By Joseph Hammann, Staff Writer

The return of Linkin Park has been one of skepticism and controversy due to their new singer’s past. Emily Armstrong was associated with Scientology in the past, and she also had a role in the court case of Danny Materson, making her controversial among Linkin Park fans. 

This new album, titled “From Zero,” was released in the middle of November. It was set out to be the debut of a new era of Linkin Park with the hopes of capturing the charm, energy and adrenaline that made the band unique in the music world. The name has a double meaning: one is a reference to the term “Xero,” the original name for the band, and the other references an expression used to describe the new chapter with Armstrong and new drummer Brittain starting from zero album appearances and making their debut in the band.

The album is a very interesting way to kickstart the new rendition of Linkin Park with Armstrong and Brittain joining the returning talents of Mike Shinoba, Dave Farrell, Brad Delson and Joe Hahn.

Is it the best thing that the band has ever put out? That’s debatable, but it’s still a great, adrenaline-pumping album. This album doesn’t feel like past Linkin Park albums due to the way Bennington organized, but the music has a lot of charm and charisma that makes it recognizable as a Linkin Park album. 

When it comes to the instrumentation of the album, it still keeps the same style of nu metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, rap rock, pop rock and electronic rock that listeners expect out of Linkin Park. From the way I see it, this new Linkin Park album brings new ideas with high energy bass and guitar riffs alongside the bashing drumlines.

“Heavy Is The Crown” and “Two Faced” were two songs who’s instrumentals stuck out to me the most. With “Heavy Is The Crown,” the strong and powerful instrumental work gives the feeling of a battleground of different sides fighting for a prize crown. 

In “Two Faced,” the instrumentation is the one that, in my opinion, most screams Linkin Park’s style, mostly in the opening that shares similar instruments and styles of notes to some of their most popular songs like “Numb” and “Crawling,” as well as in the backup instrumentals from Shinoba and Armstrong that help to enhance the energy even more.

The main attraction with the songs in “From Zero” is the vocals provided by Shinoba and Armstrong. What I found rather interesting was how, compared to in some of their older albums, Shinoba’s rap-style lyric work is much slower. Despite this, Shinoba still keeps the iconic style of his voice without missing a beat. This is mostly prevalent in some of the songs that put more of an emphasis on Shinoba’s vocals, like “Cut The Bridge” and “Good Things Go.”

The introduction of Emily Armstrong as the new higher vocal range singer adds an interesting flare that both shares many similarities to the late Bennington while also adding something new to the vocal style. Whether it’s a smoother feminine voice or a harsh growl, her vocal style seems to help steer the ship for Linkin Park. Songs like “The Emptiness Machine,” “Over Each Other” and “IGYEIH” help build up that harsh tension that leads to the louder sound that she nails. 

Conversely, songs like “Heavy Is The Crown,” “Casualty” and “Two Faced” go right into the harsher growls that bring the power, tension and anger addressed in the song’s topics, making the songs stronger. Of all of the songs, “Two Faced” is the one that shows how much Armstrong and Shinoba’s vocal styles compare and contrast, and how they can work as strongly together as they do separately.

What I recommend “From Zero?” It really depends on how much someone likes the lineup changes Linkin Park has made. If you are able to look past the controversies, this is an album that may be for you. If you want to get into a very drastically-changing rock and metal-style album, it is worth giving it a listen.