In a recent conversation with Chile’s Futuro, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda opened up about the band’s evolution following the addition of vocalist Emily Armstrong in 2024—seven years after the tragic passing of Chester Bennington in 2017. Reflecting on the band’s trajectory, Shinoda said (via Blabbermouth), “It’s just a very exciting time. It’s kind of a rebirth of the band.”
He explained that Linkin Park did not immediately set out to relaunch the band. Instead, they gradually reconnected with creative intent. “We had kind of started getting back together a few years ago, and it was a very slow and organic build. When it started, we didn’t say, like, ‘We’re going to bring the band back.’ We didn’t say, ‘We’re going to go tour.’ We just kind of got together and wanted to see what it would be like to get together and write music and spend time together again.”
The process was uncertain, with Shinoda acknowledging, “We hoped we would end up here, but a lot of things had to go right in order for that to happen. And they did. So we’re very grateful for that, the opportunity, and thrilled with the new music and the tour and the way the fans have responded to it.”
The group officially stepped back into the spotlight in September 2024, revealing a new lineup featuring Armstrong and Colin Brittain — known for his work with G Flip, Illenium, and One Ok Rock—alongside Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, and Joe Hahn. That return also introduced their single “The Emptiness Machine” and the album From Zero, released in November 2024 through Warner. It marked Linkin Park’s first full-length project since 2017’s One More Light, the band’s final release before Bennington‘s passing.
Discussing the dynamic with Armstrong and Brittain, Shinoda was full of praise: “It’s been awesome. When they were coming into this era, this chapter, they were already so prepared, they were so ready for it. They just hadn’t done it.”
He noted Armstrong’s experience performing for over a decade with Dead Sara and Brittain‘s history with multiple bands before producing. Shinoda recalled a moment of surprise with Brittain: “I was just writing and producing stuff with him, and all of a sudden he got behind the drum kit and I was, like, ‘Oh my God. He’s an amazing drummer.’ ” The transition also came at a time when previous drummer Rob Bourdon stepped back. As Shinoda described it, “That was almost just like good luck for us that we knew a guy already that was so great.” He added, “Emily is a total phenomenon. For us to find a once-in-a-generation voice like Chester and then to find another one like Emily is crazy. It doesn’t make any sense.”
When asked how he recognized Armstrong as the right choice, Shinoda reflected on the intangible chemistry within the group: “Well, it’s not just the singing, ’cause there’s thousands and thousands of great singers out there.” He elaborated on the importance of collaborative connection: “There’s an intangible thing that happens when people get in a room and they make things together, and you just feel like the vibe is so effortless and strong and easy. It’s easy to hang out with each other.”
Conflicts never escalated, he said: “Even when you have differences of opinion on something that you’re making or something that you’re doing, it doesn’t turn into arguments. Nobody’s killing the energy, the vibe.” Shinoda concluded, “As we were starting to make music a couple of years ago, we just found ourselves wanting to do more with them because they were so fun to hang out with and we would always make such good stuff together.”
Despite the anticipation around From Zero, Shinoda emphasized that the band’s priorities were artistic, not commercial: “When we’re making things, we’re not thinking about hits. That’s not part of our process at all, really.”
He explained their creative ethos: “First and foremost, we wanna love what we’re doing, we wanna love playing it every night, we wanna feel like it artistically represents an important chapter for the band and that we’re proud of where it sits in our catalog.”
He acknowledged the promotional realities, saying: “There are, of course, moments when it’s, like, ‘Okay, well, the label wants to release a single,’ so you have to do marketing and you have to do promotion. And I totally enjoy doing that stuff.” Shinoda highlighted fan engagement stunts, such as the deceptive countdown timer on their website: “It went to 3, 2, 1, 0, and then it went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and they were, like, so mad. But they realized later, the album is called ‘From Zero’.”
The intention, he said, was to signal an open-ended new beginning: “The whole point was this is an actual marking of something that’s gonna start at that point and go on until whenever.”
Ultimately, the joy of performance remains central: “The process of doing these things, the creative process, making things and sharing them with people, that’s an everyday thing for us.” Shinoda keeps perspective, adding, “I don’t get too caught up in numbers and comparisons, unless it’s like just checking in to see, like, ‘Oh, do people like it? How are we doing with the fans in terms of maybe the show? Are fans excited about the show?’ And so far the tour has been so much fun and such an undertaking, and it’s a lot of joy every night, I think.”
