On Sunday, November 3 in Paris, 40,000 spectators gathered at the Paris La Défense Arena to celebrate Linkin Park’s onstage revival with new singer Emily Armstrong. Since their return to light in early September, the Californian nu metal band explodes the meters: the inaugural single The vacuum machine It is already the most listened to rock song of the year with more than 100 million accumulated views on Spotify. From scratchHis eighth studio album has barely been released when a Stade de France is scheduled for the summer of 2025 as part of a major world tour.
Who would have thought, seven years ago, that the band from Agoura Hills (California) would make such a forceful comeback? In June 2017, Linkin Park headlined Hellfest, the extreme music mecca based in Clisson (Loire-Atlantique). The reception there is frosty; one more lightHis latest work, very pop-oriented, is not unanimous among the metal public. The next day, the singer Chester Bennington, affected by these reactions, was moved on his Twitter account. Bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, a forty-something in a cap and sports clothes, remembers the incident. “ In our defense, We have always had a combative temperament. The most metal thing we could do at Hellfest was play chill songs. »
Earthquake a month later: Chester Bennington commits suicide on July 20. The singer with the hoarse tube voice. crawling He struggled with recurring depression and various addictions. The trauma is as violent as it is unexpected for his faithful accomplices Mike Shinoda (songwriter, second singer and rapper), Joe Hahn (DJ), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave Farrell (bass) and Rob Bourdon (drums). Few groups manage to recover from such a tragedy, let alone generate new public enthusiasm: AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alice in Chains are among the rare exceptions identified.
“General enthusiasm”
Seven years later, the day after their triumph at La Défense Arena in Paris, Emily Armstrong, Mike Shinoda and “Phoenix” had fun in a palace located just a stone’s throw from the Champs-Élysées. Beyond the second exit, From scratch (“starting from scratch”), the title of their latest album, is symbolic in two ways: “ That was the name of our first band, Xero., Before we opted for Hybrid Theory with the arrival of Chester, then for Linkin Park, explains the affable Mike Shinoda, the real brains of the group. At that time we were still searching for our sound, our identity. In that sense, we were a bit like the group today with Emily. But the good thing is that we now have a lot of experience. » New blood is also infused with drummer Colin Brittain, who replaces Rob Bourdon.
You have 64.63% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
