On September 11, Linkin Park fans will be able to see the band perform with their new lead singer Emily Armstrong at the Forum. However, many L.P. fans won’t be there to support them, based on what people have said on their social media accounts and the accounts of their new lead singer.
The rap-rock group from L.A. announced their return after a seven-year break last week, September 5. They also said that Armstrong would be singing in place of Chester Bennington, who killed himself in 2017 and the band stopped working. After the news, there was a live-streamed show in L.A., and people had a wide range of reactions to the new music, from being excited to being angry. Many fans think Bennington was essential as a singer, but the band didn’t care about the people who didn’t like them at first.
At the Drive by Mars Volta Cedric Bixler-Zavala of the band In and his wife Chrissie Carnell-Bixler spoke out against Armstrong soon after the news came out. They shared an Instagram post that Zavala wrote last year for her old band Dead Sara that asked, “Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson?” “Your friend who rapes.” They also said she had family ties to Scientology and wrote letters to help Masterson in court as a friend of his. Authorities found Masterson guilty of sexual assault and sent him to state jail for 30 years to life.
Masterson wasn’t found guilty of raping one of the women Carnell-Bixler is one of many who have accused him of doing so. During his trial and subsequent conviction, the couple, who were both former Scientologists, spoke out strongly online. Because the couple called her out, Armstrong wrote the following on her Instagram Stories last week:
“My name is Emily.”Hi, many of you are new to me. I’d like to clear the air about something that happened a while ago. A few years ago, I was asked to go to court with someone I thought of as a friend, so I went to one early hearing as a witness. I quickly realized I shouldn’t have afterward. I try to see the best in everyone, but I got him wrong. Since then, I haven’t talked to him. Unimaginable facts came to light, and he was eventually found guilty. To be as clear as possible, I do not support violence or abuse against women, and I feel sorry for those who are hurt by these acts.
Armstrong didn’t say anything directly about Scientology in her statement, but fans have said that the fact that she is gay is proof that she is no longer a member of the church. L. Ron Hubbard once called homosexuality a “perversion,” but the church says it doesn’t tell people what they can or can’t do sexually. People also didn’t agree with Hubbard’s ideas about mental illness, and the faith is said to be against psychiatry and psychology. Fans of Linkin Park have pointed out that this goes against a lot of the band’s themes, especially something that Chester Bennington sang about and battled with.
Yesterday, Bixler-Zavala went even further in his criticism of Armstrong. He shared a post from Armstrong’s wife that accused him of intimidating Masterson’s victims and directly criticized Linkin Park, saying, “Fire your whole team for not thoroughly vetting your choice.” You’re a big brand like Disney trying to get back on track, and you didn’t even think to spend a little money to look into her? “Stop putting music by At the Drive-In on your pre-show playlist.”
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The band has not responded to the Bixlers’ claims, but on their social media, they say they are proud of their choice of singer and share video from the one-hour global live stream of their Thursday night show in L.A. with Armstrong and their new drummer, Colin Brittain. He said on Thursday that original drummer Rob Bourdon is out and guitarist Brad Delson will not be playing live shows, even though he is still involved. This made fans online even more unhappy because they weren’t sure about the band’s new lineup to begin with.
On Instagram, Bennington’s son Jaime Bennington has said more negative things about the band’s return. He says that the new lineup is “erasing” his father’s memory and points out that September is Suicide Prevention Month.
“Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future—embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life,” Mike Shinoda, who sang on the rap side and wrote songs with Bennington, said about the return and new record called From Zero in a press release before all the negative reactions. “Our first band name was Xero before we joined Linkin Park.” The name of the record refers to both our humble beginning and the journey we’re on now. Our new and old partners, our friends, our family, and our fans were all very important to us when we made it. We’re happy with how far Linkin Park has come and look forward to what’s to come.
We don’t know if the present controversy will hurt the chances of the new project, or if, to quote their biggest hit, “in the end, it doesn’t even matter,” but music fans in the area know that Armstrong has a great voice. Her rock band Dead Sara released a few good records in the late 2000s, including a great cover of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box.” They also opened for Demi Lovato on her last tour. With Armstrong’s rough vocals standing out, the group always shone live when we saw them in clubs across L.A. in their prime.
