A bright white beam lands in the center of the stage of Paris La Défense Arena. If the shadow of Chester Bennington, who died in 2017, hangs over the controversial reformation of Linkin Park, this discreet, symbolic tribute is like a way for the metal group to build a bridge between the past and the future, which is written since September with a new singer: Emily Armstrong, an experienced American rocker who carries a significant musical heritage on her shoulders. As a prelude to a new album called “From Zero” which will be released on November 15, Linkin Park has just begun a series of hand-picked concerts launching a giant world tour for 2025. And the largest indoor venue in Europe therefore had the honor of welcoming the very mysterious group Sleep Token on Sunday evening, for a premiere devastating part, and training for this high-stakes warm-up round. Because the question that has undoubtedly had Mike Shinoda and his acolytes thinking for months is whether the public will be there in the absence of the emblematic voice of Chester, who truly embodied the soul of Linkin Park. . The answer? Waves of raised hands, deafening screams and an audience overflowing with love.
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Given this particular context, it would not have been surprising to hear a speech to induct the two new members of the group – in addition to Emily Armstrong, drummer Colin Brittain joined the club, or a few words honoring the memory of Chester . Between the entry on “Somewhere I Belong” and the finale on “Bleed It Out”, no mention will be made of it but the interludes punctuating the show speak for themselves: after the collapse (“Collapse”) comes the time of repair, “Kintsugi”, this Japanese art of restoring broken objects with gold powder. Understand by this that Linkin Park does not come to write a new page but simply to continue his work.
A new era in continuity
Emily Armstrong, with impressive vocal ease, fits perfectly into the configuration, like a logical continuity. Well versed in performing on stage and very close with Mike Shinoda, she doesn't give the impression of trying to replace the irreplaceable but rather of saluting with respect the path paved by her predecessor. And the magic happens! Shivers run down the spines of the 40,000 spectators when she screams at the top of her lungs, in a technique similar to that of the fiery rocker, on “Given Up” and “Faint”, expressing this rage which boils and infuses each piece of Linkin Park. And the group unwinds without pause its panoply of generational anthems: “Crawling”, “Burn It Down”, “One Step Closer”, “Breaking the Habit”… They are all there, in a new form of course, but with the same strength and intensity.
In this desire to return to basics, Linkin Park decided to reduce the staging to a handful of elementary ideas. For this show, there is no superfluous pyrotechnics, no excessive creative aspiration with the exception of these two gigantic cubes which overlook the American rockers. Strobes and negative effects serve as decoration on the different pieces but that's it. For a group of this stature, this lack of ambition is disconcerting but we understand that Linkin Park seeks above all to rediscover the essence of the music, to soak up this communion with the crowd which itself remains intact. The combo “Numb” and “In The End” wins the prize for the craziest moment of the concert, with a horde of fans undulating in unison like the same wave. And even the recent “Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy Is The Crown” generate a fiery fervor that makes you rise from your seat to the last row of the highest tier. Proof that the public, who brandish the words “ Thank you for this new era » during the encore, definitely adopted Emily Armstrong and this revival of Linkin Park. In the end, it doesn’t even matter.
Concert setlist Linkin Park in Paris
1. Somewhere I Belong
2. Crawling
3. Points of Authority
4. Lying From You
5. New Divide
6. The Emptiness Machine
7. The Catalyst
8. Burn It Down
9. Waiting for the End
10. Castle of Glass
11. Joe Hahn Solo
12. When They Come for Me / Remember the Name
13. Over Each Other
14. Lost in the Echo
15. Given Up
16. One Step Closer
17. Lost
18. Breaking the Habit
19. What I’ve Done
20. Leave Out All the Rest
21. My December
22. Friendly Fire
23. Numb
24. In the End
25. Faint
Rappel :
26. Papercut
27. Heavy Is the Crown
28. Bleed It Out
