Review
Review
Linkin Park at The O2 Arena, 24/09/24
The nu-metal legends bring their reconfigured line-up to the capital to celebrate their past, present, and future
Seven years after Chester Bennington’s tragic passing, the announcement of Emily Armstrong – of LA rockers Dead Sara – as Linkin Park’s new co-vocalist was met with a mix of scepticism and intrigue. With the news unveiled at a livestreamed show earlier this month, plenty of debates and controversy were stirred up among fans as many questioned if anyone could fill the immense void left by Bennington.
With just a handful of shows announced to showcase their new chapter, inside London’s O2 Arena the anticipation had reached a fever pitch. As a packed-out room stood eager to see what this new era of Linkin Park could look – and sound – like, a single white laser pierced through the darkness before the outfit charged into a two-hour set of non-stop hits.
There was no time for introductions, but if we’re being honest – no one needed them. The raw emotion and intensity took hold from the opening one-two gut-punch of ‘Somewhere I Belong’ and ‘Crawling’, and by the time an electrifying performance of Meteora fan-favourite ‘Lying From You’ had ignited the room, a grin was plastered across Shinoda’s face as he declared, “You guys sound so f*cking good!”
Rattling through genre-defining singles and a fair number of B-sides and deep cuts, there’s something to spark joy in every single person in the room. Early nu-metal anthems like ‘Points Of Authority’ and ‘Papercut’ sat comfortably alongside soaring alt-rock cuts ‘New Divide’ and ‘Burn It Down’; not only paying homage to their past but embracing their future. Comeback track ‘The Emptiness Machine’ got an especially raucous response – recently becoming the band’s highest ever charting song in the UK.
With any lingering doubts about Armstrong’s abilities swiftly dispelled, the vocalist nailed the iconic screams of “Shut up!” in ‘One Step Closer’ and the blistering chorus of ‘Faint’. Her chemistry with Shinoda was palpable, particularly during the haunting harmonies of ‘Lost’ and ‘Castle Of Glass’, and she commanded the crowd with an authority that demanded instant respect.
Accepted not as Bennington’s replacement, but as a part of the evolving legacy of Linkin Park, the crowd chant Armstrong’s name after a heart-wrenching rendition of ‘Waiting For The End’ – the line “The hardest part of ending is starting again” met with an almighty singalong. With a mutual respect between those onstage and those with eyes fixated on it, Shinoda lead delicate piano-led ballad ‘Leave Out All The Rest’ to an unspoken connection between everyone in the room.
With everybody onstage having their chance to shine, Shinoda swaggered through the defiant rapped verses of ‘Remember The Name’ – taken from the vocalist’s hip-hop side project Fort Minor – Armstrong delivered some nail-bitingly long guttural screams on freshly released single ‘Heavy Is The Crown’, whilst turntable king Joe Hahn broke out a gnarly mid-set solo with the newly recruited Colin Brittain on drums. A smile plastered on Shinoda’s face from the moment he set foot onstage to the moment he stepped off, the nu-metal legends brought the celebrations to a close with 2007 rap-rock party anthem ‘Bleed It Out’ and the admission: “I wish this show could never end”.
Words uttered by countless musicians during the climax of countless shows, there’s something about his delivery that feels notably vulnerable. Eyes wide as he watches the hoedown circle pits unfold before him, there’s no doubt that he’s missed being onstage at a Linkin Park show just as much as the world has missed him being there. As bodies filtered out of the room there was a sense of having witnessed a moment in history. Without Bennington’s inimitable presence things will never be the same, but if the last two hours were anything to go by – Linkin Park’s legacy is in safe hands.
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Photo credits: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
