Lucia Z. Liner:
Replacing Chester Bennington is a fool’s errand. But I don’t believe that’s what Emily is doing here. She is bringing her energy and power to the music of one of rock’s greatest acts, and on that level she succeeds in spades. Musically, this sounds like something from the Minutes to Midnight era of the band. Guitar-forward, hooky, and full-speed ahead, exactly what a comeback song or record should be.
As a welcome back, “The Emptiness Machine” is full of spirit. As a taste of From Zero, mid-November can’t get here fast enough. Even if you are among the contingent who believes this reunion shouldn’t be happening, give this one a chance. LP might be onto something here, and we won’t have to wait too much longer to confirm that.
Cain Borgia:
Like many of us, Linkin Park is a band that shaped our childhoods or formative years as probably one of the earliest exposures to the world of hard rock and nu metal. My dad was a fan, and I remember stealing his Hybrid Theory and Meteora CDs… but that’s about where my love for Linkin Park began and ended as I found other bands that tickled my fancy more. I don’t say that to be shady either, but I won’t try to claim I’m a super fan when I really only vibed with their earlier works and an occasional later single.
So truthfully, I have no dissenting opinions about the reunion or the new track, “The Emptiness Machine”. I think it serves as a solid comeback for the band. It’s not venturing into unfamiliar territory or a brand new sound; it feels like a Linkin Park song. Emily Armstrong’s performance is great. I wasn’t familiar with her or Dead Sara up until the announcement, but I feel as though she carries herself more than well enough on her sections. I prefer Mike Shinoda as a rapper, but his parts are good here. It’s a pretty neutral track as a whole for me, and maybe some others will share the same sentiments. As time goes on I can see it start to grow on the more disgruntled side of the fanbase, and hopefully future tracks can really pack the “Linkin Park is back, baby!” punch. For now though? It at least lays a workable foundation.
Josh Rioux:
As Managing Editor here at Nu Metal Agenda, it’s my job to make sure what we post is God’s honest truth. Which is why I’m here to tell you that when “The Emptiness Machine” first auto-queued on my YouTube stream, it took a the entire first verse for me to realize I wasn’t listening to a fucking Gillette commercial.
This is the thing with Linkin Park. Hybrid Theory and Meteora are two of the most important heavy music records of the 21st century, and while the band’s mid-00s turn towards more straightforward drivetime rock was in many ways a process of subtracting elements that made them original rather than a path leading deeper into their own identity, it was a sign of the times for nu metal, and lots of fans were more than happy to follow them where they chose to go. But the one-of-one alchemy that arose when Chester Bennington’s screams broke the surface of Mike Shinoda’s flows with the band churning beneath them like they were outrunning God was always the critical mouthful of blood in what became, as the years went by, a bigger and bigger glass of milk.
With “The Emptiness Machine”, we’re all milk now. It’s not an Emily Anderson problem–if anything, she’s got more body to her vocals than Chester ever did, and if everything we hear about her Church is true, maybe even more to scream about. No, this one goes all the way to the top of Linkin Park, Inc., and it’s in every note of the new single. The guitars are back–dope–but they sound like Marie Kondo folded and organized them before they went for mastering, and Shinoda–Oh, Shinoda–he sounds like he did his takes sitting down in pressed pants while doing his taxes. I truly hate that the conversation around the most important band of nu metal’s second wave has become about Scientology and sexual assault instead of about a generation remembering how to pogo, but if this is the kind of shit Linkin Park are bringing after seven years in the wilderness, they might have already been out of the news by now. Let’s hope that the razors at least cut on the next one rather than just lift and moisturize.
BaniBoi:
It’s something that I never thought I would see. As a long-time and passionate fan I was very content with Linkin Park never releasing anything ever again. But that has all changed with the arrival of Emily Armstrong and “The Emptiness Machine”.
The song itself at its baseline exhibits something not too dissimilar to Minutes to Midnight-era Linkin Park, or even "Breaking The Habit" off Meteora. Mike Shinoda features his sung vocals prominently before expertly introducing Emily on the chorus, who offers a blend of clean and rasped singing that the late Chester Bennington would be proud of.
The lyrics focus on breaking free from the heavy expectations of the past in order to break into the new, which, for what it’s trying to achieve, it accomplishes well. But that’s really all I have to say on the positive side of things.
In terms of what I think about the song itself, I am disappointed to express my dissatisfaction, not with the new vocalist, but with what the actual song sounds like. It unfortunately succumbs to an issue that I’ve long had in terms of the sonic direction the band has grown into. The electrifying genre blends the band was known for early in their career all feel watered down by neutered and rigid production that for some reason Mike Shinoda really seems to lean in on, and it drags the song down.
I take no pleasure in being this critical of one of my personal favorite rock bands of all time, especially with how centered they are around giving fans a sense of hope in dark times. The intention driving the band is still there, but in terms of the vehicle to which this reunion was driven in? This just wasn’t it.
