US rock band Linkin Park has announced that Emily Armstrong will be joining them as their new singer for their upcoming album and tour.
The band’s former lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, passed away by suicide in 2017.
Armstrong will collaborate with returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix, and Joe Hahn on their new projects.
In addition to Armstrong, Colin Brittain will come on board as the band’s new drummer.
The announcement of the new lineup comes ahead of the release of their upcoming album, From Zero, and their new world tour.
Armstrong, who grew up in Los Angeles, is widely recognized as the lead singer of the alt-rock band Dead Sara, which she co-founded with guitarist Siouxsie Medley in 2005.
In an interview with Billboard, Armstrong reflected on the influence of Linkin Park’s 2000 album, Hybrid Theory.
“I was in a band when it came out,” she said. “One Step Closer was the song for me, and I was just like, ‘that’s what I want to do. As a singer, I want to be able to scream.'”
“That album was everything—I’ve listened to it a trillion times. I would skate to it. I would mosh to it.”
Despite the dominance of solo artists in today’s music industry, Linkin Park remains one of the most successful bands in the streaming era.
They are the only band featured in Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed albums of all time, with their greatest hits compilation, Papercuts, receiving over 9 million streams daily.
Linkin Park is not the first band to appoint a new lead singer after the death of a frontman; bands like Alice in Chains and Sublime have done so in the past.
Queen, in particular, has toured regularly with Adam Lambert as their lead singer following Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991.
Brittain will replace the band’s previous drummer, Rob Bourdon.
Shinoda discussed the change with Billboard, explaining, “Rob had said to us a few years ago that he wanted to distance himself from the band. We understood that—he was showing up less, being in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too.”
“It was sad for me as a friend, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best.”
Brittain has previously worked with rock bands Papa Roach and All Time Low.
The band’s new world tour will include stops in Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg, Seoul, and London this month, and Bogotá in November.
This tour will mark their first live performances since Bennington’s death in 2017, at the age of 41.
Their new album will be preceded by a single titled The Emptiness Machine, marking their first new music since Bennington’s passing.
The band debuted the song during an hour-long concert streamed on their social media platforms on Thursday, officially revealing their new lineup.
