Linkin Park Has A Triumphant Return To Minnesota

Linkin Park has reunited and returned to Minnesota to not only celebrate their legacy but also to show that the creativity of the band is alive and well, as 2024’s release of ‘From Zero’ showcased. New vocalist Emily Armstrong ignited the crowd throughout the night and long time fans of Linkin Park enjoyed a great show with a laundry list of hits.

 

 

 

The last time Linkin Park played in front of a Minnesotan audience was eleven years ago, nearly to the day, at the Grandstand in St. Paul for the Minnesota State Fair. The band moved across the river to headline the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and a very eager crowd filled the arena waiting to see what the new incarnation of the band was all about.

 

 

A countdown appeared on the massive screens above the stage that sat in the middle of the main floor. As the clock ticked the anticipation and the noise amped up until the Linkin Park took the stage. Opening with “Somewhere I Belong” then into “Points of Authority” and “Crawling” it was very clear this crowd was all in on the iconic band, despite some of the new faces. Of the six members, three were new to the fans. Drummer Rob Bourdon was replaced by Colin Brittain and despite guitarist Brad Delson playing on the new album, ‘From Zero,’ he has not joined the band on tour, instead Alex Feder, has taken on the lead guitarist spot. The most crucial change was adding Emily Armstrong to take on the role of trying to sing the parts that were sung by, perhaps the most iconic singer of the genre, Chester Bennington. We lost Bennington in 2017 and its taken some time for the vocalist, instrumentalist and rapper Mike Shinoda to pick up the pieces and restart the band. Two familiar faces were bassist Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn on turntables, synthesizers, samples and programming. 

 

 

 

It was strange and things felt off to me as they began to rip through a setlist that was just about endless. Not having that familiar voice, that for me, was the reason I listened to the band to begin with kept me off balance but as the night wore on, and watching and listening to the thousands of Linkin Park fans singing along with every song, I began to buy in. Armstrong is a force by herself. She’s not there to be Chester, but to showcase her own set of skills, and celebrate the songs that put Linkin Park on top of the nu-metal movement. She effortlessly transitioned from clean vocal to a nasty snarl that injected the venom to unleash the intensity of the songs. She wasn’t just replicating the sound, but was continually adding her own DNA to it and fans were nothing short of appreciative of what she brought to the sound. 

 

 

 

The number of songs they played was somewhere in the twenties and the newest material sounded really good. Eight songs from that ‘From Zero’ album that was released in 2024, were played and my favorites like “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy is the Crown’ fit into the set beautifully. The new material went over well but the reality was, these fans were waiting for the hits. “Faint,” “Numb,” “Papercut,” “In the End” and “One Step Closer” brought the fans in the arena to their knees with adrenaline and excitement. Armstrong didn’t need to sing anything, the fans handled that job from start to finish. There is nothing quite like a full arena all singing in complete unison and hearing those voices well above the sonic attack of the music coming off the stage. This wasn’t just a show, it was therapy for the fans of Linkin Park that have waited for years to hear those song played again and not only experiencing them again but many had their kids in tow and having them experience it for the first time.

 

 

 

Linkin Park can never go back and be that band that took the world by storm decades ago. That version of the band will always live in the minds of the people that were there and were part of that movement. There isn’t a replacement for Bennington, but this unit isn’t performing just to be a tribute act of the past, but are forging ahead, with the classic sound the band was known for, but with new wrinkles and new ideas that will continue to evolve the bands sound. Fans judge acts by their wallets and judging by the fact that the venue was pact, people are buying in to the new unit while, at the same time, celebrating the past. Time will tell how this all plays out, but in the meantime, this show was really fun and everybody got what they came to see and hear.