The music community and the world lost one of the best voices when Linkin Park's Chester Bennington tragically passed away in 2017, just a couple of weeks after another rockstar and one of his best friends, Chris Cornell died in a similar way. Since Bennington's death, the fate of the band has been questionable and fans are still left wondering if they'll get a new singer, even though no one could replace the first. If they don't want a new singer, what does that mean for the band?
There've been a couple of bands throughout music history who've had their lead singer pass away and have dealt with the same problems with continuing without them. Queen, Alice in Chains, and INXS are just a couple of bands who have been successful. The latter even created a reality show to find their new singer. Linkin Park will be no different, as they continue to make music and carry on the legacy of Bennington. But it turns out, we may be hearing from the band sooner than we thought.
Updated on November 1, 2021, by Michael Chaar: Following Chester Bennington's tragic suicide in 2017, fans wondered what would happen to Linkin Park. Well, the band went on a hiatus, and rightfully so, however, rest assured, they are now going anywhere. Linkin Park has announced that while they are, in fact, working on new music and possibly touring, they still "don't have the math worked out," said band member, Mike Shinoda back on October 29, 2021. While new music is on the horizon, Linkin Park made it clear that fans shouldn't expect any type of hologram experience in honor of Chester. Furthermore, Shinoda revealed that while they aren't actively on the hunt for a new frontman, if they come across someone worth the spot, then they'll definitely consider it.
Linkin Park Returns Following Bennington's Death
After recording seven albums, including Hybrid Theory, which was certified diamond by the RIAA, winning countless awards, including two Grammys, and achieving international success as one of the best bands in rock history, Linkin Park was left without its leading man.
Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, and drummer Rob Bourdon were left shocked after his death and without words.
When Bennington's death was announced, the band had just released a new music video for their single "Talking to Myself" earlier that day. So you could imagine how shocked fans were that they'd gotten new music and the news of Bennington's death all in one day.
The next day, the band canceled the rest of their One More Light World Tour, and shortly after, released a statement that said, "Our hearts are broken. The shockwaves of grief and denial are still sweeping through our family as we come to grips with what has happened."
After they held a tribute concert, the band went on a hiatus to take time and grieve their singer, and only recently have they've started to come out of it.
There Will Be No Hologram Tours, But There Will Be New Music Coming
Something that's become fashionable in the music industry is hologram tours. Fans can now see certain deceased artists through the new invention. But Linkin Park has said they will not pretend Bennington is not gone and will instead carry on some other way.
"That would be the worst," Shinoda said about doing a hologram tour. "I can’t do it. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’ll figure it out eventually.”
In January 2018, Shinoda said that the band will live on in some way, he just didn't know how exactly. During a Q&A on Twitter, he said, "I have every intention on continuing with LP, and the guys feel the same. We have a lot of rebuilding to do, and questions to answer, so it’ll take time."
That March, however, Shinoda seemed uncertain about Linkin Park's future.
"I’m unable to say what will happen with the band," told Vulture. "There’s really just no answer, and it’s funny because if I even say anything about the band’s future, that becomes the headline, which is stupid because the answer is there is no answer. Fans think they want to know what the future is: Believe me, I want to know what the answer is. But there just isn’t one."
We got some more hope in 2019 when Shinoda told Rock Antenne, "We all thrive making and performing music. I know the other guys, they love to be on stage, they love to be in a studio, and so to not do that would be like ... I don’t know, almost like unhealthy."
The Band Isn't Actively Looking For A New Singer
And of course, they were eager to get back to the fans. "As long as that connection and interest is there, I think that is our driving force to figure out Linkin Park," he explained.
"It’s not my goal to look for a new singer. If it does happen, it has to happen naturally. If we find someone that is a great person and a good stylistic fit, I could see trying to do some stuff with somebody. I would never want to feel like we are replacing Chester."
After he took time to grieve, Shinoda was advised to get back into the studio to help heal, and he did. Shortly after he was starting his first solo tour.
Linkin Park Has Been Writing New Music
In April 2020, bassist Dave Farrell revealed the band had started writing new music before the pandemic started.
"For us, with the band, we’ve been kinda writing and doing that before this all started, so casually at this point we’re doing Zoom meetings to eat lunch together and say, ‘Hi.’ But we’re not able to get together and write or do that whole bit. So working at home a little bit, working up ideas," he told Dan Nicholl.
"I’ve been playing a lot of drums, just to do something new – I’ve been doing that for the last year, year and a half, and purposely making as much noise as possible to create my own space in the house."
This past August, the band finally re-released their song "She Couldn't," which was included on the 20th-anniversary edition of Hybrid Theory, and this past January they released a remix of "One Step Closer." Shinoda was right; making more music had to come naturally in the end.