's release, the band announced a huge worldwide 2025 stadium tour in promotion of the album. It is scheduled to begin on January 31, at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico and slated to culminate on November 15, 2025, in Porto Alegre, Brazil.[30][31] The tour will also be the first time the band performs at Wembley Stadium in London.[32][33] The tour will feature supporting acts from Queens of the Stone Age, Spiritbox, AFI, Pvris, Architects, Grandson, Jean Dawson and JPEGMafia on various select dates.[34][35] The band's vocalist Mike Shinoda later revealed that they initially planned to do a co-headlining tour with fellow American rock band My Chemical Romance, though these plans fell through when My Chemical Romance already had other touring commitments booked for the year which clashed with their respective dates.[36]
From Zero received generally positive reviews from critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from publications, the album has a weighted mean score of 73 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[38] Anne Erickson at Blabbermouth.net wrote, "There is no replacing Bennington and the sound that Linkin Park had when he was alive. From Zero's most successful parts are the songs that don't sound like classic Linkin Park," while adding that the album has a lot of those moments, and stating it "should bring new fans to the table while still appealing to longtime fans.[39]Clash was less positive by describing the album as "An opinion-splitting return with soaring highs and disappointing lows."[18] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated, "They were always unafraid to take sonic risks, and another sonic risk is exactly what their comeback constitutes – one that has handsomely paid off."[40] Helen Brown, writing for The Independent felt that there is "Nothing revolutionary about From Zero...but [it certainly is] a re-energised return to business for a band that has been sorely missed."[41] Luke Morton of Kerrang! wrote, "Sure, not every song is something to write home about, and not everyone is going to be on board with a new singer, but as a piece of work, it’s a clear reminder of why Linkin Park reached the heights they did and continue to influence multiple generations of artists."[42]
Jordan Blum of Metal Injection felt that "the record is extremely successful at recapturing the group's magic with just enough newness to keep it intriguing."[43] Merlin Alderslade writing for Metal Hammer called it "an earnest tribute to their own legacy."[20] Donovan Livesey of MusicOMH wrote, Compact and intense, the band’s first album since the death of Chester Bennington is a powerful tribute to their legacy.[44] Rishi Shah of NME called it one of "rock’s biggest comeback album in recent history [and] an intriguing mix of sensational, knockout stadium rock and some perplexingly tired songwriting.[22] James Hall of The Daily Telegraph called it "a solid and uncompromising piece of work."[45]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one in several territories, including Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
From Zero debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, being the band's first number one in the country since 2012's Living Things, selling 37,826 total units in its first week.[46][47] Of the total sales, the album sold 23,149 physical copies, 4,474 digital downloads and 10,203 streaming album-equivalent units.[48] In Australia the album debuted atop the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the band fourth studio album to achieve it and their first since A Thousand Suns (2010).[49]
In Germany the album also debuted at number one and set the record for the most streams by a band in an opening week with more than 23 million streams. The album's success in the region also made it eligible for Gold in the first week (over 75,000 units).[50]
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