![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
Once an underground band with only three high school students rapping in their garage, Linkin Park is now a nationwide sensation. Linkin Park helped to define the Nu Metal genre in the late ’90s and the early 2000s when the industry was dominated by big names like Metallica, Korn, Nirvana, etc.
Linkin Park was formed in 1996 under the name Xero by Mike Shinoda. Shinoda is the lead vocalist, Rob Bourdon on the drums, and Brad Delson is the keyboardist. After high school, the band started to hit big, recruiting Joe Hahn as the DJ, David Farrell as the bassist, and Mark Wakefield as the co-vocalist, Farrell and Wakefield left the band in 1998 due to creative differences.
Xero was eventually signed onto A&R Records and began searching for another vocalist to replace Wakefield. In 1999, they found Chester Bennington, the perfect person for the job. A&R Records’ vice president, Jeff Blue, recommended him due to his vocal talent and powerful voice.
When Bennington was signed on, the band changed their name to Hybrid Theory, but they continued to alter it afterward. Due to copyright issues, they had some trouble but finally settled on the name Linkin Park. Linkin Park came from their origin point in Santa Monica, where Lincoln Park is.
After taking some time to find their ground, Linkin Park released their debut album in 2000 under the name Hybrid Theory, this caused the band to skyrocket into fame thanks to the popularity of the songs “In The End,” “One Step Closer,” and “Crawling”. The band began making multiple new albums including Meteora, Minutes to Midnight, and the lesser-known A Thousand Suns album.
As this album dropped, Linkin Park’s fame spread across the US. Several songs even made it into the Billboard Top 10; however, all good things must end eventually. In 2017 the lead vocalist Chester Bennington unfortunately passed away by suicide at the age of 41.
The community was hit hard by his passing and his fans would tribute him for years to come. The band attempted to continue moving forward, but Mike Shinoda could not compete with the vocals Bennington had. Thus the band disbanded and did not produce any more music.
The band unexpectedly reemerged on September 5th, 2024, with a brand new singer, Emily Armstrong. She was originally a part of the band Dead Sara before she was asked to join Linkin Park in 2024. She was introduced during a live-streamed concert where they performed some of the band’s best songs. Fans had mixed reviews on this new singer, some enjoy the band’s return and others say it’s a disgrace to Bennington’s legacy.
Linkin Park is to release a new album titled “From Zero” on November 14th, 2024 with this new singer, but it doesn’t feel like Linkin Park without Bennington. The band itself was defined by the powerful vocals of Bennington in 2000 when Hybrid Theory was released and without those vocals, the band does not feel the same.
Emily Armstrong’s voice is bland with very little vocal range and they even sound scratchy. It appears that Armstrong is attempting to mimic Chester’s voice with her voice which doesn’t work well with her limited vocal range.
Though the purpose of Armstrong coming on was to continue the band and preserve its incredible music, she isn’t upholding Chester’s legacy. What Linkin Park should have done is keep all of the band members but transform into a new band, starting fresh by leaving behind the songs that they sang in the 2000s.
