Yes, I know the song has been out for a week and I originally had no plan to write about the song, but I have to admit, the more I listen to it, the more I want to share my thoughts with anyone who will listen. We are officially an Emily Armstrong stan account, but if I’m honest, we were fans of hers before Linkin Park announced their news.
I was not ready for Linkin Park’s announcement of new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain. I realised I’m unfamiliarly familiar with Colin’s work. Meaning he’s produced, composed, mixed, or played on a lot of music I dig like Papa Roach’s Crooked Teeth (underrated album) and Who Do You Trust?, Keith Wallen, and Story of the Year’s Tear Me to Pieces (another underrated album), I just didn’t know he was part of it until I went back and read the liner notes.
Emily on the other hand, I am more than aware of her talents. In fact, when I saw the announcement, I got a pang in my heart because I worried that it would mean the end of Dead Sara. Dead Sara is the band Emily fronts with guitarist Siouxsie Medley and drummer Sean Friday and I have been a fan of theirs since their self-titled debut album. In fact, I begged and pleaded with my program director of the station I worked for to get them on all of our radio shows. Good news is that I didn’t have to beg that much as he loved their music as much as I did. Before I digress further, Dead Sara did post on socials they weren’t going anywhere and the pang in my heart settled.
Since I was familiar with Emily’s powerhouse of a voice, I listened to “The Emptiness Machine” with excitement. Not as a Linkin Park fan, but as an Emily fan.
Lawd have mercy on my soul…good god almighty, did she show up and blow the vocals out of the water. I know there will be diehard Linkin Park fans that will never accept anyone but Chester Bennington, and that’s their choice. But for those fans of Linkin Park who are more than excited for new music from the band, I hope they discovered the grit and strength in Emily’s voice and fell hook, line, and sinker for her talent.
There is no doubt that “The Emptiness Machine” is a Linkin Park song. The underlying sounds of what makes Linkin Park a band is there front and centre – infectious beats, soaring guitars, rumbling bass lines, and anthemic vocals. And the vocals is where I think “The Emptiness Machine” shines. There is a wonderful interplay and yin and yang between Mike Shinoda’s vocals and Emily’s vocals. Whether Mike is singing clean or laying down a line rapper style, there’s always been a generous and easygoing vibe to his vocals. It compliments the intensity of Emily’s voice. Whether Emily is singing clean or unleashing a snarl, her vocals are a force to be reckoned with. Her control of the ferociousness of her voice in the song makes it enormous but does not overpower Mike’s voice or the music.
I’ll be honest, this version of Linkin Park has made me excited to listen to the band again. It’s like the beginning again which makes a whole lot of sense with their new album being called From Zero. The album will be out on November 15th and I expect it to be full of raw power and unmatched talent with Emily and Colin breathing new energy and life into who Linkin Park is as a band.
Photo by James Minchin III
