What Reviews Are Saying About Linkin Park’s New Album ‘From Zero’

Just a few days ahead of its release, here’s what the reviews are saying about Linkin Park‘s new album From Zero.

This new collection of songs will serve as the band’s first studio album since 2017’s One More Light, which came out just two months prior to the death of Chester Bennington. The tragedy left the future of the band in limbo and a big void in the heavy music world.

After seven years of silence, Linkin Park returned in early September with the song “The Emptiness Machine” and an intimate performance in Los Angeles, both of which revealed Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara as their new co-vocalist alongside Mike Shinoda. They also shared a handful of 2024 tour dates and details about From Zero.

The record will be out in just two days, and fans will be able to fully take in what Linkin Park have been working on over the last several years. We went through a couple of reviews of the album and pieced together some interesting tidbits that you can check out below.

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Here’s what the reviews are saying about Linkin Park’s From Zero. The album will be out Nov. 15.

It’s ‘Not the Best Linkin Park Album of All Time’

Linkin Park have created some masterpieces during their career, especially their earliest albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora. It’s almost impossible for any band to top their best releases, and according to Kerrang!, From Zero didn’t take the cake.

However, the publication noted something important — “it doesn’t have to be” their best album. It signifies a rebirth of the band rather than a competition with their past.

The review, which gave the record four out of five stars, also asserts that “Casualty” (which they recently debuted live) is, in fact, one of the heaviest songs of their career. The piece concludes, “…as a piece of work, it’s a clear reminder of why Linkin Park reached the heights they did and continue to influence multiple generations of artists. Welcome back.”

There Is Some Talking Laced Throughout It

When the rockers played “Casualty” live for the first time last week, Shinoda said to the crowd, “Dallas gets to find out what happens when Em puts her screaming pants on.” This was apparently a reference to something that is actually said on the record, according to The Guardian.

“…a male voice urges her to ‘get your screaming pants on’ – one of the recordings of studio chat that scatter the album,” the review reads, suggesting that there are voices that help set the stage for other parts of the record.

The Guardian also gave From Zero four stars, and finishes with the sentiment, “They were always unafraid to take sonic risks, and another sonic risk is exactly what their comeback constitutes – one that has handsomely paid off.”

‘From Zero’ is a Vocal Harmony

The eponymous opening track is apparently a 22-second vocal harmony between Shinoda and Armstrong, according to Metal Injection. They noted that it sounds reminiscent of The Beach Boys’ “Our Prayer” or Big Big Trains’ “Evening Star.”

The article closes with, “Put another way, listeners who approach From Zero with an unbiased and welcoming mind will find that it’s a triumphant return from one of the biggest rock bands of the last 25 years.”

One of the Tracks Sound Similar to ‘Bleed It Out’

Several publications noted that the song “Cut the Bridge” sounds similar to their Minutes to Midnight hit “Bleed It Out.” Rock Cellar Magazine called the track “notable as an attempt at a ‘Bleed It Out 2.0,'” and the aforementioned Metal Injection piece suggested the same.

The Guardian also teased that there is a moment in the song where Armstrong’s voice is is left along without any music behind it, putting an emphasis on her vocal abilities.

There are, of course, other comparisons between songs that argue that some of the new material could have fit on Hybrid Theory or Meteora, but this is something fans have been saying since “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy Is the Crown” came out.

It Ends With a Ballad

Another shared sentiment between the reviews listed above is that “Good Things Go,” the album’s closer, is a powerful ballad. Metal Injection described it as “an immensely epic and impactful closer,” whereas Rock Cellar Magazine stated that Linkin Park often end albums on a strong note, and compared it to Living Things’ “Powerless” and The Hunting Party’s “Final Masquerade.”

While each review had its own take on the record, the majority of them seem to agree that it’s a solid piece of work all the way through, and has a high potential of being one of the year’s best.